Pu Gao

Biography

2016- present Professor, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences 2011-2016 Research Fellow/Research Associate, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center 2005-2011 Ph.D., Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences 2001-2005 B.S., Shandong University 2016- present Professor, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences 2011-2016 Research Fellow/Research Associate, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center 2005-2011 Ph.D., Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences 2001-2005 B.S., Shandong University

Research Interest

The major research interest in our group is the structural immunology. By using a combined approach including structural biology, biochemistry, and cellular biology, we are trying to understand the molecular mechanisms of infection and immunity and design small molecular drugs. In the recent five years, we have been focusing on the cytosolic DNA sensing pathway. The major contributions to the field are: 1) Revealed the molecular mechanism underlying DNA recognition by the cytosolic DNA receptor cGAS and identified a new cyclic dinucleotide second messenger 2'3'-cGAMP containing mixed 2'5' and 3'5' phosphodiester linkages (Cell, 2013, 153:1094-107); 2) Uncovered the molecular mechanism of STING activation by 2'3'-cGAMP (Cell, 2013, 154:748-62); 3) Found the mechanism of species selectivity by anti-cancer drug DMXAA and proposed a clear strategy for further drug modification (Cell Reports, 2014, 8:1668-76). We are also interested in the structural basis and molecular mechanism underlying the host-pathogen interaction.