John Gao, M.D., Ph.D.
Joined PACI in 2007

Board Certified by the American Board of Pathology in Anatomic and Clinical Pathology

Specialty Areas of Expertise:

• Gastrointestinal and Liver Pathology
• Neuropathology
• Pulmonary Pathology
• Bone and Soft Tissue Pathology

Dr. Gao obtained his MD from Hebei Medical University and pursued MS and PhD degrees in Pathology. He successfully completed a residency program in Anatomic and Clinical Pathology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine North Shore-LIJ Health System in New York. Further enhancing his expertise, he underwent a Gastrointestinal and Liver Pathology fellowship at Brown University Rhode Island Hospital.

Before joining PACI, Dr. Gao held a position as junior faculty at Thomas Jefferson University and practiced pathology at Beijing University Medical Center. He has an impressive publication record in peer-reviewed journals. Currently, he is a Clinical Professor at SIU Medical School and serves as the Medical Directors in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Memorial Health System and Springfield Clinic.

Selected publications:

• Parker, N; Singanallur, P; Faiek, S; Gao, J; White, P. Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor after receiving treatment for small cell carcinoma. Clinical Case Reports, 2023 (in print)


• Rao K, Gao J. et al. AKR1B10 as a potential novel serum biomarker for breast cancer: A Pilot Clinical Trial, Cancer Biomarkers, 1(14), 1 2022


• Goel SS, Zuck V, Christy J, Nallamothu N, Jagtap P, Gao J, Goswami NJ, Transcatheter Mitral Valve Therapy With Novel Supra-Annular AltaValve, First Experience in the United States, J Am Coll Cardiol Case Rep 2019;1:761–4)


• Ullah S, Ali M, Kyaw P, Nayeemuddin F, Sreedhar R, Gao J. P-ANCA negative eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis Respiratory Medicine Case Reports, 1(1), 27, 2019


• Foray N, Stone T, Johnson A, Ali M, KulkamiS, Gao J, Sreedhar R. Severe metabolic alkalosis–a diagnostic dilemma. Respiratory Medicine Case Reports, 2018, 25, 177-180


• Foray N, Hudali T,  Papireddy M, and Gao J. A aase report describing a rare presentation of simultaneous occurrence of MPO-ANCA-associated vasculitis and rheumatoid arthritis. Case Reports in Nephrology, 2016,11, 1020


• McGettigan MJ, Menias CO, Gao J, Mellnick VM, Hara AK. Imaging of drug-induced complications in the gastrointestinal system. Radiographics. 2016 Jan-Feb;36(1):71-87


• Shen Y, Ma J , Yan R, Ling HY, Li XN, Yang WC, Gao J, Huang CF, Bu YW, Cao D. Impaired Self-Renewal and Increased Colitis and Dysplastic Lesions in Colonic Mucosa of AKR1B8 Deficient Mice, Clinical Cancer Res, 2015, 21(6);1466


• Fyock, K, Gao J. Gastrointestinal CMV in elderly immunocompetent patient, Rhode Island Medical Journal, 2014, 6:53


• Ma J, Luo DX, Huang C, Shen Y, Bu Y, Markwell S, Gao J, Liu J, Zu X, Lu F, Liao DF, Cao D. AKR1B10 overexpression in breast cancer: association with tumor size, lymph node metastasis and patient survival and its potential as a novel serum marker. Int J Cancer, 2012, 13(6):E862-71


• Luo DX, Huang MC, Ma J, Gao Z, Liao DF, Cao D. Aldo-keto reductase family 1, member B10 is secreted through a lysosome-mediated non-classical pathway. Biochem J. 2011, 438(1):71-80


• Winn B, Tavares R, Fanion J, Noble L, Gao J, Sabo E, Resnick MB. Differentiating the undifferentiated: immunohistochemical profile of medullary carcinoma of the colon with an emphasis on intestinal differentiation. Hum Pathol. 2009, 40(3):398-404


• Moss SF, Lee JW, Sabo E, Rubin AK, Rommel J, Westley BR, May FEB, Gao J, Meitner PA, Tavares R and Resnick MB. Decreased expression of the gastric trefoil factor binding protein TFIZ1 and Gastrokine 1 in gastric cancer: influence of tumor histology and relationship to prognosis. Clin Cancer Res. 14(13):4161-7, 2008


