Yuan Gao is an Assistant Professor(Associate Researcher) in the Center for Higher Education Research (CHER), Southern University of Science and Technology. Special Talent of Shenzhen City.

She obtained her PhD from the University of Melbourne, Australia, under the supervision of Professor Simon Marginson from the University of Oxford.

She had previously served as a researcher at the School of Education, University of Melbourne, the International Research Center for Education Systems, Victoria University, and the Research Center for Educational Equity and Diversity, La Trobe University. Participated in multiple research projects funded by the Australian Research Council, the federal government, and state governments during her time in Australia. Published nearly ten research reports, including the Australian national project "Securing the Future of Australia".

Her research field includes higher education knowledge production, internationalization of higher education, and cross-cultural education. She had published nearly 34 journal articles in both Chinese and English, including 22 SSCI-indexed journal articles (all as the first author/corresponding author) and 12 CSSCI-indexed articles. Also published one English monograph, one edited book, and three chapters. Peer-reviewed more than ten articles at international conferences. Since 2012, served as a reviewer for top journals in the field of higher education, such as Higher Education, Journal of Studies in International Education, Studies in Higher Education, etc. Since 2022, served as an editorial board member of the SSCI journal Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management. Served as an overseas review expert and defense committee member for doctoral dissertations at Massey University, New Zealand, and the University of Hong Kong.