Date: 8 May 2026 (Friday)
Time: 09:20 am – 10:00 am
Venue: Mrs Chen Yang Foo Oi Telemedicine Centre, 2/F, William M.W. Mong Block, 21 Sassoon Road 
Host: Professor Tao Ni

Prof. Pu Gao is a tenured Professor at the Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IBP-CAS), and Chair of the Molecular Biophysics Subgroup of the Biophysical Society of China. He received his PhD from IBP-CAS in 2011, followed by postdoctoral training at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. In 2016, he returned to IBP-CAS to establish an independent research group focusing on nucleic acid immune sensing and regulation, and was promoted to tenured full professor in 2023. As corresponding author, he has published extensively in leading journals, including Cell, Nature, Molecular Cell, and Nature Microbiology. He has received several selected awards, including the China Youth Science and Technology Award, the Tan Kah Kee Young Scientist Award, the Tan Jiazhen Life Science Innovation Award, and the NIH Pathway to Independence Award (K99).

Mammalian cells have evolved powerful innate immune mechanisms to detect pathogen- or host-derived nucleic acids in the cytosol, the most prominent of which are the cGAS-STING pathway for DNA and the RLR-MAVS pathway for RNA. In addition to their primary role in immune defense against pathogens and tumors, there is increasing evidence that these pathways are closely associated with autoimmune, metabolic and neurodegenerative disorders. In this talk, I will review our recent progress in understanding the molecular mechanisms of nucleic acid-induced intra-cellular and inter-cellular innate immune signaling, as well as interesting regulatory strategies mediated by both pathogens and host cells.

All are welcome.