As a compromise, she studied biology at Peking University,[2] where she earned a bachelor's degree in 1997.
She began her graduate studies at Iowa State University intending to study genetics, but quickly switched to a program in statistics,[2] and earned a master's degree there in 1999, and a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in 2003.
[4] Her doctoral students at Notre Dame have included Claire McKay Bowen.
[5] Liu was named a Fellow of the American Statistical Association in 2021, "for novel contributions to differentially private synthetic data and Bayesian modeling; for outstanding interdisciplinary research in clinical and public health studies; for leadership in education and training; and for service to the profession".
[4] Liu became an Elected Member of the International Statistical Institute in 2024.