As the Deputy Head of the SRRSH Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Dr. Zhao has deeply engaged in the research on lumbar spine degenerative diseases, especially on the pathological physiology, molecular mechanisms, and immune microenvironment of lumbar endplate degeneration. He has a distinguished reputation and significant influence domestically and internationally in correlated fields.

Sponsored by the China Scholarship Council, Dr. Zhao studied at the University of Bristol under the guidance of the internationally renowned biomechanics experts M.A. Adams and P. Dolan from 2003 to 2004 and at the University of California, Davis under the guidance of Professor B. A. Christiansen from 2015 to 2016.

Dr. Zhao has been in charge of six projects funded by the  National Natural Science Foundation and two Key  Projects of Zhejiang Province. He is the corresponding author of over 60 SCI research papers, including EMBO Mol Med, Cell Death Differ, ACS Nano, J Immunol, J Bone Joint Surg-Am, Bone, Free Radic Biol Med, Spine, Eur Spine J. He translated the seminal work Biomechanics of Low Back Pain by the British biomechanics professor M.A. Adams as a primary translator.  He has also won the first prize of the Scientific and Technological Progress Award by Zhejiang Province and secured six national invention patents.

Member of the International Association for the Study of the Lumbar Spine (ISSLS)

Member of the Spinal Pain Committee of the Chinese Medical Doctor Association

Member of the Basic Research Group of Chinese Research Hospitals

Member of the Branch of Bone Science, Zhejiang Medical Association

Deputy head of the Cervical Basic Research Group, Spine and Spinal Cord Committee, Chinese Rehabilitation Medical Association