Contact Information
E-mail: ygao387@ustc.edu.cn
Phone: +86 551-63362918 (Office); +86 18156501701 (Mobile)
Research Focus (Recruitment Fields) and Content
Virology
1. Research on the variation and diversity of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)
2. Research on the mechanisms of HIV drug resistance
3. Research on the variation and diversity of SARS-CoV-2
Immunology
1. Development of multivalent HIV vaccines
2. Development of multivalent SARS-CoV-2 vaccines
3. Screening and identification of neutralizing antibodies
4. Research on strategies for HIV cure
Professional Titles and Positions
- Ph.D. Supervisor
- Researcher
- Deputy Director of the Infectious Diseases Hospital, First Affiliated Hospital of the University of Science and Technology of China
- Executive Deputy Director of Anhui Provincial AIDS Treatment Center
- Adjunct Professor at Western University, Canada
Education and Work Experience
- 1986-1991: Bachelor’s in Medicine, Anhui Medical University
- 1995-1998: Master’s in Infectious Diseases, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology
- 1998-2001: Ph.D. in Infectious Diseases, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology
- 2001-2006: Postdoctoral Fellow in Infectious Diseases, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, USA
- 2007-2009: Lecturer in the Department of Infectious Diseases, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, USA
- 2010-2015: Assistant Professor in the Department of Microbiology and Molecular Biology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, USA
- 2010-2015: Assistant Professor in the Department of Infectious Diseases, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, USA
- 2015-2019: Assistant Professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University, Canada
- 2019-present: Executive Deputy Director, Anhui Provincial AIDS Treatment Center
- 2019-present: Adjunct Professor, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University, Canada
- 2019-present: Researcher and Deputy Director for Scientific Research, Infectious Diseases Hospital, First Affiliated Hospital of the University of Science and Technology of China
Academic Achievements and Impact
Dr. Gao has dedicated over 20 years to basic and clinical research in virology and immunology, mentoring nearly 20 Ph.D. and Master’s students. He has led over 20 projects funded by the NIH, CIHR, and other prestigious institutions, including emergency projects on COVID-19 by the Chinese Academy of Sciences and key HIV projects in Anhui Province. He holds several academic positions, including:
- Board Member of the Chinese Association of STD and AIDS
- Vice President of the Infectious Diseases Branch of the Chinese Medical Association (CMA) for Overseas Students
- Member of the National Health Commission's HIV Specialty Committee
- Director of the Infectious Diseases Prevention and Control Committee, Anhui Provincial Preventive Medicine Association
- Member of various other national and provincial committees related to infectious diseases, AIDS, and virology
Dr. Gao has published over 70 SCI papers in journals such as Frontiers in Immunology, Journal of Virology, Journal of Molecular Virology, Cell: Host & Microbe, and Nucleic Acids Research, with approximately 600 citations.
Current Projects (Main Responsibilities Only)
| Project Title | Source | Funding (10,000 RMB) | Duration |
| Investigation of virus characteristics and immune responses in COVID-19 re-positive patients | CAS Clinical Research Emergency Project | 40 | 2020-05 to 2021-05 |
| Study on the clearance of latent HIV-1 using autologous multivalent vaccines combined with CD71 antibodies | Anhui Provincial Key Research and Development Program | 30 | 2019-01 to 2021-06 |
| New SERS technology for rapid detection of SARS-CoV-2 activity and multiple pathogens | Anhui Provincial Key Research and Development Program | 30 | 2021-01 to 2022-12 |
| Preliminary exploration of different S protein trimers as multivalent SARS-CoV-2 vaccines | Anhui Provincial Key Research and Development Program | 30 | 2021-01 to 2022-12 |
Research Content
Dr. Gao's research focuses on the basic and clinical aspects of viral diseases such as AIDS and COVID-19, including viral recombination, diversity, drug resistance, vaccines, and antibodies.
