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David Gau

(he/him)
  • Assistant Professor

I grew up in several countries, Canada, Singapore, and then the US in eastern Pennsylvania. Upon completing high school, I went to University of Pittsburgh to study bioengineering and stayed there ever since! After completed my BPhil in bioengineering and BS in math, I went to Australia for a year supported by the Whitaker Fellowship and Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship and then returned to Pitt to pursue my PhD in bioengineering supported by an NSF GRFP. I have been fortunate to be supported by many training programs and fellowships throughout my PhD and postdoctoral training. Even more fortunate, I had the opportunity to continue my work in the amazing Pittsburgh community! Outside of research, I am an avid gamer (a connoisseur of all types of video games) when I find time in between raising two kids and two fur babies.

    Education & Training

  • Bioengineering, PhD 2018 (University of Pittsburgh)
  • Bioengineering, BPhil 2011 (University of Pittsburgh)
  • Mathematics, BS 2011 (University of Pittsburgh)
  • Micro-credential Leading People in Organizatinos 2021 (Katz Graduate School of Business)
  • Pitt-CIRTL Associate Certification in STEM Teaching 2016 (University of Pittsburgh)
Representative Publications

Link to my publications

Research Interests

My interests are in the area of understanding how the actin cytoskeleton influences the physiological and pathological events. Specifically, I am interested in how the cytoskeleton regulates mitochondrial dynamics and the impact of this regulation on diseases such as kidney cancer. Other interests include cell migration (both physiological like wound healing, and pathological like cancer metastasis), angiogenesis, and regulation of cell microenvironment. The lab uses both innovative and well-established tools including genetic mouse models, small molecule therapeutics, imaging modalities, bioinformatics, and cell-based models. One project in the lab focuses on the role of vascular endothelial Profilin-1 in clear cell renal cell carcinoma, the most prevalent type of kidney cancer. In this project, our lab explores the biology behind endothelial Profilin's regulation of the tumor microenvironment as a driver for kidney cancer and whether Profilin can serve as a therapeutic target. Other projects explore the regulation of mitochondrial dynamics by the actin cytoskeleton and how this might serve as potential therapeutic targets as well for diseases. Lastly, the lab is also interested in the development of organ-on-a-chip type models for high-throughput screening of therapies in disease context such as kidney cancer. 

Research Grants

K99/R00, CA267180, Profilin as a Novel Target for Vascular Normalization in Renal Cancer, NIH-NCI