Professor Gao received his B.S. in Chemistry from Peking University. He carried out his graduate studies under Professor George Whitesides at Harvard University and postdoctoral training with Professor Robert Langer at MIT.

Our main research focus is to design, develop and evaluate novel nanomaterials and nanoarchitectures for cancer molecular imaging and targeted therapeutic applications. Two design principles are emphasized throughout research: (1) understand tumor pathophysiology and identify key cancer targets to improve biological specificity, and (2) build innovative nanomedicine platforms with non-linear bioresponsive properties to achieve diagnostic and therapeutic efficacy.

Ma, X.; Huang, X.; Moore, Z.; Huang, G.; Kilgore, J.A.; Wang, Y.; Hammer, S.; Williams, N.S.; Boothman, D.A.; Gao, J. Esterase-activatable β-lapachone prodrug micelles for NQO1-targeted lung cancer therapy. J. Controlled. Release. 2015, doi:10.1016/j.jconrel.2014.12.027 PDF

Ma, X.; Wang, Y.; Zhao, T; Li, Y.; Su, L.; Wang, Z.; Huang, G.; Sumer, B.D.; Gao, J. Ultra-pH-Sensitive Nanoprobe Library with Broad pH Tunability and Fluorescence Emissions. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2014, 136, 11085-11092 PDF

Li, Y.; Wang, Y.; Huang, G.; Ma, X.; Zhou, K.; Gao, J. Chaotropic-Anion-Induced Supramolecular Self-Assembly of Ionic Polymeric Micelles. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2014, 53, 8074-8078 PDF

Morales, J.C.; Li, L.; Fattah, F.J.; Dong, Y.; Bey, E.A.; Patel, M.; Gao, J.; Boothman, D.A. Review of Poly (ADP-ribose) Polymerase (PARP) Mechanisms of Action and Rationale for Targeting in Cancer and Other Diseases. Crit. Rev. Eukaryot. Gene Expr. 2014, 24, 15-28 PDF

Ma, X.; Huang, X.; Huang, G.; Li, L.; Wang, Y.; Luo, X.; Boothman, D.A.; Gao, J. Prodrug Strategy to Achieve Lyophilizable, High Drug Loading Micelle Formulations Through Diester Derivatives of β-Lapachone. Adv. Healthc. Mater. 2014, 3, 1210-1216. PDF

Sun, J.Y.; Shen, J.; Thibodeaux, J.; Huang, G.; Wang, Y.; Gao, J.; Low, P.S.; Dimitrov, D.S.; Sumer, B.D. In Vivo optical imaging of folate receptor-β in Head and Neck squamous cell carcinoma. Laryngoscope. 2014, 124, E312-319. PDF

Wang, Y.; Zhou, K.; Huang, G.; Hensley, C.; Huang, X.; Ma, X.; Zhao, T.; Sumer, B.D.; DeBerardinis, R.J.; Gao, J. A nanoparticle-based strategy for the imaging of a broad range of tumours by nonlinear amplification of microenvironment signals. Nat. Mater. 2014, 13, 204-212. PDF

Zhou, H.; Stafford, J.H.; Hallac, R.R.; Zhang, L.; Huang, G.; Mason, R.P.; Gao, J.; Thorpe, P.E.; Zhao, D. Phosphatidylserine-Targeted Molecular Imaging of Tumor Vasculature by Magnetic Resonance Imaging. J. Biomed. Nanotechnol. 2013, 10, 846-855. PDF

Bey, E.A.; Reinicke, K.E.; Srougi, M.C.; Varnes, M.; Anderson, V.E.; Pink, J.J.; Li, L.S.; Patel, M.; Cao. L.; Moore, Z.; Rommel, A.; Boatman, M.; Lewis, C.; Euhus, D.M.; Bornmann, W.G.; Buchsbaum, D.J.; Spitz, D.R.; Gao, J.; Boothman, D.A. Catalase Abrogates β-Lapachone-Induced PARP1 Hyperactivation-Directed Programmed Necrosis in NQO1-Positive Breast Cancers. Mol. Cancer Ther. 2013, 12, 2110-2120 PDF