Representative Publications (Last Five Years) ( * Corresponding Author)
1. Weihong Zeng, Huan Ma, Chengchao Ding, Yunru Yang, Yong Sun, Xiaoxue Huang, Weihuang He, Yan Xiang, Yong Gao, Tengchuan Jin. Characterization of SARS-CoV-2 Specific Antibodies in COVID-19 Patients Reveals Highly Potent Neutralizing IgA. Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy. 2021; 6: 35.
2. Klein K, Nankya I, Nickel G, Ratcliff AN, Meadows AAJ, Hathaway N, Bailey JA, Stieh DJ, Cheeseman HM, Carias AM, Lobritz MA, Mann JFS, Yong Gao, Hope TJ, Shattock RJ, Arts EJ. Deep gene sequence cluster analyses of multi-virus infected mucosal tissue reveal enhanced transmission of acute HIV-1. J Virol. 2020 Nov 11:JVI.01737-20.
3. Yin Ming, Yang Yun, Gao Yong. Clinical Guidance Significance of the 'Diagnosis and Treatment Protocol for Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia (Trial Version 8)'. Tropical Diseases and Parasitology, 2020, Vol. 18, No. 4: 243-246, 206.
4. Jamie F.S. Mannb, Joshua Pankrac, Katja Klein, Paul F. McKay, Deborah F.L. King, Richard Gibson, Chanuka N. Wijewardhana, Rahul Pawa, Jodi Meyerowitz, Yong Gao, David H. Canaday, Mariano Avino, Art F.Y. Poon, Caroline Foster, Sarah Fidler, Robin J. Shattock, Eric J. Arts. A targeted reactivation of latent HIV-1 using an activator vector in patient samples from acute infection. 2020 July 4, 16:34.
5. Zonghao Zhao, Jiajia Xie, Ming Yin, Yun Yang, Chengchao Ding, Yong Gao, Xiaoling Ma. Interleukin-6 and Severity of COVID-19 Patients in Hefei, China. MÉDECINE ET MALADIES INFECTIEUSES. 2020 Jun 25:S0399-077X(20)30154-2.
6. Zeng W, Liu G, Ma H, Zhao D, Yang Y, Liu M, Mohammed A, Zhao C, Yang Y, Xie J, Ding C, Ma X, Weng J, Yong Gao, He H, Jin T. Biochemical Characterization of SARS-CoV-2 Nucleocapsid Protein. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2020 Apr 30; S0006-291X(20)30876-7.
7. Xie J, Ding C, Li J, Wang Y, Guo H, Lu Z, Wang J, Zheng C, Jin T, Yong Gao, He H. Characteristics of patients with coronavirus disease (COVID-19) confirmed using an IgM-IgG antibody test. J Med Virol. 2020 Apr 24
8. Qi J, Ding C, Jiang X, Yong Gao. Advances in Developing CAR T-Cell Therapy for HIV Cure. Frontiers in Immunology. 2020 Mar 10;11:361. .
9. Siddiqui S, Perez S, Yong Gao, Doyle-Meyers L, Foley BT, Li Q, Ling B. Persistent Viral Reservoirs in Lymphoid Tissues in SIV-Infected Rhesus Macaques of Chinese-Origin on Suppressive Antiretroviral Therapy. Viruses. 2019 Jan 27;11(2).
10. Paparisto E, Woods MW, Coleman MD, Moghadasi SA, Kochar DS, Tom SK, Kohio HP, Gibson RM, Rohringer TJ, Hunt NR, Di Gravio EJ, Zhang JY, Tian M, Yong Gao, Arts EJ, Barr SD. Evolution-guided structural and functional analyses of the HERC family reveals an ancient marine origin and determinants of antiviral activity. J Virol. 2018 Apr 18. pii: JVI.00528-18.
