Gao Research Group @ Caltech
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Welcome to the Gao Research Group at Caltech!

The Gao Research Group at the California Institute of Technology is a highly interdisciplinary research team devoted to developing versatile bioelectronic devices for fundamental and applied biomedical studies. Our research thrusts include fundamental materials and chemistry innovations as well as important device and system level applications toward personalized and precision medicine. We create and apply innovative devices to understand complex biological systems. Some examples of our devices include wearable/portable biosensors that perform real-time health monitoring and clinical assessment, and medical micro/nanorobots that offer the therapeutic capability of rapid drug delivery and precision surgery. 

Lab Openings

We always welcome talented postdoctoral and graduate candidates. Caltech graduate students from any related program (including MedE, EE, BioE, APhMS, ME, ChemE, Chem, and others) interested in research opportunities with the laboratory should contact Prof. Gao for an appointment to discuss available projects. Graduate candidates at all other universities are welcome to contact Prof. Gao and need to apply for admission to Caltech. We always welcome dedicated undergraduate researchers for research during the school year or in the summer (through SURF, WAVE and Amgen Scholars programs). Interested students are encouraged to contact Prof. Gao.

Contact us

Dr. Wei Gao
Office: 
139 Keck Laboratory
Address: 1200 E California Blvd, Pasadena, CA 91125, MC 138-78
Email: weigao@caltech.edu
Tel: (626) 395-2958
For Research Group Matters 
Catherine Pichotta 
207 Keck Laboratory

Tel: ​(626) 395-1970 
Email: pichotta@caltech.edu

Recent publications led by the Gao Group at Caltech

H. Lukas, C. Xu, Y. Yu, W. Gao*, Emerging Telemedicine Tools for Remote COVID-19 Diagnosis, Monitoring, and Management, ACS Nano, 2020, 14, 16180-16193.

J. Tu, W. Gao*, Spray-on Magnetic Skin for Robotic Actuation, Science Robotics, 2020, 5, eabf1390.


R. M. Torrente-Rodríguez, H. Lukas, J. Tu, J. Min, Y. Yang, C. Xu, H. B. Rossiter, W. Gao*, SARS-CoV-2 RapidPlex: A Graphene-based Multiplexed Telemedicine Platform for Rapid and Low-Cost COVID-19 Diagnosis and Monitoring, Matter, 2020, 3, 1981-1998. 

Y. Song, J. Min, Y. Yu, H. Wang, Y. Yang, H. Zhang, W. Gao*, Wireless Battery-free Wearable Sweat Sensor Powered by Human Motion, Science Advances, 2020, 6, eaay9842.

Z. Wu, Y. Chen, D. Mukasa, O. S. Pak, W. Gao*, Medical Micro/Nanorobots in Complex Media, Chemical Society Review, 2020, 49, 8088-8112. 

Y. Yu, J. Nassar, C. Xu, J. Min, Y. Yang, A. Dai, R. Doshi, A. Huang, Y. Song, R. Gehlhar, A. D. Ames, W. Gao*, Biofuel-powered Soft Electronic Skin with Multiplexed and Wireless Sensing for Human-Machine Interfaces, Science Robotics, 2020, 5, eaaz7946.

C. Xu, Y. Yang, W. Gao*, Skin-interfaced Sensors in Digital Medicine: from Materials to Applications, Matter, 2020, 2, 2, 1414-1445.

C. Xu, W. Gao*, Motile Microelectronics with Wireless Power, Nature Electronics, 2020, 3, 139-140.

R. M. Torrente-Rodríguez, J. Tu, Y. Yang, J. Min, M. Wang, Y. Song, Y. Yu, C. Xu, C. Ye, W. W. IsHak, W. Gao*, Investigation of Cortisol Dynamics in Human Sweat Using a Graphene-Based Wireless mHealth System, Matter, 2020, 2, 921-937.

