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Dayong Gao PhD

UW Mechanical Engineering, Center for Cryo-Biomedical Engineering and Artificial Organs
Professor and Director

Email: dayong@uw.edu | Phone: 206.685.8047


Dr. Dayong Gao is the ORIGINCELL Endowed Professor of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, the Director of the Center for Cryo-Biomedical Engineering and Artificial Organs, and an Adjunct Professor of the Department of Bioengineering at the University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA. Prior to joining the University of Washington in 2004, Dr. Gao was the Baxter Healthcare Corporation Chair of Engineering, the Alumni Professor of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, and an Adjunct Professor of the Center for Biomedical Engineering and the Departments of Physiology and Surgery at the University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA. His research primarily focuses on (1) cryo-biomedical engineering and fundamental cryobiology: the investigation of mechanisms of critical cryoinjury and cryoprotection to living biomaterials at low temperatures, and the development of optimal methods, novel technology, and precision instruments for long-term cryopreservation-biobanking of living cells, tissues, and organs for applications in regenerative medicine, cellular/gene therapy, tissue engineering, stem cell-organ transplantation, cancer therapy, vaccine and new drug development, disease screening, artificial insemination/in vitro fertilization, and conservation of endangered species, etc., (2) the interdisciplinary science and technology of artificial organs, ranging from membrane and material science to the development of novel portable artificial kidney-liver systems, and (3) bio-instruments and micro-sensors (BioMEMS) for rapid and cost-effective diagnosis of diseases with high sensitivity and specificity.    

Dr. Gao has published over 500 peer-reviewed research articles (including over 250 full journal papers), over 40 scientific book chapters, and many US and international patents. Currently, he serves as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Electronics Cooling and Thermal Control, Deputy Editor of the Biopreservation and Biobanking Journal, and Editorial Board Member of other 9 scientific journals. Dr. Gao has been actively invited as a plenary or keynote speaker, presenting at major conferences, research institutions, and universities worldwide. He has delivered over 200 scientific meeting presentations. He has trained and supervised over 200 graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, visiting professors, and research scientists/technologists. Dr. Gao is a member of numerous professional committees, serving on the national and international panels and review boards. He was the President of the Society for Cryobiology (the International Society for Low Temperature Biology and Medicine).  

Dr. Gao received numerous international/national honors and awards, including the Member of the Washington State Academy of Sciences,  Fellow of AIMBE (American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering), Fellow of ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers), Fellow of the Society for Cryobiology with the Basil J. Luyet Medal, American Heart Association Award, American Cancer Society Award, Asian American Engineer of the Year Award, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Global Health Research Award, Whitaker Foundation Young Investigator Award, Washington Foundation Innovation Award, and International Society for Biological and Environmental Repositories (ISBER) Special Service Award. Most recently, the Dayong Gao Young Investigator Award has been named and established by the Society for Cryobiology to recognize the most outstanding young cryobiologist or cryo-biomedical engineer worldwide, every year from 2019. (https://www.societyforcryobiology.org/dayong-gao-young-investigator-award).