Hongchao Guo, PhD
hongchao.guo@hsc.utah.edu

Dr. Guo is an assistant professor at the Department of Surgery at the University of Utah. He is also a principal investigator at Nora Eccles Harrison Cardiovascular Research and Training Institute (CVRTI) of Utah. Dr. Guo did his postdoctoral training in Dr. Joseph Wu’s laboratory at the Stanford Cardiovascular Institute. Dr. Guo received his Ph.D in cell biology at the University of Nankai (2015). He is the recipient of the prestigious NIH K99/R00 career development award (2020).

Yuyu Zhang

Dr. Yuyu Zhang earned her Ph.D. in Developmental Biology from the Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Her research focuses on elucidating the genetic mechanisms underlying complex traits, with specialized expertise in quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping, genome-wide association studies (GWAS), and molecular genetics. Currently, Dr. Zhang is applying her background in genetics and computational biology to investigate the genetic basis of cardiovascular diseases.

Samuel Peng, B.S

Samuel joined the Guo Lab as a Lab Technician after graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Biology from UCLA. At UCLA, he worked in the Bouchard Lab where he developed a 3D bioreactor that can utilize flow to accurately simulate conditions found in the human body. He will be experimenting with induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). He plans to attend medical school and earn an MD.

Christian Eaton

Dr. Christian Eaton earned his Ph.D. in Integrative Biomedical Sciences from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in 2025, where his research focused on elucidating the host genetic determinants of viral disease susceptibility. He is currently a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Dr. Hongchao Guo. His research is focused on uncovering the genetic mechanisms underlying cardiovascular disease resulting from modifiable risk behaviors.