Xiang Gao is interested in understanding the pathogenesis of enteric bacterial pathogens. In graduate school, Xiang was trained as a structural biologist. He used various structural and biochemical methodologies to answer the question of how enteric bacterial pathogens such as enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EPEC) and Salmonella survive in the extremely acidic (pH 2-3) environment of the stomach before entering the small intestines.

After his graduate studies, Dr. Gao wanted to broaden his understanding of enteric bacterial pathogens. As a postdoctoral fellow, he studied the typhoid toxin, which is a unique virulence factor of the human pathogen Salmonella typhi. Xiang determined the atomic structure of the typhoid toxin, the first of the A2B5 bacterial toxin architecture. The structure unveiled that the intermolecular disulfide bond links two A subunits together to ensure their simultaneous delivery to target cells. Xiang and his collaborators also identified the glycan binding preferences of the typhoid toxin and shed light on the mechanistic bases of Salmonella typhi host specificity.

With the detailed atomic information from these studies in-hand, Xiang intends to pursue the identification of small molecules aimed at blocking the sugar-typhoid toxin interaction, a strategy to reduce the severity of typhoid fever. In addition, to further understand the role of typhoid toxin in disease, he will examine by in vitro and animal models the mechanisms of toxin entry, disassembly, and trafficking.

Research Interests
The human body is colonized by tons of microbes, collectively referred to as human microbiota. More and more studies show that these microbes have very closed connection to human health.Thehuman gutis considered to be the largest interface between the host and microbes. And it has the densest microbe population in the human body. Our understanding of the link between the human gut microbes and disease, including obesity, inflammatory bowel disease, arthritis and autism, is rapidly expanding. However, most studies in this field draw conclusions based only on correlations. In my lab, we aim to understand the mechanisms of interaction between the microbiota, pathogens and the host within the human gut through combining multiple approaches. This will help us to understand the mechanisms that connect human gut microbes and human health, thereby providing insights into Microbiome Therapeutics, new therapeutic strategies to keep us healthy.

Research Projects
1. 2018-2022, The functional study on Salmonella effector protein SopD family and the optimization of animal model for human pathogen Salmonella Typhi, National natural science foundation of China (31770143)
2. 2017-2022，Recruitment Program of Global Experts
3. 2017-2022，Taishan Young Scholar

Honors and awards

2017: Recruitment Program of Global Experts, Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee

2015: Blavatnik Regional Award Finalist, Blavatnik Family Foundation and New York Academy of Sciences

2014: James Hudson Brown - Alexander B. Coxe Fellowship, Yale University

2011: The Ray Wu Prize for Excellence in Life Sciences, Ray Wu Memorial Fund

2010: Selected to attend the 60th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings, The Sino-German Center

2010: Top Graduate Scholarship, Tsinghua University

Professional Activities:

2016: Invited talk, Blavatnik Science Symposium, Jul., New York, USA

2011: Invited talk, as the awardee and student representative at Ray Wu Symposium, Oct., Shanghai, China

2010: Poster, Membrane Proteins: Structure & Function, Cold Spring Harbor Asia Conference, May, Suzhou, China

2010: 60th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings,Jul., Lindau, Germany

2009:Invited talk, 21st IUBMB & 12th FAOBMB, International Congress of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Aug., Shanghai, China