Obituary: Guoyan Zhao, associate professor of genetics, neurology, 53
Dedicated mentor and educator, highly regarded scientist studied the genetics of neurological disease
Zhao
Guoyan Zhao, PhD, an associate professor of genetics and of neurology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, died Friday, May 15, 2026. She was 53.
Zhao was highly regarded for harnessing the tools of computational biology, genomic sequencing and single-cell analysis to shed light on neurological and neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease and chronic pain.
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of Dr. Guoyan Zhao, who was known for her selflessness, caring and commitment to her science and to the people she worked with every day,” said Ting Wang, PhD, the Sanford and Karen Loewentheil Distinguished Professor of Medicine and head of the James S. McDonnell Department of Genetics at WashU Medicine. “She built a unique and vibrant research program dedicated to understanding neurological diseases, leaving a strong legacy that our research community will carry forward.”
Zhao earned her bachelor’s degree in ecology and environmental biology and a master’s degree in molecular cell biology, both at Peking University in Beijing. She continued her education at WashU Medicine, earning her doctoral degree in molecular cell biology in 2003. She then trained in computational biology as a postdoctoral fellow at WashU Medicine, where she was recognized with the Ruth L. Kirschstein Postdoctoral Individual National Research Service Award.
In 2007, Zhao was recruited to direct the Pathogen Discovery Facility in the Department of Pathology & Immunology. There, she led a team that harnessed virus research and machine learning and identified important links between viral infections and type 1 diabetes. She joined the WashU Medicine faculty as an assistant professor in 2010 in that department and was recruited to join the Department of Neuroscience in 2018 to lead development of the department’s bioinformatics resources.
Awarded multiple grants, Zhao secured independent research funding from the National Institutes of Health in 2021 and 2022 and, because of her outstanding work at the intersection of genetics and neurological disease, was then recruited for dual appointments in the Departments of Genetics and of Neurology.
“Dr. Guoyan Zhao was an outstanding scientist, colleague, mentor and friend. She will be deeply missed by our community,” said Jin-Moo Lee, MD, PhD, the Andrew B. and Gretchen P. Jones Professor and head of the Department of Neurology at WashU Medicine. “Her passion for her research and her care for the people she worked with, especially her trainees, created a powerful research engine that will have an impact on the world for years to come.”
Zhao studied how gene regulation influences neurological diseases and worked toward new drug development in multiple neurological and neurodegenerative diseases. She also received a grant to establish a PRECISION Human Pain Network Center at WashU Medicine. PRECISION stands for Program to Reveal and Evaluate Cells-to-Gene Information that Specify Intricacies, Origins and the Nature of Human Pain. She served on the steering committee of the network, co-directed the data core and served as one of multiple principal investigators on the project. She earned tenure as an associate professor in 2025.
Zhao is survived by her husband, Liangwu Xu; son, Jason Xu; daughter, Sophia Xu; parents, Shanxue Zhao and Fengyun Liu; and brothers, Yanhai Zhao and Yanfang Zhao. A memorial service was held June 7 at Kriegshauser Mortuary – West Chapel.
Read more in the family obituary.
