Alex Gao, Ph.D., Joins the Department of Biochemistry

We are happy to announce the hiring of a new assistant professor of biochemistry: Alex Gao, Ph.D.

Dr. Gao did his undergraduate work at Stanford, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and a minor in mathematics. After completing his bachelor’s degree, he stayed at Stanford to complete a master’s degree in electrical engineering. Dr. Gao then moved to MIT for his doctoral training in the Feng Zhang, Ph.D., group at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, followed by an appointment as a Junior Fellow at the Harvard University Society of Fellows.

Dr. Gao studied the mechanisms of CRISPR systems as a Ph.D. student, developing a detailed understanding of Cas9/Cpf1 enzyme specificity. His accomplishments on Cas systems led to several newly engineered Cas proteins with altered specificity, and a new understanding of how Cas proteins achieve specific DNA cleavage.

In his new role as a faculty member at Stanford, Dr. Gao will expand his research focus to understanding bacterial innate immune systems. He will study the diverse strategies that bacteria use to defend themselves against pathogens, and how the systems they use evolved throughout the prokaryotic lineage.

Dr. Gao joined the Department of Biochemistry in the fall of 2022.

For more information (media inquiries only), contact:
Naomi Love
(650) 723-8423
naomi.love@stanford.edu