Lewyt College of Veterinary Medicine

ABOUT

Dianjun Cao, DVM, MS, PhD

Research Assistant Professor, Microbiology 

Email: Dianjun.Cao@liu.edu

Dr. Cao received his veterinarian degree from Heilongjiang Bayi Agriculture University in China, his master's degree from North-East Agriculture University in China, and his Ph.D. from the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences in China. He joined the Harbin Veterinary Research Institute in 1992 and worked as a senior research fellow and doctoral student mentor in China before coming to the NIH as a visiting scholar in 2003. He then worked as a research scientist at Virginia Tech before joining the College of Veterinary Medicine at Long Island University in 2018.

Dr. Cao's research interests include pathogenesis, replication, and vaccine development for pathogens that cause enteric and respiratory diseases in animals. His current research is focused on biofilm formation and the regulation of genes responsible for bacterial virulence factors in polymicrobial infections, as well as the development of vaccines against bovine infectious disease.

Publications - (selected manuscripts)

  • Cao D,  Subhadra B,  Lee Y-J,  Thoresen M,  Cornejo S, Olivier A,  Woolums A,  Inzana TJ. Contribution of Hfq to gene regulation and virulence in Histophilus somni. Infect. Immun. 10.1128/iai.00038-24.
  • Gerber PF, Cao D, Xiao C-T et al., Failure to experimentally infect 10 days-old piglets with a cell culture-propagated infectious stock of a classical genotype 1a porcine epidemic diarrhea virus. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, Original Research. 2023-November-16; 10 2023.
  • Cao D, B Subhadra, Y-J Lee, M Thoresen, S Cornejo, A Woolums, and TJ Inzana. 2023. The contribution of Hfq to gene regulation and virulence in Histophilus somni. PLoS ONE 18(5): e0286158.  https://doi.org/10.1371/journal. pone.0286158
  • Subhadra, B., Cao, D., Jensen, R., Caswell, C.,,Inzana, T.J. Identification and initial characterization of Hfq-associated sRNAs in Histophilus somni strain 2336. PLoS One 18(5): e0286158.
  • Schaubeck, A., Cao, D., Cavaleri, V., Mun, S., Jeon, S.J. Carapace microbiota in American lobsters (Homarus americanus) associated with epizootic shell disease and the green gland. Frontiers in Microbiology, 14: 1093312.
  • Yugo DM, Heffron CL, Ryu J, Uh K, Subramaniam S, Matzinger SR, Overend C, Cao D, Kenney SP, Sooryanarain H, Cecere T, LeRoith T, Yuan L, Jue N, Clark-Deener S, Lee K, Meng XJ. 2018. Infection dynamics of hepatitis E virus in wild-type and immunoglobulin heavy chain knockout JH (-/-) gnotobiotic piglets. J Virol doi:10.1128/JVI.01208-18.
  • Subramaniam S, Yugo DM, Heffron CL, Rogers AJ, Sooryanarain H, LeRoith T, Overend C, Cao D, Meng XJ. 2018. Vaccination of sows with a dendritic cell-targeted porcine epidemic diarrhea virus S1 protein-based candidate vaccine reduced viral shedding but exacerbated gross pathological lesions in suckling neonatal piglets. J Gen Virol 99:230-239
  • • Cao QM, Ni YY, Cao D, et al. Recombinant Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus Expressing Membrane-Bound Interleukin-15 as an Immunomodulatory Adjuvant Enhances NK and γδ T Cell Responses and Confers Heterologous Protection. J Virol. Jul 1; 92(13): 2018.
  •  Cao D, Sooryanarain H, Yugo DM, et al. Evaluation of the pathogenicity of mammalian orthoreovirus type 3 (MRV3) in germ-free gnotobiotic pigs and of the efficacy of an inactivated vaccine against MRV3 infection in neonatal conventional piglets. Vet Microbiol. Oct; 224(23-30, 2018.
  •  Cao D, Ni YY, Walker M, et al. Roles of the genomic sequence surrounding the stem-loop structure in the junction region including the 3' terminus of open reading frame 1 in hepatitis E virus replication. J Med Virol. Sep; 90(9): 1524-1531, 2018.
