Prof. Dang obtained his B.S. (2009) from Tsinghua University, where he worked with Prof. Nieng Yan to study the fucose transporter FucP using X-ray crystallography. He then pursued his Ph.D. (2014) in the lab of Prof. Yigong Shi, also at Tsinghua, focusing on the structure and function of the presenilin homologue (PSH), which provided key insights into gamma-secretase and Alzheimer's disease. He conducted postdoctoral research at UCSF with Prof. Yifan Cheng, supported by an HFSP Long-term Fellowship, where he received training in cryo-EM and used it to determine the structures of several membrane proteins, including TMEM16 and TRP family ion channels. He joined HKUST as Assistant Professor in 2019 and was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure in 2025.

The Dang Lab has a long-term interest in membrane proteins, particularly ion channels and transporters. Building on the vesicle-based method developed in the lab, a key research direction is to study the in situ structures of membrane proteins within their native environment.