While he was in medical school, Gu was awarded a
Howard Hughes Medical Institute fellowship to perform research at the
Stanford University School of Medicine. He wanted to see if organs from a fetus might be able to adapt to the immune system of a host into which it was
transplanted; as a first step he transplanted
human fetal hearts and
kidneys into
immunocompromised rats. In 2012 Gu and Nick K. Chang, who had also gone to Stanford and was a Duke medical student, founded Ganogen, Inc., as a vehicle to further develop these methods. Gu put the work on hold when he started his residency, and took down the company's website after he was harassed in the wake of the
Planned Parenthood 2015 undercover videos controversy. Gu has since spoken out about what he perceives to be the unfair treatment and intimidation of researchers and
physicians by the panel, which included the panel releasing the names, addresses, and contact information of people who work with fetal tissue. Gu was recognized by the
Union of Concerned Scientists for his response to the panel investigation and criticism from anti-abortion protestors. He started a surgical residency at
Vanderbilt University Medical Center in 2015. Vanderbilt put Gu on administrative leave for two weeks in November 2017, and placed him on probation until March 2018. Gu said this was due to his tweets opposing
white supremacy; Vanderbilt was unable to comment on personnel matters but stated that the leave was based on Vanderbilt's policies, including those concerning use of social media. Gu received notice from Vanderbilt in May 2018 confirming that his residency contract would not be renewed after the third year of what is usually a five-year residency; the fourth year would have started on July 1, 2018. In a letter addressed to Gu, VUMC cited performance issues—as it did when he was placed on leave. A May 17 letter to Gu from VUMC General Counsel Michael Regier, which was obtained by the
Duke Chronicle, cited "lack of sufficient improvement in performance and conduct in key areas." He has used his position as a physician to assist in his activist efforts such as with
cannabis legalization. == Twitter ==