معرفی
Alex Gao is an Assistant Professor at Stanford University's School of Medicine, holding dual appointments in the Departments of Biochemistry and Microbiology & Immunology, and serving as a Member of Bio-X. With a PhD in Biological Engineering from MIT (2020), an MS in Electrical Engineering (2014), and BS in Chemistry (2013), his research integrates computational genome mining with structural biology to develop novel antibiotic strategies and molecular biotechnologies through microbial gene exploration.
- Education
- PhD, MIT, Biological Engineering (2020)
- MS, Stanford, Electrical Engineering (2014)
- BS, Stanford, Chemistry (2013)
Gao's scholarly work focuses on uncovering molecular functions in anti-phage defense systems, revealing evolutionary pathways of bacteria-phage interactions, and advancing CRISPR-Cas platforms. His team employs cryo-EM and high-throughput experiments to study RNA-only complexes and defense-associated reverse transcriptases. Recent publications highlight breakthroughs in RNA quaternary structures, programmable nucleases, and prokaryotic immune mechanisms.
Advising activities include mentorship of postdoctoral researchers Pujuan Deng and Hyunbin Lee, as well as doctoral candidates Collin Chiu, Simone Evans, and Sofia Luengo-Woods. Gao teaches graduate and undergraduate research courses (BIOC 399, BIOC 199) and directs independent studies (BIOE 391).
