Gao Guo, DDS., MSD, Ph.D., Principal Investigator
Dr. Gao Guo is an assistant professor in the Department of Neurosurgery at UAB. He received his Ph.D. in biochemistry at the Free University of Berlin, Berlin, Germany. He started his first postdoctoral training in 2012 at the UCLA School of Dentistry. In 2014, he began his second postdoctoral training in the Department of Neurology at the UT Southwestern Medical Center, and subsequently became an instructor and research assistant professor within the same department.
Dr. Guo established his independent laboratory at UAB in January 2024. His research interests focus on elucidating the mechanisms of receptor tyrosine kinases in invasion and drug resistance of glioblastoma (GBM), with a specific focus on EGFR signaling. He is also interested in understanding how kinase signaling pathways shape the tumor microenvironment in GBM. His lab employs advanced molecular techniques to characterize the signaling pathways in both preclinical mouse models and human glioma tissues. He is committed to applying his research findings to develop novel therapeutic strategies that may be useful in the treatment for brain tumors.
Outside of his work, he enjoys reading thrillers, watching sports, and running.
Ryan Bash, Lab Manager
Ryan obtained his master’s degree in genetics and molecular biology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is an awesome rock climber, snowboarder, and dog/cat dad.
Fatima Jimenez, Student Assistant
Fatima is a first-generation biomedical sciences major in her second year at UAB. She hopes this experience will help her on her journey to contribute to increasing the low number of Latina doctors in the U.S. Although She loves the sciences, and winds down by painting, crocheting, and doing anything related to the arts.
McKenna Killets, Administrative Support
McKenna completed her B.S. degree in biomedical sciences at UAB. During her undergraduate time, she served as a resident assistant and was involved with Universities Fighting World Hunger. After undergrad, she served in AmeriCorps at non-profit sites committed to providing educational resources to underserved communities. She currently is a clinical research administrator II assisting the Guo Lab and other Department of Neurosurgery labs.
