Dr. Gao is a program director in DMHE/NIAAA. He graduated from the Henan Medical University in China and earned his M.D. degree and Master Degree in Pharmacology. Prior to joining NIAAA, Dr. Gao had been a faculty member at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and a senior research fellow at NIH. His research was focused on human hematopoietic stem cells and gene therapy. Dr. Gao is now overseeing a portfolio on alcohol-associated hepatitis and pancreatitis, alcohol related cancers, stem cells, nutrition factors with alcohol abuse, and hepatic encephalopathy. He also earned an MBA degree from the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School.