Xiaolan Zhao

Xiaolan Zhao is a Professor at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center within the Graduate School of Medical Sciences, affiliated with the Molecular Biology Program. Her research focuses on genome stability mechanisms, including DNA replication, repair, and damage response pathways.

• Alumni of Peking University (BS & MS) and Columbia University (PhD in Genetics)
• Postdoctoral training at Rockefeller University under Gunter Blobel

Dr. Zhao's work explores how cells maintain genetic integrity through SUMOylation, SMC complexes, and replication stress tolerance. She investigates diseases like cancer and developmental disorders linked to genomic instability. Recent studies emphasize cryo-EM structural analyses of Smc5/6 and its interactions with repair proteins.

Her laboratory employs multidisciplinary approaches, including genetics, biochemistry, and structural biology, to uncover novel genome guardian functions. Awards include the Damon Runyon Fellowship and the American Cancer Society Research Scholar title.