Gaoxiang obtained his Bachelor in Chemistry at Fudan University, China. He then went to Johns Hopkins University, where he studied gas-phase clusters by photoelectron spectroscopy. After getting his Ph.D in Physical Chemistry at Johns Hopkins University, he decided to transfer from researching the invisible and untouchable gas-phase clusters to studying real-world biological dynamics with the best optical tools. At ABC, he is responsible for constructing and operating the MOSAIC microscope.