Y. Yang, Y. Song, X. Bo, J. Min, O. S. Pak, L. Zhu, M. Wang, J. Tu, A. Kogan, H. Zhang, T. K. Hsiai, Z. Li, W. Gao*, A Laser-Engraved Wearable Sensor for Sensitive Detection of Uric Acid and Tyrosine in Sweat, Nature Biotechnology, 2020, 38, 217-224.

J. Tu,  R. M. Torrente-Rodríguez, M. Wang, W. Gao*, The Era of Digital Health: A Review of Portable and Wearable Affinity Biosensors. Advanced Functional Materials, 2020, 30, 1906713.

Z. Wu, L. Li, Y. Yang, P. Hu, Y. Li, S.-Y. Yang, L. V. Wang, W. Gao*, A Microrobotic System Guided by Photoacoustic Computed Tomography for Targeted Navigation in Intestines In Vivo, Science Robotics, 2019, 4, eaax0613.

Y. Song, J. Min, W. Gao*, Wearable and Implantable Electronics: Moving Toward Precision Therapy. ACS Nano, 2019, 13, 12280-12286.


J. Min, Y. Yang, Z. Wu, W. Gao*, Robotics in the Gut, Advanced Therapeutics, 2020, 3, 1900125.

Y. Yang, W. Gao*, Wearable and Flexible Electronics for Continuous Molecular Monitoring, Chemical Society Review, 2019,  48, 1465-1491. 

Y. Yang, W. Gao*, Wearable pH Sensing Beyond the Nernst Limit, Nature Electronics, 2018, 1, 580-581.

Recent Group News

Mar, Congrats to our graduate student Daniel for receiving the KNI Catalyst Award. Link
Mar, Congrats to our graduate student Daniel and incoming graduate student Jose (our former Caltech WAVE fellow) for receiving the NSF Graduate Research Fellowships! Link
Mar, Wei received 3M Non-Tenured Faculty Award. 
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Feb, Wei was named a 2021 Sloan Fellow. See full list, Caltech News.
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Feb, our invited review on self-powered wearables was accepted to Accounts of Materials Research and selected as ACS Editors' Choice (one per day for ACS portfolio). Congrats to Yu and Daniel! Link
Jan, Wei joined Science Advances Editorial Board as Associate Editor.
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​Year 2020

Dec, two of our works (stress and COVID-19 monitoring) were featured in Caltech's 2020: A Year In Review. 
Dec, our invited perspective on Telemedicine Tools for COVID-19 was published in ACS Nano. Link Congrats to Heather, Changhao and You!
Dec, Congrats to our graduate student Yiran for being selected to Forbes 30 Under 30 in Science. See profile and full list. 
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Nov, our Focus article on magnetic skin for robotic actuation was published in Science Robotics. Cheers to Jiaobing! Link
Nov, Wei is on the 2020 list of Highly Cited Researchers. See full list.
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Oct, our research article on SARS-CoV-2 RapidPlex for COVID-19 Diagnosis was published in Cell Press journal Matter. Congrats to Rebeca and Heather! Link
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Highlighted in Caltech News, BBC, Fast Company, CGTV, The Engineer, Forbes. Featured on Journal Cover.
See Preview by Prof. Wei Tao at Harvard.
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Sep, our research article on human motion powered wearable sensor was published in Science Advances. Congrats to Yu and Jihong!  Link
Highlighted in Caltech News, Phys.Org.
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Aug, Congrats to our graduate student Yiran for winning a first-tier Baxter Young Investigator Award. Link
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Aug, Wei was elevated to IEEE Senior Member. 
Aug, we were featured by the Kavli Foundation. Link
Jul, Wei received MINE 2020 Young Scientist Award (by Nature Research journal - Microsystems & Nanoengineering). 
Jun, Wei received 2020 IEEE EMBS Early Career Achievement Award. See past award winners (one per year since 1986). 
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Jun, our invited paper on Medical Micro/Nanorobots was accepted by Chemical Society Review in its 2020 Emerging Investigator Issue (biannual). Congrats, Zhiguang and Daniel! Link; See the Issue.
Jun, our invited review on skin-interfaced sensors in digital medicine was published in Matter. Congrats to Changhao and Yiran! Link
May, Wei was selected as a World Economic Forum Young Scientist (Class of 2020). See press release; See Class 2020 Brochure.
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May, congrats to Yiran for winning 2020 CESASC Scholarship Award.
Apr, our research article on biofuel-powered e-skin was accepted by Science Robotics. Congrats to You and other coauthors! Link
Editor's Research Highlight in Nature Electronics. Link
See The Conversation by Wei.
Highlighted in Caltech News, Yahoo News, The Engineer, CNET, Inside Science, SF Gate, and many more.
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Apr, Daniel was highlighted on Caltech Magazine. Link
Apr, our work was featured on Caltech Magazine. See Science of Sweat. It also appears on the Back Cover.
Mar, our collaborative paper on biofuel based energy harvester with Prof. Azita Emami's group won Best Student Paper Award at IEEE CICC conference. Link
The full paper was published in JSSC.
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Mar, our News and Views article on microrobot was published in Nature Electronics. Cheers to Changhao! Link
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Feb, our research article on stress hormone biosensors was published in Matter. Congrats to Rebeca, Jiaobing, and other coauthors! Link
See reports from Caltech News (Video), Xinhua, The Engineer, Science Daily, Yahoo, and more.