Togao, O.; Kessinger, C.W.; Huang, G.; Soesbe, T.C.; Sagiyama, K.; Dimitrov, A.I.; Sherry, D.A.; Gao, J.; Takahashi, M. Characterization of Lung Cancer by Amide Proton Transfer (APT) Imaging: An In-Vivo Study in an Orthotopic Mouse Model. PLoS ONE 2013, 8(10): e77019 PDF

Regonda, S.; Tian R.; Gao, J.; Greene, S.; Ding, J.; Hu, W. Silicon multi-nanochannel FETs to improve device uniformity/stability and femtomolar detection of insulin in serum. Biosens. Bioelectron., 2013, 45, 245–251. PDF

Huang, X.; Huang, G.; Zhang, S.; Sagiyama, K.; Togao, O.; Ma, X.; Wang, Y.; Li, Y.; Soesbe, T. C.; Sumer, B. D.; Takahashi, M.; Sherry, A. D.; Gao, J. Multi-Chromatic pH-Activatable 19F-MRI Nanoprobes with Binary ON/OFF pH Transitions and Chemical-Shift Barcodes. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 2013, 52, 8074-8078. PDF

Zhang, S.; Zhou, K.; Huang, G.; Takahashi, M.; Sherry, A. D.; Gao, J. A Novel Class of Polymeric pH-Responsive MRI CEST Agents. Chem. Comm. 2013, 49, 6418-6420. PDF

Huang, G.; Chen, H.; Dong, Y.; Luo, X.; Yu, H.; Moore, Z.; Bey, E.A.; Boothman, D.A.; Gao, J. Superparamagnetic Iron Oxide Nanoparticles: Amplifying ROS Stress to Improve Anticancer Drug Efficacy. Theranostics 2013, 3, 116-126. (Article was picked for the journal cover). PDF

Zheng, N.; Dai, W.; Du, W.; Zhang, H.; Lei, L.; Zhang, H.; Wang, X.; Wang, J.; Zhang, X.; Gao, J.; Zhang, Q. A novel lanreotide-encoded micelle system targets paclitaxel to the tumors with overexpression of somatostatin receptors. Mol. Pharm. 2012, 9, 1175-88.PDF

Huang, X.; Dong, Y.; Bey, E.A.; Kilgore, J.A.; Bair, J.S.; Li, L.S.; Patel, M; Parkinson, E.I; Wang, Y.; Williams, N.S.; Gao, J.; Hergenrother, P.J.; Boothman, D.A. An NQO1 Substrate with Potent Antitumor Activity That Selectively Kills by PARP1-Induced Programmed Necrosis. Cancer Res. 2012, 72, 3038–47.PDF

Zhou, K.; Liu, H.; Zhang, S.; Huang, X.; Wang, Y.; Huang, G.; Sumer, B.D.; Gao, J. Multicolored pH-Tunable and Activatable Fluorescence Nanoplatform Responsive to Physiologic pH Stimuli. J Am Chem Soc, 2012, 134, 7803-7811. PDF

Yu, H.; Zou, Y.; Wang, Y.; Huang, X.N.; Huang, G.; Sumer, B.D.; Boothman, D.A. Gao, J. Overcoming Endosomal Barrier by Amphotericin B-loaded Dual pH-Responsive PDMA-b-PDPA Micelleplexes for siRNA Delivery. ACS Nano, 2011, 5, 9246-55. PDF

Ding, H.; Yu, H.; Dong, Y.; Tian, R.; Huang, G.; Boothman, D.A.; Sumer, B.D.; Gao, J. Photoactivation Switch from Type II to Type I Reactions by Electron-Rich Micelles for Improved Photodynamic Therapy of Cancer Cells Under Hypoxia. J. Controlled Release. 2011, 156, 276-80. PDF

Ding, H.; Sumer, B.D.; Kessinger, C.W.; Dong, Y. Huang, G., Boothman, D. A. Gao, J. Nanoscopic Micelle Delivery Improves the Photophysical Properties and Efficacy of Photodynamic Therapy of Protoporphyrin IX. J. Controlled Release. 2011, 151, 271-277.PDF