11. Yong Gao, McKay PF, Mann JFS. Advances in HIV-1 Vaccine Development. Viruses. 2018 Apr 1;10(4).
12. Yong Gao, Wijewardhana C, and Mann JFS. Nanoparticle based vaccines against HIV. Frontiers in Immunology. 2018 Feb 28; 9:345.
13. Pankrac J, Klein K, McKay PF, King DFL, Bain K, Knapp J, Biru T, Wijewardhana CN, Pawa R, Canaday DH, Yong Gao, Fidler S, Shattock RJ, Arts EJ, Mann JFS. A heterogeneous virus like particle (VLP) formulation produced by a novel vector system. NPJ Vaccines. 2018 Jan 19; 3:2.
14. Yousuf Ahmed, Meijuan Tian, Yong Gao. Development of an anti-HIV vaccine eliciting broadly neutralizing antibodies. AIDS Research and Therapy. 2017. 14(1):50.
15. C. Yong Kang, Yong Gao. Killed Whole-HIV Vaccine: A New Approach for HIV Vaccine Development Employing One of Well Established Strategies for Antiviral Vaccines. AIDS Research and Therapy. 2017. 14(1):47 Review.
16. Tingting Li, Feng Qian, Ting Yuan, Weilu Xu, Li Zhu, Jinlong Huang, Haiyan Wang, Yueping Zhu, Yinling Wang, Xiaohong Li, Saihong Gu, Zhuqing Tan, Hui Chen, Xiangrong Luo, Wei Zhu, Wenjuan Lu, Ping Xu, Ming Li, YuYing Chen, Yong Gao, Rongge Yang, Chuanwu Zhu, Binlian Sun. Drug resistance mutation profiles of the drug-naïve and first-line regimen-treated HIV-1-infected population of Suzhou, China. VIROLOGICA SINIC. 2017 Aug;32(4):271-279.
17. Bagaya BS, Tian M, Nickel GC, Vega JF, Li Y, He P, Klein K, Mann JFS, Jiang W, Arts EJ, Yong Gao. An in vitro Model to Mimic Selection of Replication-competent HIV-1 Intersubtype Recombination in Dual or Superinfected Patients. J Mol Biol. 2017 May 1; 2836 (17):30192-4.
18. Mohammed Asmal, Sophie Lane, Meijuan Tian, Gabrielle Nickle, Colin Venner, Brennan Dirk, Jimmy Dikeakos, Corinne Luedemann, Linh Mach, Harikrishnan Balachandran, Adam Buzby, Srinivas Rao, Norman Letvin, Yong Gao, and Eric J. Arts. ¬Pathogenic infection of Rhesus macaques by an evolving SIV-HIV derived from CCR5-using envelope genes of acute HIV-1 infections. Virology. Virology. 2016 Dec; 499:298-312.
19. Eunsil Choi, Chad J. Michalski, Seung Ho Choo, Gyoung Nyoun Kim, Elizabeth Banasikowska, Sangkyun Lee, Kunyu Wu, Hwa-Yong An, Anthony Mills, Stefan Schneider, U. Fritz Bredeek, Daniel R. Coulston, Shilei Ding, Andrés Finzi, Meijuan Tian, Katja Klein, Eric J Arts, Jamie F.S. Mann, Yong Gao, and C. Yong Kang. Demonstrated safety of a Phase 1 Clinical Trial with a Killed, Whole-HIV vaccine results in enhanced anti-HIV antibody responses in humans. Retrovirology. 2016 Nov 28;13(1):82.
20. Kendall C. Krebs, Mohammed Asmal, Binhua Ling, Kenneth Nelson, Kenneth Henry, Richard Gibson Yuejin Li, Meijuan Tian, Weining Han, Robin J. Shattock, Ronald S. Veazey, Norman Letvin, Eric J. Arts and Yong Gao. Macaque infection by one virus clone from a pool of diverse SHIVenv derived 1 from acute HIV-1 infections is not related to a defined phenotypic property. AIDS Research and Therapy. 2016 Nov 25;13(1):41