Gang Bao

About

Gang Bao is a Foyt Family Professor of Bioengineering, and also holds professorships in Chemistry and Materials Science & NanoEngineering at Rice University. He is a pioneer in nanomedicine, molecular imaging, and genome editing. His laboratory focuses on engineering nanoscale structures and devices with broad applications in understanding disease mechanisms, diagnostics, and treatments, including targeted drug, gene, and cell-based therapies. A major research area involves developing gene correction techniques using DNA-cutting enzymes such as CRISPR/Cas9, TALENs, and ZFNs to address cancer and single-gene disorders like sickle-cell disease. Bao's work also encompasses nanotechnologies for multimodal molecular imaging, sensitive detection of RNA and proteins, and targeted drug delivery. His platform technologies include superparamagnetic nanoparticle probes, quantum dot bioconjugates, and molecular beacons for cellular and in vivo imaging, with applications in disease detection and mechanistic studies. His research integrates collaboration with physician-scientists and clinicians, emphasizing education and cross-training in biology, medicine, and quantitative sciences. Bao has authored over 180 refereed publications, two books, and four book chapters. He co-founded Vivonetics, Inc., a biotechnology company, and holds multiple patents related to nanotechnologies. He is an elected fellow of several professional societies, including the Biomedical Engineering Society, AIMBE,…

Research topics

• Biology
• Genetics
• Computer Science
• Computational biology
• Immunology
• Cancer research
• Molecular biology
• Medicine
• Bioinformatics
• Virology

Selected publications

• AAV-CRISPR Gene Editing Is Negated by Pre-existing Immunity to Cas9

  Molecular Therapy · 2020 · 225 citations

  T cells in the liver. This cytotoxic T cell response was characterized by hepatocyte apoptosis, loss of recombinant AAV genomes, and complete elimination of genome-edited cells, and was followed by compensatory liver regeneration. Our results raise important efficacy and safety concerns for CRISPR-Cas9-based in vivo genome editing in the liver.

  DOI

• Development of β-globin gene correction in human hematopoietic stem cells as a potential durable treatment for sickle cell disease

  Science Translational Medicine · 2021 · 157 citations

  allelic correction in clinical-scale gcHBB-SCD manufacturing. After transplant into immunodeficient NSG mice, 20% gene correction was achieved with multilineage engraftment. The long-term safety, tumorigenicity, and toxicology study demonstrated no evidence of abnormal hematopoiesis, genotoxicity, or tumorigenicity from the engrafted gcHBB-SCD drug product. Together, these preclinical data support the safety, efficacy, and reproducibility of this gene correction strategy for initiation of a phas…

  DOI

• The NIH Somatic Cell Genome Editing program

  Nature · 2021 · 130 citations

  The move from reading to writing the human genome offers new opportunities to improve human health. The United States National Institutes of Health (NIH) Somatic Cell Genome Editing (SCGE) Consortium aims to accelerate the development of safer and more-effective methods to edit the genomes of disease-relevant somatic cells in patients, even in tissues that are difficult to reach. Here we discuss the consortium's plans to develop and benchmark approaches to induce and measure genome modifications…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• CRISPR-based gene editing enables <i>FOXP3</i> gene repair in IPEX patient cells

  Science Advances · 2020 · 113 citations

  ) gene, which plays a critical role in immune regulation. As a monogenic disease, IPEX is an ideal candidate for a therapeutic approach in which autologous hematopoietic stem and progenitor (HSPC) cells or T cells are gene edited ex vivo and reinfused. Here, we describe a CRISPR-based gene correction permitting regulated expression of FOXP3 protein. We demonstrate that gene editing preserves HSPC differentiation potential, and that edited regulatory and effector T cells maintain their in vitro p…

  DOI

• Tools for experimental and computational analyses of off-target editing by programmable nucleases

  Nature Protocols · 2020 · 97 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding
  DOI

Recent grants

• NIH Grant R42CA103103

  NIH · $1.7M · 2010

• HBB gene-editing for treating sickle cell disease

  NIH · $2.5M · 2020–2024

• Addressing safety issues by quantify large deletions and chromosomal rearrangements in HBB gene editing

  NIH · $1.2M · 2020–2023

Frequent coauthors

• Ciaran M. Lee

  National University of Ireland

  103 shared

• Sheng Tong

  Nanchang University

  72 shared

• Thomas J. Cradick

  53 shared

• B.M. Wile

  53 shared

• Zhong Lin Wang

  Georgia Institute of Technology

  50 shared

• Mary B. Wagner

  Wagner College

  44 shared

• Nitin Nitin

  41 shared

• Jun Zhou

  41 shared

Labs

• Bao LabPI

  Our Team

Awards & honors

• Outstanding Achievement in Research Program Development Awar…
• Outstanding Achievement in Research Program Development Awar…
• Sigma Xi Best Paper Award, Georgia Tech Sigma Xi Chapter (20…
• Plenary Lecturer, 12th International Conference on Biomedica…
• Cutting Edge Research Award, Georgia Institute of Technology…

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