About

Yang Gao is an Assistant Professor in Cancer Biology & Genetics at The Ohio State University, affiliated with the Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology Program. Her research focuses on studying the tumor ecosystem, with particular emphasis on the heterogeneity of the immune landscape, mechanisms of therapeutic resistance, and the role of tumor–host interactions in cancer metastasis. Her work aims to uncover why treatment resistance and distant recurrence occur in solid tumors, especially breast cancer. Her laboratory has made significant contributions by demonstrating how myeloid cell heterogeneity contributes to immunotherapy resistance and revealing how the bone microenvironment influences breast cancer bone metastasis. Current projects in her lab involve exploring how neutrophil interferon-stimulated genes regulate the tumor immune microenvironment and response to immunotherapy, mapping immunosuppressive ecosystems that support breast cancer metastasis in major organs, and identifying mechanisms driving therapeutic resistance in metastatic disease. To achieve these goals, her team employs advanced technologies such as spatial transcriptomics, single-cell multi-omics, tumor immunology, and in vivo genetically engineered mouse models. Her research strives to generate insights that will translate into better therapies and improved outcomes for patients.

Research topics

• Composite material
• Materials science
• Metallurgy
• Condensed matter physics
• Nanotechnology
• Crystallography
• Thermodynamics

Selected publications

• VLA-4 agonist promotes engraftment and immune reconstitution of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cells

  Blood Advances · 2026-02-27

  articleOpen access

  ABSTRACT: Full engraftment and early immune reconstitution of donor hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) after allogeneic HSC transplantation (allo-HSCT) are crucial. However, effective and safe clinical modality remains lacking. Here, very late antigen-4 (VLA-4) was identified as a pivotal target for HSC engraftment, and one of its agonists was identified, which significantly promotes donor HSC engraftment and long-term hematopoietic reconstitution by enhancing its self-renewal capacity in allogeneic transplantation and serial xenotransplantation mouse models. Furthermore, the VLA-4 agonist facilitated early immune reconstitution by augmenting T-cell differentiation from HSCs, with the reconstituted immune cells exhibiting potent antiviral effects without exacerbating acute graft-versus-host disease. Mechanistically, VLA-4 A2 activated extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 phosphorylation to regulate HSC function and lymphoid progenitor differentiation, without inducing leukemogenic gene expression. These findings underscore the significant clinical translational potential of the VLA-4 agonist in promoting HSC engraftment and early cellular immune reconstitution after allo-HSCT.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Topological defect analysis and phase field study of disclination-assisted twin-grain boundary reactions in HCP-Ti polycrystals

  International Journal of Plasticity · 2026-01-21

  articleCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• A 2.7 kV AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistor with an anti-parallel low turn-on voltage GaN Schottky barrier diode

  Applied Physics Letters · 2026-03-16

  article

  In this work, AlGaN/GaN reverse conduction HEMTs (RC-HEMTs) integrated with anti-parallel Schottky barrier diodes (SBDs) are demonstrated. Benefiting from the idealized Schottky interface of AlGaN/GaN SBDs with recessed anode, which enables direct contact between GaN channel and anode metal, low reverse turn-on voltage (VR-T) of −0.75 V and high ION/IOFF ratio of 8.5 × 107 are obtained. Based on the randomly measured 100 RC-HEMTs with LGD of 15 μm, ultra-high VR-T uniformity with standard deviation of 18 mV and forward on-resistance (RON) uniformity with standard deviation of 0.3 Ω mm are calculated, respectively. Furthermore, the breakdown voltage of the fabricated AlGaN/GaN RC-HEMT with a 30-μm LGD can reach 2.7 kV, which shows great promise for medium-voltage power applications.

  PublisherDOI

• Temperature dependent resistivity changes of YTaO4-based ceramics

  Ceramics International · 2026-02-24

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Δ E effect-enabled optomechanical magnetometers for DC magnetic field detection

  Applied Physics Letters · 2026-02-23

  article1st authorCorresponding

  The detection of direct current (DC) magnetic fields is essential for applications including space exploration, marine monitoring, and seismic study. In this work, we demonstrate a cavity optomechanical magnetometer for DC magnetic field sensing, which integrates a magnetostrictive FeGaB thin film on a SiO2 microdisk resonator. By leveraging the ΔE effect in FeGaB, where an external magnetic field modulates the material's Young's modulus, the magnetometer achieves a minimum detectable DC magnetic field of 598 pT at a bias field of 3.1 mT. This sensitivity represents an improvement of nearly two orders of magnitude over previous optical microcavity-based devices. Furthermore, we experimentally demonstrate its capability to detect time-varying DC magnetic fields. The device operates at room temperature and offers advantages in compactness and mass-producibility, indicating potential for military surveillance, geological surveys, and pre-seismic phenomena study.

