An assistant professor in Political Science at the University of Miami since 2019, Gao received her Ph.D. from the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Policy at the University of Texas at Austin that year (with earlier degrees in statistics, public administration, and economics). Her research examines issues in energy policy with a focus on technology and innovation policy in the context of the renewable energy transition. She has expertise in big data, machine learning, and econometric techniques. She is author or co-author of seven articles in both environmental and energy research journals, with a number of others in the pipeline. Her research examines energy transition issues in the United States, but with attention to developing countries as well (especially in China, Southeast Asia, and India) and has been partially funded by the Department of Energy.