Xiaolian Gao
University of Houston, USA
Biography
Xiaolian Gao is professor of Biology and Biochemistry at University of Houston. Her major research interests are related to large scale biology. Her lab uses chemical and biophysical methods in combination to address questions of biomolecules concerning how their structures, molecular dynamics, intermolecular interactions, and molecular recognition play roles in biological processes. In synthetic biology, she has led projects of miniaturized parallel production using digital photochemistry for programmable oligonucleotide synthesis on microchips, which was now advanced to become a revolutionary technology for massive production of oligonucleotides that fulfill the needs of rapid progress of today’s DNA technologies, including gene/genome synthesis, sequencing of the various nucleic acid molecules. In a recent report, collaborators and students of Dr. Gao has established robust laboratory work flow for accurate multiplex gene synthesis [reported in Science Reports “High-fidelity de novo synthesis of pathways using microchip-synthesized oligonucleotides and general molecular biology equipment” (2017) in print.. Dr.Gao is also a proficient structural biologist for using NMR methods to elucidate structures of ligand-DNA complexes.