  PublisherDOI

• Regional Sensitivity Analysis for Multi-Performance Optimization of Rural Dwellings: A Case Study in Tianjin

  E3S Web of Conferences · 2026-01-01

  articleOpen access

  With the advancement of building energy efficiency simulation technology, sensitivity analysis has become increasingly important in optimizing architectural design. This study examines typical rural dwellings in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region, using Regional Sensitivity Analysis (RSA) to assess how design parameters affect energy consumption, carbon emissions, costs, and thermal comfort. Eleven parameters were analyzed through 1,000 simulations, including insulation type, envelope geometry, and photovoltaic configuration. Eave depth showed the highest sensitivity for all metrics, while roof insulation thickness and PV panel angle strongly influenced thermal performance and cost. The study also applies an RSA workflow to mixed continuous and categorical variables, with binning adjustment improving sensitivity results for discrete parameters. Based on sensitivity findings, differentiated optimization strategies were proposed: prioritizing passive shading and roof insulation for comfort optimization, while focusing on PV system scale for carbon emission and cost control. This study provides quantifiable evidence for low-carbon, efficient, and comfortable design in rural buildings.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Static, dynamic, and tunneling fingerprints of antiferromagnetism in layered <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:msub> <mml:mi>NiCl</mml:mi> <mml:mn>2</mml:mn> </mml:msub> </mml:math>

  Physical review. B./Physical review. B · 2026-02-19

  articleOpen access

  The recent surge of interest in magnetism in van der Waals (vdW) crystals has opened opportunities for exploring antiferromagnetic order and spin dynamics in the two-dimensional limit. Here, we present a comprehensive study of the layered antiferromagnetic NiCl₂, combining static magnetization, broadband microwave absorption spectroscopy, and tunneling transport measurements. Despite early studies of bulk NiCl₂, our systematic approach provides a modern reexamination of its magnetic properties with several new insights. We find nearly identical in-plane and out-of-plane saturation fields once demagnetization corrections are applied, as well as a pronounced spin-flop transition at low fields. The Néel transition temperature (_N) shows minimal anisotropy at low fields but undergoes a distinct crossover between in-plane and out-of-plane field orientations at high fields. Spin resonance experiments reveal strongly anisotropic behavior: robust in-plane antiferromagnetic resonance modes are observed over a broad gigahertz frequency and temperature range, while out-of-plane measurements show suppressed response near _N. This enables the extraction of the effective factor across a wide temperature window. Furthermore, tunneling magnetoconductance through a thin NiCl₂ flake barrier exhibits field-enhanced transmission with clear signatures of the spin-flop and saturation fields. Our findings establish NiCl₂ as a model vdW antiferromagnet for studying the interplay of static order, spin dynamics, and tunneling transport, highlighting its potential for future applications in two-dimensional spintronics. © 2026 American Physical Society

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• A 3D Non‐Stationary Wideband GBSM for Low‐Altitude UAV Channels in Rail Environments

  IET Microwaves Antennas & Propagation · 2026-01-01

  articleOpen access

  ABSTRACT In recent years, low‐altitude unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have attracted more and more attention across various fields. Accurate channel modelling is critical for the design and performance evaluation of low‐altitude UAV communication systems, making it an emerging research hotspot. This paper presents a three‐dimensional (3D) wideband non‐stationary Geometry‐Based Stochastic Channel Model (GBSM) for low‐altitude UAV communications. Distinct from existing modelling frameworks, the proposed model integrates air‐to‐air (A2A) and air‐to‐ground (A2G) scenarios into a generalised channel model. Moreover, a two‐state continuous‐time Markov process is employed to characterise the dynamic behaviours of scattering cluster birth and death. And key statistical properties, including space‐time‐frequency correlation and Doppler power spectral density (DPSD), are derived to quantify the channel model. To address computational complexity challenges, a corresponding simulation model is further developed. Simulation results verify that the proposed model effectively captures the channel behaviours of low‐altitude UAV communication systems.

  PublisherDOI

• Split technology in CRISPR-Cas system for precision genome manipulation and diagnostics

  TrAC Trends in Analytical Chemistry · 2026-02-16

  article1st author
  PublisherDOI

• Meteorology-Enhanced Deformation Forecasting for Sea-Crossing Megastructures: An STL-ARIMAX Hybrid Model Integrating PS-InSAR and Multi-Station Weather Data (Case Study: Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge)

  SSRN Electronic Journal · 2026-01-01

  preprintOpen access
  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Hui‐Yuan Wang

  Wuhan University

  88 shared

• Min Zha

  39 shared

• Hai-Long Jia

  Jilin University

  34 shared

• Yunzhi Wang

  The Ohio State University

  32 shared

• Zhen-Ming Hua

  Hebei University of Technology

  30 shared

• Min Zha

  Jilin University

  29 shared

• Yongfeng Zhang

  22 shared

• Dong Wang

  Xi'an Jiaotong University

  20 shared

Labs

• Gao LabPI

Education

• Ph.D., Materials Science and Engineering

  The Ohio State University

  2013