Assistant Professor
Biomedical Engineering
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Education:
Ph.D., Biomedical Engineering, Harvard Medical School – Massachusetts Institute of Technology
M.S., Biomechanics, Peking University
B.S., Mechanical Engineering, Peking University

Career Highlights:
Before joining Rensselaer in January 2008, Dr. Dai was a postdoctoral fellow and research associate in the lab of Dr. Michael Gimbrone at Center for Excellence in Vascular Biology of Harvard Medical School. He won the Lee and Harris Thompson Fellowship in Health Sciences and Technology in both 1997 and 1998.

Research Areas:
Vascular endothelium plays an increasingly important role in many physiological and pathological processes in cardiovascular system. The functional phenotypes of the vascular endothelium are constantly modulated by its surrounding environments, including interactions with blood components, smooth muscle cells, extracellular matrix and biomechanical forces. Dysfunctional endothelium can contribute to the pathogenesis of many vascular diseases such as inflammation, thrombosis, atherosclerosis and failure of vascular graft. Therefore, study how endothelial cell interacting with its environment is critical for us to understand vascular disease process, and to generate better designs in tissue engineering of vascular graft and/or microvasculature for organ regeneration. 

Currently, the research programs in my laboratory focus on two goals: (1) to integrate bioengineering into vascular research; to gain mechanistic insights of how endothelial cells interact with biomechanical forces and extracellular matrix in the blood vessel regeneration and vascular disease processes; (2) to identify targets associated with specific cellular phenotype in diseased blood vessels and develop technologies for targeted drug delivery and molecular imaging of those vasculatures. To accomplish these research programs, we will use multidisciplinary approaches combining various methods including engineering design, experimental and computational fluid mechanics, micro-fabrication, cellular and molecular techniques. There are excellent opportunities for collaboration with our BME faculty in the field of tissue engineering, biomaterials, cell mechanics as well as our colleagues at Albany Medical College.

Selected Publications:
Dai G, Wang ET, Zhang Y, Vaughn S, Garcia-Cardena G, Gimbrone MA Jr. Biomechanical forces in atherosclerosis-resistant vascular regions regulate endothelial redox balance via PI3K/Akt-dependent activation of Nrf2. Circulation Research, 2007 Sep 28;101(7):723-33.

Parmar KM, Larman HB, Dai G, Zhang Y, Wang ET, Moorthy SN, Kratz JR, Lin Z, Jain MK, Gimbrone MA, Jr., Garcia-Cardena G. Integration of flow-dependent endothelial phenotypes by Kruppel-like factor 2. J Clin Invest. Jan 2006;116(1):49-58.

Parmar KM, Nambudiri V, Dai G, Larman HB, Gimbrone MA, Jr., Garcia-Cardena G. Statins exert endothelial atheroprotective effects via the KLF2 transcription factor. J Biol Chem. Jul 22 2005;280(29):26714-26719.

Dai G, Kaazempur-Mofrad MR, Natarajan S, Zhang Y, Vaughn S, Blackman BR, Kamm RD, Garcia-Cardena G, Gimbrone MA, Jr. Distinct endothelial phenotypes evoked by arterial waveforms derived from atherosclerosis-susceptible and -resistant regions of human vasculature. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. Oct 12 2004;101(41):14871-14876.

Tschumperlin DJ, Dai G, Maly IV, Kikuchi T, Laiho LH, McVittie AK, Haley KJ, Lilly CM, So PT, Lauffenburger DA, Kamm RD, Drazen JM. Mechanotransduction through growth-factor shedding into the extracellular space. Nature. May 6 2004;429(6987):83-86.

Dai G, Tsukurov O, Chen M, Gertler JP, Kamm RD. Endothelial nitric oxide production during in vitro simulation of external limb compression. Am J Physiol. Jun 2002;282(6):H2066-2075.

Dai G, Tsukurov O, Orkin RW, Abbott WM, Kamm RD, Gertler JP. An in vitro cell culture system to study the influence of external pneumatic compression on endothelial function. J Vasc Surg. Nov 2000;32(5):977-987.

Dai G, Gertler JP, Kamm RD. The effects of external compression on venous blood flow and tissue deformation in the lower leg. J Biomech Eng. Dec 1999;121(6):557-564.

Contact Information:
Guohao Dai
(518) 276-4476
daig@rpi.edu
http://www.bme.rpi.edu/faculty_details.cfm?facultyID=daig