Rate My Professor Zhiqiang Cao

Zhiqiang Cao is a Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science at Wayne State University. He received his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Washington in 2011 under the supervision of Prof. Shaoyi Jiang. From 2011 to 2012, he served as a research fellow in Prof. Robert Langer’s laboratory at the David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, as well as the Department of Anesthesiology at Children’s Hospital Boston and Harvard Medical School. Cao earned his B.Eng. in Polymer Materials and Engineering and M.Eng. in Biomedical Engineering from Tianjin University in China in 2004 and 2007, respectively. He joined Wayne State University in January 2013, was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure in April 2017, and advanced to full Professor in 2021. His research is funded by the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, and multiple programs from the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

Cao’s research specializes in zwitterionic materials for biomedical engineering applications, including medical implants, drug delivery for diabetes treatment, and antimicrobial surfaces. He received the 2016 NIH NIDDK Type 1 Diabetes Pathfinder Award. Select key publications include “Zwitterionic micelles efficiently deliver oral insulin without opening tight junctions” (Nature Nanotechnology, 2020), “An injectable and biodegradable zwitterionic gel for extending the longevity and performance of insulin infusion catheters” (Nature Biomedical Engineering, 2023), “Fouling-resistant zwitterionic polymers for complete prevention of postoperative adhesion” (PNAS, 2020), “Recent advances in oral insulin delivery technologies” (Journal of Controlled Release, 2024), and book chapters such as “Smart Biomaterials for Cell Encapsulation” (Royal Society of Chemistry, 2017). His contributions have advanced anti-fouling technologies, insulin delivery innovations, and postoperative adhesion prevention, influencing diabetes management and biomaterial design.