Xin (Daniel) Gao, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Ophthalmology; Faculty, Integrative Systems Biology and Cellular and Molecular Pathology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Former RTI Lab: Doctoral Candidate, Sontheimer Lab
Training Period: 2014–2019
Prior Academic Degree Institution: Northeastern University
During Dr. Gao's graduate studies, he combined CRISPR’s programmable DNA targeting with engineered ascorbate peroxidase to develop a DNA-locus-specific functional proteomic tool for studying genome biology. As a post-doctoral fellow in Dr. David Liu’s group at the Broad Institute and Harvard University, Dr. Gao pioneered site-specific large gene integration technologies and led several preclinical studies applying precision gene editing to treat a range of genetic diseases, including peroxisome biogenesis disorders, retinitis pigmentosa, and recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa.
Before launching his independent research program at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in 2025, Dr. Gao authored 16 publications, including seven first-author papers in journals such as Nature Methods, Nature Biotechnology, and Nature Biomedical Engineering. His graduate and postdoctoral work has also resulted in seven patent applications, several of which have been licensed by biopharmaceutical companies for cell and gene therapy development, underscoring the translational impact of his research.
Dr. Gao's hope for the future is to identify one treatment that can work for a wide variety of disorders.