Gu was one of a group of Twitter users blocked by Donald Trump who sued the President for violating their first amendment rights in Knight First Amendment Institute v. Trump, and won a declaratory judgment in May 2018.
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.[3][5] Gu put the work on hold when he started his residency,[6] and took down the company's website after he was harassed in the wake of the Planned Parenthood 2015 undercover videos controversy.[7] He had decided in early 2016 to convert the company to nonprofit.[7] Gu put the company's website back up when he learned he had been subpoenaed by Congress in March 2016.[7]
He started a surgical residency at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in 2015.[12] 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.[13][14]
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."[15]
He has used his position as a physician to assist in his activist efforts such as with cannabis legalization.[16]
Twitter
Gu was noted for having a vocal presence on the site Twitter, where he advocated for social justice causes,[17] and for his critical commentary of then-U.S. president Donald Trump.[18] Gu was one of seven Twitter users who filed a lawsuit against U.S. President Donald Trump in July 2017 after being blocked from Trump's personal @realDonaldTrump account in the case Knight First Amendment Institute v. Trump, arguing that the block violated his rights under the First Amendment.[19][18] The case was decided in the plaintiffs' favor on May 23, 2018.[20] Gu's use of Twitter made him the target of harassment by Donald Trump supporters as well as brought him into conflict with his employers and other Twitter users.[17][21]
^"Science in the Crosshairs". Science Friday. 14 October 2016. (15:50) I actually put my research on hold when I started my residency in July 2015. And yet despite putting my research on hold, Congresswoman Blackburn and Diane Black still issued me the subpoena.