Zhao received his B.S. degree from Yantai University in 2007. He received Ph.D. degree from Kunming Institute of Zoology (KIZ), Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2013, where he later worked as a research associate for four years. He completed his postdoctoral training at the Wistar Institute in Philadelphia, United States. In 2020, Zhao re-joined KIZ as a principle investigator.

Zhao started genomic stability research from his Ph.D training. He identified Filia and Floped as unique factors of genomic stability in embryonic stem cells (Cell Stem Cell 2015; Cell Res 2018). He also uncovered the functions of ARID1A and HMGB2 genes in chromosomal/telomeric protection in the context of ovarian cancer and senescence (Nat Commu 2019; Nat Commu 2020; iScience 2021).

As (co)first author:

• Bo Zhao, Wei-dao Zhang, Ying-liang Duan, Yong-qing Lu, Yi-xian Cun, Chao-hui Li, Kun Guo, Wen-hui Nie, Lei Li, Rugang Zhang, Ping Zheng*. Filia is an ESC-specific regulator of DNA damage response and safeguards genomic stability. Cell Stem Cell, 16: 684-98. 2015.
• Bo Zhao#, Weidao Zhang#, Yixian Cun, Jingzheng Li, Yan Liu, Jing Gao, Hongwen Zhu, Hu Zhou, Rugang Zhang, Ping Zheng*. Mouse embryonic stem cells have increased capacity for replication fork restart driven by the specific Filia-Floped protein complex. Cell Research, 28: 69-89. 2018.
• Bo Zhao, Jianhuang Lin, Lijie Rong, Shuai Wu, Zhong Deng, Nail Fatkhutdinov, Joseph Zundell, Takeshi Fukumoto, Qin Liu, Andrew Kossenkov, Stephanie Jean, Mark G. Cadungog, Mark E. Borowsky, Ronny Drapkin, Paul M. Lieberman, Cory T. Abate-Shen, Rugang Zhang*. ARID1A promotes genomic stability through protecting telomere cohesion. Nature Communications. 2019 Sep 6;10(1):4067.
• Bo Zhao, Pingyu Liu, Takeshi Fukumoto, Timothy Nacarelli, Nail Fatkhutdinov, Shuai Wu, Jianhuang Lin, Katherine M. Aird, Hsin-Yao Tang, Qin Liu, David W. Speicher, Rugang Zhang*. Topoisomerase 1 cleavage complex enables pattern recognition and inflammation during senescence. Nature Communications. 2020 Feb 19;11(1):908.
• Xue Hao#; Bo Zhao#; Wei Zhou; Heng Liu; Takeshi Fukumoto; Dmitry Gabrilovich; Rugang Zhang*; Sensitization of ovarian tumor to immune checkpoint blockade by boosting senescence-associated secretory phenotype. iScience. 2021, 24(1): 102016.
• Huan Liu#, Bo Zhao#, Yongchang Chen#, Dewen You, Rui Liu, Mingqiang Rong, Weizhi Ji*, Ping Zheng, Ren Lai*. Multiple coagulation factor deficiency protein 2 contains the ability to support stem cell self-renewal. FASEB J. 27: 3298-305, 2013.
• Bo Zhao, Yi-Xian Cun, Xie-Chao He，Ping Zheng*. Maternal-effect Floped gene is essential for the derivation of embryonic stem cells in mice. Zoological Research, 34: E82-6. 2013.

As co-author:

• Huaixiao Ma#, Jinglei Zha#, Haifeng Wan#, Xiangxiang Jiang#, Xiaoxiao Wang, Lin Wang, Yunlong Xiang, Xiechao He, Zhen-Ao Zhao, Bo Zhao, Ping Zheng*, Lei Li*, Hongmei Wang*. In vitro culture of cynomolgus monkey embryos beyond early gastrulation. Science. 2019 Oct 31. pii: eaax7890.
• Sergey Karakashev, Takeshi Fukumoto, Bo Zhao, Jianhuang Lin, Shuai Wu, Nail Fatkhutdinov, Pyoung-Hwa Park, Galina Semenova, Stephanie Jean, Mark G. Cadungog, Mark E. Borowsky, Andrew V. Kossenkov, Qin Liu, Rugang Zhang*. EZH2 Inhibition Sensitizes CARM1-High, Homologous Recombination Proficient Ovarian Cancers to PARP Inhibition. Cancer Cell. 37, 1–11, February 10, 2020.
• Sergey Karakashev#, Hengrui Zhu#, Yuhki Yokoyama#, Bo Zhao, Nail Fatkhutdinov, Andrew V. Kossenkov, Andrew J. Wilson, Fiona Simpkins, David Speicher, Dineo Khabele, Benjamin G. Bitler, Rugang Zhang*. BET bromodomain inhibition synergizes with PARP inhibitor in epithelial ovarian cancer. Cell Reports, 21: 3398-3405, 2017.
• Weidao Zhang#, Zhongliang Chen#, Dengfeng Zhang, Bo Zhao, Lu Liu, Zhengyuan Xie, Yonggang Yao, Ping Zheng*. KHDC3L mutation causes recurrent pregnancy loss by inducing genomic instability of human early embryonic cells. PLOS Biology, 2019 Oct 14;17(10):e3000468.
• Jingzheng Li#, Yafang Shang, Lin Wang, Bo Zhao, Chunli Sun, Jiali Li, Siling Liu, Cong Li, Min Tang, Fei-Long Meng*, Ping Zheng*. Genome integrity and neurogenesis of postnatal hippocampal neural stem/progenitor cells require a unique regulator Filia. Science Advances, 2020, 6(44): eaba0682.