Research Areas

Research in the Bao lab is centered at developing genome editing, nanotechnology and biomolecular engineering approaches for basic biological studies and medicine, which spans the spectrum from chemical synthesis to small animal and pre-clinical studies. Current methodology development includes CRISPR/Cas9 based genome editing, magnetic nanoparticle heating, superparamagnetic nanoparticle imaging probes, and viral-vector based in vivo gene delivery, with applications in disease detection and therapies, including curing single-gene disorders. The Bao lab also develops novel strategies for drug/gene delivery using targeted nanoparticles, gene editing approaches for enhancing cancer immunotherapy, as well as bioinformatics tools for CRISPR off-target analysis and the next-generation sequencing. The development of the methodologies involves the design, validation and optimization of gene-editing machinery, synthesis of magnetic nanoparticles and nanoclusters, surface modification and bioconjugation, specific tagging and targeting, cellular and in vivo delivery, as well as addressing issues such as sensitivity, specificity, spatial and temporal control of gene-editing, and efficacy and safety in disease treatment. These novel technologies and methods have a broad range of applications, both in basic biological research, and disease studies.