• Winn B, Gao ZQ, Akbari H, Bhattacharya B. Dedifferentiated liposarcoma arising from the sigmoid mesocolon. World J Gastroenterology, 13(30):4147-8, 2007


• Gao ZQ, Stanek A, Chen S. A metastatic melanoma with an unusual immunophenotypic profile. Am J Dermatopathol, 29:169-171, 2007


• Gao ZQ, Chen S. Plexiform epithelioid schwannoma: a mimicker of malignancy. Am J Dermatopathol, 29:56-58, 2007


• Gao ZQ, Chen S. Post-radiation angiosarcoma of the skin featured by capillary lobules. Am J Dermatopathol, 28(4);376, 2006


• Davidoff S, Jalal PK, Gao ZQ, Kops RJ, Robins T, Bank S. Gastric heterotopia in the rectum. Gastrointest Endosc. 63(7):1075-6, 2006


• Gao ZQ, Ouansafi I, Anderson AE. Endocervical stromal sarcoma, J Obstet Gynecol, 8:832-835, 2006


• Gao ZQ, Bhuiya T. Mucin-rich carcinoid tumor: a mimicker of adenocarcinoma. Ann Diag Pathol, 10(2):114-6, 2006


• Gao ZQ, Kahn LB. The application of immunohistochemistry in bone tumors and tumor-like lesions (review), Skeletal Radiol, 34: 800-816, 2005


• Rudloff U, Gao ZQ, Fields S, Gecelter GR. Osteoclast-like giant cell tumor of the liver: a rare neoplasm with an aggressive clinical course. J Gastrointest Surg. 9(2):207-214, 2005.


• Gao ZQ, Bhuiya T, Falkowski O. Papillary squamotransitional cell carcinoma of the vagina. J Obstet Gynecol, 1: 104-107, 2005


• Gao ZQ, Bhuiya T, Anderson A. Perivascular Epithelioid Cell Tumor (PEComa) of the uterus associated with malignant neoplasm of the female genital tract. J Obstet Gynecol, 5: 600-604, 2004


• Fields JZ, Gao ZP, Gao ZQ, Lewis M, Maimonis P, Harvey J, Lynch HT, Boman BM. Immunoassay for wild-type protein in lymphocytes predicts germline mutations in patients at risk for hereditary colorectal cancer. J Lab Clin Med. 143(1): 59-66, 2004


• Li XM, Patel BB, Blagoi EL, Patterson MD, Seehozer SH, Zhang T, Damle S, Gao ZQ, Boman B, Yeung AT. Analyzing alkaline proteins in human colon crypt proteome. J Proteome Res, 3(4): 821-33, 2004


• Cutler NS, Graves-Deal R, LaFleur BJ, Gao ZQ, Boman BM, Whitehead RH, Terry E, Morrow JD, Coffey RJ. Stromal production of prostacyclin confers an antiapoptotic effect to colonic epithelial cells. Cancer Res. 63(8):1748-51, 2003.


• Gao ZQ, Gao ZP, Fields JZ and Boman BM. Development of cross-resistance to tamoxifen in raloxifene-treated breast carcinoma cells. Anticancer Res, 22(3):1379-83, 2002


• Zhang T, Otevrel T, Gao ZQ, Gao Z, Ehrlich SM, Fields JZ, Boman BM. Evidence that APC regulates survivin expression: a possible mechanism contributing to the stem cell origin of colon cancer. Cancer Res. 61(24):8664-7, 2001


• Zheng L, Gao ZQ, Wang SX. A chronic ulcerative colitis model in rats. World J Gastroenterol. 6(1):150-152, 2000.


• Gao ZQ, Gao ZP, Boman BM, Jeremy F. Tissue-specific expression of MDR1 ribozyme abolishes the multidrug resistance of colon cancer cells. Int J cancer, 82(3):346-352,1999


• Gao ZQ, Gao ZP, Boman BM. Tumor-specific CD gene expression in colon cancer cells with carcinoembryonic antigen production. FASEB J 13(4), 550-55, 1999


• Gao ZQ, Gao ZP, Wang LJ, Wu JM, Gautam B, Jeremy F, Boman BM. Co-transfection of mdr1 and mrp antisense RNAs to reverse drug resistance in multidrug-resistant human lung cancer cells. Anticancer Res, 17:3073-3076, 1998