Prof. CAI is an assistant professor in aquaculture and aquatic animal health and the Year One BVM program leader at the City University of Hong Kong. He has spent over 11 years in the North American to studying and working on both freshwater and marine water fish diseases. He undertook his postdoctoral training at the University of Prince Edward Island (PE, Canada), where he worked on a joint project of integrated health management of Atlantic salmon with the collaboration of multiple industry partners and government research institutes. He obtained a PhD degree from the School of Fisheries, Aquaculture and Aquatic Science at Auburn University in the United States in 2018.
As a fish health specialist, Prof. CAI’s research has covered topics ranging from etiological pathological and environmental factors, fish host immune responses, and to vaccine development strategies for disease prevention. He also served as the chief bacteriology diagnostician for the Aquatic Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory at Auburn University in Alabama (USA), and the coordinator for annual hatchery checks (bacterial and virology sections) for state hatcheries in the southeastern United States.
Prof. CAI is a faculty member of the State Key Lab of Marine Pollution (CityU), an affiliated member of the Center for Applied One Health Research and Policy Advice (CityU), and an adjunct faculty at the Atlantic Veterinary College (UPEI). He also served as the external reviewer for grant agency and multiple journals and was the previous associate editor for Journal of Aquatic Animal Health.
Courses taught:
VM2106: Aquaculture and Aquatic Animal Health, CityU, Course leader
VM4202: Aquatic Veterinary Medicine, CityU, Co-teaching
Fish disease is the overall result and interaction among the host, pathogens, and surrounding environment. Prof. Cai’s research covers a broad range of topics related to Aquatic Animal Health, including bacterial virulence factors, fish immunity, and vaccine development. In addition, his research involves evaluating the effect of microplastics in teleost fish and developing methods for microplastic removal in the marine environment.
Ahmed, A. S., Billah, M., Ali, M.,…Yan, M., and Cai, W. 2023. Microplastics in aquatic environments: A comprehensive review of toxicity, removal, and remediation strategies. Science of The Total Environment, 876. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.162414.
Zhong L., Liu S., Zuo F.Y.,…Xiong, Y.L., W. Cai# and X.L., Huang#. 2023. The IL17 signaling pathway: A potential signaling pathway mediating gill hyperplasia and inflammation under ammonia nitrogen stress was identified by multi-omics analysis. Science of The Total Environment, 867. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.161581
Cai, W., Kumar, S., Umasuthan, U., Caballero Solares, A., Carvalho, L. A., Whyte, ., ... & Fast, M. D. 2021. Transcriptome analysis of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) skin in response to sea lice and infectious salmon anemia virus co-infection under different experimental functional diets. Frontiers in Immunology, 5535. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2021.787033
Cai, W.; Arias, C.R. Deciphering the Molecular Basis for Attenuation of Flavobacterium columnare Strain Fc1723 Used as Modified Live Vaccine against Columnaris Disease. Vaccines 2021, 9, 1370. https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines9111370
Cai, W., L. De La Fuente, and C.R. Arias. 2013. Biofilm formation by the fish pathogen Flavobacterium columnare: development and parameters affecting surface attachment. Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 79: 5633-5642. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1128/AEM.01192-13
Cai W., L. De La Fuente, and C.R. Arias. 2019.Transcriptome analysis of the fish pathogen Flavobacterium columnare in biofilm suggests calcium role in pathogenesis. BMC Microbiology. 19 (1): 151. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12866-019-1533-4
A.M. Declercq*, W. Cai*, E. Naranjo, W. Thongda, V. Eeckhaut, E. Bauwens, C. Arias, L. De La Fuente, B. Beck, M. D. Lange, E. Peatman, F. Haesebrouck, J. Aerts, A. Decostere. 2019. Evidence that the stress hormone cortisol regulates biofilm formation differently among Flavobacterium columnare isolates. Veterinary Research. 50:24. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13567-019-0641-3
Cai, W., E. Willmon, F.B. Valverde, C.L. Ray, T. Hanson, and C.R. Arias. 2018. Biofilm and sediment are major reservoirs of virulent Aeromonas hydrophila (vA h) in catfish production ponds. Journal of Aquatic Animal Health. 31:112-120. https://doi.org/10.1002/aah.10056
We are always looking for motivated postdoctoral fellows/research assistants/PhD students to join our lab.
Postdoc and Research Assistant positions are currently available. Candidates with a strong background in fish immunity, genomics, and molecular or cell biology are preferred.
PhD candidates with strong academic backgrounds and track records can contact me for Hong Kong scholarship scheme or VM/P scheme (Joint PhD program with Cornel University).
Candidates with relevant backgrounds who are interested, please send your CV to wenlocai@cityu.edu.hk for consideration. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.
We welcome self-motivated students to achieve big dreams together in our lab.