Welcome to THE Gao Lab
Our Research
The overarching goal of the Gao lab's research is to understand the functional roles of bone marrow microenvironment in regulating hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) during normal, pre-malignant and malignant hematopoiesis.
Projects
Current projects focus on three general areas:
1) Understand the functions of nociceptive nerves in regulating HSC behavior and blood diseases; 2) Explore the contributions of aged bone marrow microenvironment to age-related blood diseases; 3) Investigate the roles of macrophages in the HSC niche.
Approaches
My laboratory combines in vivo and in vitro approaches, including molecular and cellular techniques, mouse models as well as patients-derived xenotransplantation models. Ultimately, we hope that our research will help inform the development of novel strategies to advance the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of blood disorders.