By Hongbing Liu
For more than two decades, my life in Louisiana has unfolded between two essential spaces: the controlled silence of the research laboratory and the vibrant, sometimes chaotic, living room of our community. Though these worlds may seem far apart, together they have shaped how I understand science, citizenship, and belonging.
In my laboratory at Tulane, we study the intricate blueprint of life—how kidneys develop, how disease disrupts delicate biological systems, and how subtle molecular signals determine long-term health. We search for fundamental truths hidden within cells and pathways, guided by a foundational belief: beneath our visible differences, we share a common biological humanity. The language of science constantly reminds me that life is deeply interconnected and exquisitely sensitive to imbalance.
At the same time, for those same twenty years, I have walked a parallel path in Louisiana’s living rooms—in community centers across the greater New Orleans area, at small business gatherings in Baton Rouge, and at cultural festivals throughout the state. In my role as a leader within the Chinese American community, I am also studying the systems. But here, the focus is different: the architecture of belonging, the signals of trust, and the pathologies of exclusion that weaken the social body. These spaces reveal how communities hold together when conditions are supportive, and how vulnerable they become when those conditions fall away.
The Declaration of Independence’s assertion that “all people are created equal” connects these two worlds. In science, this principle is observable: we share common origins, common vulnerabilities, and common needs. In society, however, equality is not a fact we inherit automatically—it is a truth we must actively construct, protect, and renew.
The COVID-19 pandemic was a moment when my work in both spheres collided with urgent clarity. As a scientist, I understood the virus’s biological mechanisms. As a community leader, I witnessed a different kind of fever spreading—fear, misinformation, scapegoating, and social fracture. Guided by a cultural ethic of collective responsibility, our community mobilized to supply essential protective equipment to frontline workers. This action was not improvised, but the culmination of years spent weaving ourselves into Louisiana’s civic fabric. In that moment, we were translating our community’s “basic research” in mutual aid into a real-time public response.
At the same time, we were forced to confront a parallel social disease: hatred. Organizing the Stop Asian Hate rally was, for me, an act of public science. It was the presentation of long-ignored data—the lived experiences of discrimination and exclusion—made visible at last. By naming these realities publicly, we asserted our equal right to safety, dignity, and belonging.
These two decades have taught me that the promise of 1776 is not self-executing. Like a finely regulated developmental pathway in the body, a just society requires precise conditions: access to opportunity, signals of representation, and the absence of toxic prejudice. My community work has become the applied science of creating and sustaining those conditions.
So, what does the Declaration mean to me today? It is a national hypothesis—that unity in diversity creates resilience. It is a theory that my life’s work tests every day.
In the laboratory, I seek to understand the building blocks of health at the cellular level. In our communities, I join with countless others to build the foundations of societal health. Both are dedicated to the same end: ensuring the integrity of the system, so that every part—every cell, every person—can function, thrive, and contribute to the strength of the whole.
The experiment continues. And I remain committed to gathering the evidence, through service and science, that the hypothesis is true.
Bio for the post:
Dr. Hongbing Liu is a faculty member at Tulane University School of Medicine, where he conducts basic biomedical research in kidney development and disease. For over two decades, he has also been a dedicated civic leader in Louisiana, currently serving as Chairman of the American Chinese United Association – Louisiana Chapter and the Louisiana Chinese Chamber of Commerce, working to strengthen the state’s social and economic fabric.