  •  Cao D, Ni YY, Meng XJ. Substitution of amino acid residue V1213 in the helicase domain of the genotype 3 hepatitis E virus reduces virus replication. Virol J. Feb 8; 15(1): 32, 2018.
  •  Tian D, Cao D, Lynn Heffron C, et al. Enhancing heterologous protection in pigs vaccinated with chimeric porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus containing the full-length sequences of shuffled structural genes of multiple heterologous strains. Vaccine. Apr 25; 35(18): 2427-2434, 2017.
  •  Subramaniam S, Cao D, Tian D, et al. Efficient priming of CD4 T cells by Langerin-expressing dendritic cells targeted with porcine epidemic diarrhea virus spike protein domains in pigs. Virus Res. Jan 2; 227(212-219, 2017.
  •  Sooryanarain H, Rogers AJ, Cao D, et al. ISG15 Modulates Type I Interferon Signaling and the Antiviral Response during Hepatitis E Virus Replication. J Virol. Oct 1; 91(19): 2017.
  •  Cao D, Cao QM, Subramaniam S, et al. Pig model mimicking chronic hepatitis E virus infection in immunocompromised patients to assess immune correlates during chronicity. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. Jul 3; 114(27): 6914-6923, 2017.
  •  Xia M, Wei C, Wang L, Cao D, et al. A trivalent vaccine candidate against hepatitis E virus, norovirus, and astrovirus. Vaccine. Feb 10; 34(7): 905-13, 2016.
  •  Wen X, Cao D, Jones RW, et al. Tandem truncated rotavirus VP8* subunit protein with T cell epitope as non-replicating parenteral vaccine is highly immunogenic. Hum Vaccin Immunother. 11(10): 2483-9, 2015.
  •  Tian D, Ni YY, Zhou L, Opriessnig T, Cao D, et al. Chimeric porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus containing shuffled multiple envelope genes confers cross-protection in pigs. Virology. Nov; 485(402-13, 2015.
  •  Wen X, Wen K, Cao D, et al. Inclusion of a universal tetanus toxoid CD4(+) T cell epitope P2 significantly enhanced the immunogenicity of recombinant rotavirus ΔVP8* subunit parenteral vaccines. Vaccine. Jul 31; 32(35): 4420-4427, 2014.
  •  Wang L, Cao D, Wei C, et al. A dual vaccine candidate against norovirus and hepatitis E virus. Vaccine. Jan 16; 32(4): 445-52, 2014.
  •  Wen X, Cao D, Jones RW, et al. Construction and characterization of human rotavirus recombinant VP8* subunit parenteral vaccine candidates. Vaccine. Sep 21; 30(43): 6121-6, 2012.
  •  Cao D, Meng XJ. Molecular biology and replication of hepatitis E virus. Emerg Microbes Infect. Aug; 1(8): e17, 2012.
  •  Ni YY, Huang YW, Cao D, et al. Establishment of a DNA-launched infectious clone for a highly pneumovirulent strain of type 2 porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus: identification and in vitro and in vivo characterization of a large spontaneous deletion in the nsp2 region. Virus Res. Sep; 160(1-2): 264-73, 2011.
  •  Cao D, Huang YW, Meng XJ. The nucleotides on the stem-loop RNA structure in the junction region of the hepatitis E virus genome are critical for virus replication. J Virol. Dec; 84(24): 13040-4, 2010.
  •  Cao D, Igboeli B, Yuan L, et al. A longitudinal cohort study in calves evaluated for rotavirus infections from 1 to 12 months of age by sequential serological assays. Arch Virol. 154(5): 755-63, 2009.
  •  Cao D, Santos N, Jones RW, et al. The VP7 genes of two G9 rotaviruses isolated in 1980 from diarrheal stool samples collected in Washington, DC, are unique molecularly and serotypically. J Virol. Apr; 82(8): 4175-9, 2008.
  •  Cao D, Barro M, Hoshino Y. Porcine rotavirus bearing an aberrant gene stemming from an intergenic recombination of the NSP2 and NSP5 genes is defective and interfering. J Virol. Jun; 82(12): 6073-7, 2008.