Dr. Xue (Sherry) Gao joined the University of Pennsylvania as an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, with a joint appointment in the Department of Bioengineering, starting in January 2024. Dr. Gao also serves as a core faculty member at Penn’s Center for Precision Engineering for Health. Prior to Penn, Dr. Gao held the position of Ted N. Law Assistant Professor at Rice University in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering from July 2017. The Gao lab research is situated at the interaction of biomolecular engineering, biochemistry, and chemical biology, with a primary focus on small- and macro-molecules for advancements in human health. Dr. Xue Sherry Gao earned her doctoral degree in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles, in 2013. Following her PhD, Dr. Gao pursued postdoctoral research at Harvard University and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. Her academic achievements include receiving the 2024 BMES-CMBE Rising Star Award, the 2022 NSF CAREER AWARD, the 2022 Outstanding Young Faculty at Rice School of Engineering, and the 2020 NIH MIRA R35 AWARD, among others.