Tao is specialized in Analytical Chemistry and mass spectrometry with a strong emphasis on analytical method development and their application in molecule characterization, cancer research, immune response, and other biological processes. Research focuses vary from peptides, small drug compounds, carbohydrates, proteins to monoclonal antibodies. He has spent his career using mass spectrometry to develop high-sensitivity analytical methods and to characterize glycosylation in a variety of fields including medicine, pharmacy, cancer research, immunology, and protein & glycolipid structure-function relationships. Tao got his Ph.D. at the University of Groningen, The Netherlands, from 2012 to 2017. Since 2017, he joined Leiden University Medical Center as a postdoctoral researcher. He is an editorial board member of Cancer Research Journal. He is also a member of the CASSS community and NVMS. He has published more than 20 publications in peer-reviewed international academic journals and 2 patents.