Highlighted in Preview article by Professor John A. Rogers. Link
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Feb, our collaborative paper with Prof. Lihong Wang's group on imaging guided microrobot won Best Paper Award in Photons Plus Ultrasound Conference, Photonics West.
Year 2019
Dec, congrats to our postdoc scholar ​Zhiguang for being selected to MIT Technology Review 35 Innovators Under 35 China! Link
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Nov, our research article on laser-engraved wearable sweat biosensor was published in Nature Biotechnology. Congrats to Yiran, Yu, Xiangjie, and other coauthors! Link 
Highlighted as Editor's Choice in Science Translational Medicine. Link
See 'behind the paper' in Nature Bioengineering Community.
See reports from Caltech News, Physics World, Xinhua, and more. 
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Nov, our invited review on bioaffinity sensors was published in Advanced Functional Materials (Link). Congrats to Jiaobing, Rebeca, and Minqiang. It was also featured on the Journal Cover.
Nov, our invited perspective on wearable sensor was published by ACS Nano (Link). Congrats to Yu and Jihong!
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Aug, Wei was featured on Science News for Students: "Cool Jobs: Soaking in sweat".
Jul, our research article in collaboration with Prof. Lihong Wang on imaging-guided microrobot was published at Science Robotics. Congrats to Zhiguang and Yiran! Link
​See reports from Caltech, New Scientist, Optics & Photonics News.
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Jun, Wei was selected as a recipient of the 2019 IEEE Sensors Council Technical Achievement Award. The award will be given during IEEE Sensor Council's flagship conference - IEEE Sensors 2019. Link
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May, You's paper on Flexible Electrochemical Bioelectronics was accepted to Advanced Materials. It was featured on a Frontispiece.
Apr, we were featured on The Caltech Effect: "Sweating the Small Stuff".
Mar, Yiran's paper was featured on the Front Cover of Chemical Society Review.
Feb, our review article on flexible electronics for wearable sensing was accepted to Accounts of Chemical Research. Link
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Jan, Wei was selected into Global Young Academy. Link
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Year 2018
Nov 12th, our News and Views on wearable sensor was published in Nature Electronics. Link
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June, Wei was selected to the Interstellar Initiative (the New York Academy of Sciences). He and his collaborators won Outstanding Team Presentation Award (first place in Neuroscience).
March 5th, congrats to Yiran (Isabella) for her paper being accepted to Chemical Society Review. 
Feb 26th, Wei won the inaugural Sensors Young Investigator Award.
​Year 2017
Sep, Wei was featured on Caltech News: "The Science of Sweat: An Interview with Wei Gao". Link
​August, Wei joined California Institute of Technology as an Assistant Professor of Medical Engineering in EAS Division.

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