News

By Rich Pollack

    BOCA RATON — Even in retirement, Dr. Pinghui Victor Liu remained a scientist.
    A microbiologist, physician, and tenured professor at the University of Louisville, Dr. Liu was a leader in his field and in the 1960s discovered two kinds of exotoxins from a common type of bacteria.
    Those toxins led to sometimes-fatal illnesses in patients.
     “This was a bug that would kill people,” said his daughter, Dr. Nancy Liu, a Boca Raton physician.
    Her father’s research led to the development of treatments for illnesses from the toxins created by the bacteria, with his work resulting in the publication of more than 40 of his scientific papers.
    A resident of Boca Raton following his retirement in 1997, Dr. Liu was 93 when he died on June 6.
    While living in South Florida, Dr. Liu — known by friends and neighbors as Victor — enjoyed gardening and was always searching for ways to improve his plants and fruit trees, testing a variety of fertilizers and alternative growing techniques.
    “He was always a scientist and always experimenting,” his daughter said.
    Born in Taiwan in 1924, Dr. Liu trained in Japan at the Tokyo Jikei Kai Medical School.
    He was in Japan during World War II and following the war was able to find one of the few jobs available, working as a technician at a U.S. Army microbiology lab in Tokyo.
    He wrote his first research paper while working in the lab, but one of the Army officers removed his name and took credit for the work.
    He wrote his second paper on his own time and was able to get credit for the work.
    Encouraged to move to the United States to continue his research by those who believed he had a bright future in the field, Dr. Liu landed an internship in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where he would endure anti-Asian sentiment. There he encountered patients who refused to be seen by him, his daughter said.
    He would later do his residency at the University of Kentucky Medical School and, also armed with a Ph.D., became a tenured professor there, continuing his research and teaching microbiology classes.
    Internationally recognized for his scientific work, Dr. Liu lectured all over the world and continued to travel for enjoyment after his retirement.
    “He had an interesting perspective on life because he had lived in three different cultures,” his daughter said.
    Dr. Liu is survived by his wife of 58 years, Chiameng Judy Liu; his son, Albert Liu; his daughter and her husband, Dr. James Houle; as well as granddaughters, Camille Houle and Lauren Houle.
    A memorial service for Dr. Liu was held on June 17. Contributions in his memory can be made to the Boca Raton Regional Hospital Foundation at brrh.com.