Name: Cong Cao
Teaching Title: Professor
Phone: 0512-65883462
E-mail: caocong@suda.edu.cn
Research Interests：
1) Neurobiology of Depression；
2) Mechanisms and Targeted Interventions for Cognitive Dysfunction；
3) Identification and Intervention of Novel Oncogenes in Tumors
Resume：
Cao Cong is a Distinguished Professor at Soochow University. He is a recipient of the National Science Fund for Excellent Young Scholars and the Jiangsu Provincial Science Fund for Excellent Young Scholars. He has been selected as a second-level candidate in the Jiangsu Provincial "333 High-Level Talent Training Project," a "Double Innovation Talent" of Jiangsu Province, a core member of the Jiangsu Provincial "Double Innovation Team," and a high-level talent in the Jiangsu Provincial "Six Talent Peaks" program. Professor Cao Cong conducted seven years of doctoral and postdoctoral research at Brown University, an Ivy League institution in the United States. His research focuses on the mechanisms of cognitive dysfunction and targeted interventions, the neurobiology of depression, and the identification and intervention of novel oncogenes in cancer. He has published first-author or corresponding-author papers in prestigious journals such as Nature Communications, Science Advances, PNAS, Science Signaling (2 papers), PLoS Biology, Protein & Cell (3 papers), Progress in Neurobiology, Oncogene (2 papers), FASEB Journal, Theranostics (4 papers), Nano Letters, and Journal of Investigative Dermatology (papers marked with * indicate corresponding authorship). His work has been highlighted by internationally renowned journals and platforms, including Science, Science Signaling, Faculty 1000, and Science Daily. He has led 11 provincial-level or above research projects, including 7 National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) grants, and has received 7 provincial-level or above talent awards. Professor Cao is also a recipient of the Soochow University Zhou's Scientific Research Award. He serves as a council member of the Jiangsu Provincial University Biology Discipline Alliance, a council member of the Jiangsu Society for Neuroscience, a council member of the Jiangsu Integrative Medicine Research Association, and a committee member of the Second Bioactive Small Molecules Professional Committee of the Chinese Society of Pathophysiology. Additionally, he acts as a communication and final review expert for the NSFC, a review expert for the Ministry of Education's Chang Jiang Scholars Program, a review expert for the Ministry of Education's Science and Technology Development Center, and a review expert for the Ministry of Education's Academic Degrees and Graduate Education Development Center.
Selected Publications：
1、Bai W, Yin DP, Chen G, Lu Y, Jiang Q, Li KR*, Yao J*, Cao C*. Endothelial RAB5IF is required for pathological and developmental retinal angiogenesis. Nature Communications. 2025 accepted.
2、Shi X, Zhou XZ, Chen G, Luo WF, Zhou C, He TJ, Naik MT, Jiang Q*, Marshall J*, Cao C*. Targeting the postsynaptic scaffolding protein PSD-95 enhances BDNF signaling to mitigate depression-like behaviors in mice. Sci Signal. 2024 Apr 30;17(834):eadn4556.
3、Li KR, Huan MJ, Yao J, Li JJ, Cao Y, Wang S, Naik MT, Fang Y*, Marshall J*, Lan CG*, Cao C*. Syn3, a newly developed cyclic peptide and BDNF signaling enhancer, ameliorates retinal ganglion cell degeneration in diabetic retinopathy. Protein Cell. 2024 Nov 1;15(11):858-865.
4、Yao J, Wu XY, Yu Q, Yang SF, Yuan J, Zhang ZQ, Xue JS, Jiang Q*, Chen MB*, Xue GH*, Cao C*. The requirement of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase 1 for angiogenesis in vitro and in vivo. Sci Adv. 2022; 8: eabn6928.
5、Marshall J, Zhou XZ, Chen G, Yang SQ, Li Y, Wang Y, Zhang ZQ, Jiang Q*, Birnbaumer L*, Cao C*. Antidepression action of BDNF requires and is mimicked by Gαi1/3 expression in the hippocampus. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2018 Apr 10;115(15):E3549-E3558.