Dong earned his Ph.D. in Cell Biology from Peking University, Beijing, China, in 2011. Following this, he became a postdoctoral fellow at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York. In 2016, Dong joined the Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, as a Principal Investigator. His research group focuses on three main research directions: 1) defining the roles of adult stem cells and identifying the mechanism of their cell fates determination in cancer initiation; 2) defining the pioneering forces shaping cell lineage plasticity during cancer progression and therapeutic resistance; 3) generating patients-derived organoid models and developing potential therapeutic strategies. Through these works, we have the potential to deeply characterize the nature and behavior of adult stem cells in cancer initiation, understand cell lineage plasticity during cancer progression and therapeutic resistance, and develop innovative therapeutic strategies.

Selected Publications:
1. Li F#, Xing XD#, Jin QQ#, Wang XM#, Dai PF#, Han M#, ......, Yu C*, Chen LN*, Bai F*, Gao D*. Sex differences orchestrated by androgens at single-cell resolution. Nature. 2024.
2. Huang PW#, Gao WN#, Fu CY#, Wang M#, Li YG#, ......, Shi Y*, Gao D*, Qin RY*, Hunter T, Tian RJ*. Clinical functional proteomics of intercellular signalling in pancreatic cancer. Nature. 2025.
3. Guo WX#, Zhang XY#, Li L#, Shao PF#, Liang C#, ......, Yu C*, Chen LN*, Zhou B*, Gao D*. JAK/STAT signaling maintains intermediate cell population in prostate basal cell fates determination. Nat Genet. 2024.
4. Li F#, Dai PF#, Shi HL#, Zhang YJ#, ......, Yang WW*, Liang C*, Gao D*. LKB1 inactivation promotes epigenetic remodeling-induced lineage plasticity and antiandrogen resistance in prostate cancer. Cell Res. 2025.
5. Han M#, Li F#,*, Zhang YH#, ......, Gao D*. Foxa2 drives lineage plasticity and Kit pathway activation in neuroendocrine prostate cancer. Cancer Cell. 2022.
6. Guo WX#, Li L#, ......, Chen Y*, Chen LN*, Gao D*. Single-cell transcriptomics identifies a distinct luminal progenitor cell type in distal prostate invagination tips. Nat Genet. 2020.
7. Tang D#, Wang HX#, Huang XZ#, Li F#, ......, Zhang L*, Gao D*, Zhou B*. Sca1+ Vascular Stem Cells Contribute to Smooth Muscle for Artery Repair and Regeneration. Cell Stem Cell. 2020.