Prof. Dr. Yue Gao

Prof. Dr. Yue Gao received her bachelor's degree in environmental science and ecological science at Liaoning University, her first master's degree in polymer chemistry at Dalian University of Technology, China and pursued her second master's degree in environmental science and technology at VUB Belgium. She obtained her PhD degree in environmental and analytical chemistry at VUB in 2009. Afterwards, she became FWO postdoc fellowship working on biogeochemical cycle of metal pollutants in aquatic systems. In 2014, she was awarded a professorship in AMGC at VUB. 

Professor Gao’s career has been driven by a central ambition: to understand the biogeochemical behavior, speciation, transport, and ecological impacts of trace substances in soil and aquatic environments, from sediment microniches to open ocean systems. In the early stages of her career, her research focused on inorganic and organic contaminants in water and sediments across riverine, estuarine and marine environments. She investigated the occurrence, mobility, speciation, and bioavailability of pollutants, with particular attention to the processes controlling contaminant exchange in complex environmental matrices. A major component of her work has been the development and application of passive sampling techniques, especially DET and DGT in different environmental compartments. Over the past two decades at AMGC-VUB, her laboratory significantly expanded the application of DGT technology for trace metals including mercury (Hg) speciation under ultra-trace environmental conditions to oxyanions, radionuclides, endocrine-disrupting compounds, PAHs, dioxin-like compounds and PFASs. In addition, her group pioneered the integration of DGT passive sampling with CALUX bioassays for in situ monitoring of estrogenic activity, and advanced two-dimensional DGT imaging to study microniche-scale trace element dynamics in estuarine and marine sediments. 

More recently, her research has increasingly focused on micronutrient dynamics in open ocean ecosystems and their role in regulating phytoplankton productivity and marine biogeochemical cycles. This work builds naturally on her long-standing expertise in trace metal speciation, bioavailability, and in situ sampling technologies. Looking ahead, her research vision is to integrate environmental contaminant studies with marine biogeochemistry and climate-related ocean processes. She aims to further develop innovative passive sampling and sensing technologies for ultra-trace analysis while advancing understanding of how pollutants and essential micronutrients influence aquatic ecosystems from freshwater environments to the open ocean. Ultimately, her goal is to bridge environmental chemistry, analytical innovation, and ecosystem science to address emerging challenges in environmental change, ecosystem health, and sustainable ocean management.