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Liu
Catherine Liu, MD

Catherine Liu, MD

Infectious Disease

  • Director, Antimicrobial Stewardship and Outpatient Parenteral Antimicrobial Therapy Program, Fred Hutch
  • Associate Director, Infection Prevention, Fred Hutch
  • Professor, Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division and Clinical Research Division, Fred Hutch
  • Professor, Division of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine
Antimicrobial Stewardship Program

About

Dr. Catherine Liu is a board-certified infectious disease physician and researcher at Fred Hutch. She specializes in preventing and treating infectious diseases in people with weakened immune systems.

Background

Dr. Liu cares for people with cancer and recipients of blood and marrow transplants, also known as blood stem cell transplants, who are at higher risk for serious infections.

Dr. Liu is the director of the Antimicrobial Stewardship Program at Fred Hutch. In this role, she works to optimize the use of antibiotics to prevent the emergence and spread of drug‑resistant microbes while ensuring the best possible outcomes for patients. She also directs the outpatient Parenteral Antimicrobial Therapy Program, which supports patients transitioning from the hospital to outpatient care who require intravenous antibiotics.

Through these leadership roles, Dr. Liu develops guidelines to promote appropriate antibiotic use and leads a multidisciplinary team of advanced practice providers and pharmacists. Together, they support clinicians with antibiotic selection and dosing and help monitor patients for medication‑related side effects, with the goal of providing safe, effective, coordinated infectious disease care.

Area of Clinical Practice
Infectious disease

“I believe in establishing a partnership with my patients and a multidisciplinary team of providers to deliver the highest quality care. By listening to their concerns, understanding their values and priorities, I work together with my patients to develop an individualized care plan.”

— Dr. Liu

What brought you to specializing in the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases?

Prior to joining Fred Hutch, Dr. Catherine Liu served as Medical Director of Hospital Epidemiology and Infection Control and the Infectious Diseases Management Program at the University of California, San Francisco. In addition to her administrative roles, she was an Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine and maintained an active teaching role as an attending physician on the Transplant/ Immunocompromised Host Infectious Diseases service and as a faculty member at the UCSF School of Medicine. "I chose medicine as a career because I wanted to make a meaningful impact on people’s lives through direct patient care and by contributing to scientific discovery," Dr. Liu says. Dr. Liu says she is incredibly privileged to have the opportunity to hear patients and families share their stories and care for them during one of their most difficult life experiences. "My goal is to improve patient outcomes and quality of life by prevention and treatment of infections through practical application of the medical literature and participation in clinical research studies," she says. Dr. Liu's clinical and research interests focus on improving outcomes among cancer patients through establishing an 1) antimicrobial stewardship program that aims to promote optimal selection, dose, and duration of antimicrobial therapy and, 2) outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy (OPAT) program for those patients with infections requiring IV antimicrobials who are transitioning care from the inpatient to outpatient setting. "In collaboration with a multidisciplinary team of advanced practice providers, pharmacists, and Infection Control, my goal is to prevent the emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistant pathogens and reduce the risk of medication-related toxicity while ensuring patients receive the highest standard of care." Outside of work, Dr. Liu enjoys spending time with her family, exploring the Seattle area, cooking and traveling.

Research Interests

Antimicrobial use in cancer and hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients

Implementation and evaluation of strategies to optimize antimicrobial use

Diagnostic test utilization and stewardship

Management of multidrug resistant infections

Prevention of healthcare associated infections

Languages

English

Education and Experience

Fellowship, Infectious Diseases, University of California, San Francisco

Residency, Internal Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital

Internship, Internal Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital

MD, University of California, San Francisco

BA, Stanford University

Board Certifications

Infectious Disease, 2007; 2018; American Board of Internal Medicine

Clinical Trials

We make promising new treatments available to you through studies called clinical trials led by Fred Hutch physicians and researchers. Many of these trials at Fred Hutch have led to FDA-approved treatments and have improved standards of care globally. Together, you and your physician can decide if a study is right for you.

Find a Clinical Trial Led by Dr. Liu

Publications

Many of our Fred Hutch physicians and researchers conduct ongoing research to improve standards of patient care. Their work is evaluated by others in their field and selected for publication to the United States National Library of Medicine, the largest medical library in the world. See scientific papers this Fred Hutch physician has written.

View Dr. Liu's Publications

Your Care Team

At Fred Hutch, you receive care from a team of providers with extensive experience in your disease. Your team includes physicians, a patient care coordinator, a registered nurse, an advanced practice provider and others, based on your needs. You also have access to experts like registered dietitians, social workers, acupuncturists, psychiatrists and more who specialize in supporting people with cancer or blood disorders. 

Meet Other Providers

Insurance

Fred Hutch accepts most national private health insurance plans as well as Medicare. We also accept Medicaid for people from Washington, Alaska, Montana and Idaho. We are working to ensure that everyone, no matter what their financial situation, has access to the care they need.

More About Insurance

Stories

All news
With respiratory infections rampant, experts urge masking and vaccination
With respiratory infections rampant, experts urge masking and vaccination Limited disease data makes it hard to accurately assess flu trends March 13, 2025
Infectious disease scientists look beyond the pandemic
Infectious disease scientists look beyond the pandemic A symposium about protecting people with weakened immune systems from microbial threats May 9, 2023
Cancer, COVID-19 and proceeding with caution
Cancer, COVID-19 and proceeding with caution Patients in treatment and those with compromised or suppressed immune systems eye the future — and pandemic’s wane — warily February 16, 2022

Contact Information

206.667.2729

206.667.4411