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Bio: Dr. Li Cai is Professor of Chemistry at the University of South Carolina Lancaster. He joined the University of South Carolina in 2011 and has served at USC Lancaster since 2017. He received his B.S. in Pharmaceutical Sciences and M.S. in Medicinal Chemistry from Peking University and his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from The Ohio State University under the supervision of Prof. Peng G. Wang.

Dr. Cai is an organic chemist and glyco-scientist whose research interests include carbohydrate chemistry, enzymatic synthesis of carbohydrates, and chemical glycobiology. His scholarship has increasingly expanded into chemistry education, including interdisciplinary STEAM approaches that integrate chemistry with visual storytelling, media arts, and emerging technologies to enhance science communication and student learning. He is particularly committed to undergraduate research and mentoring and to providing students with opportunities to participate in scholarly research and professional presentations.

Dr. Cai has authored or coauthored more than 50 scholarly publications and has an h-index of 27 (Google Scholar). He currently serves as an Associate Editor of Chemistry Africa and an Editorial Board Member of Mini-Reviews in Organic Chemistry and has served as a peer reviewer for 47 scholarly journals. His professional activities also include extensive university service, faculty governance, academic advising, and chemistry outreach.

His honors include the 2021 USC Denise R. Shaw Excellence in Scholarship Award, the 2020 USC Distinguished Research Service Award, the 2017 USC Breakthrough Star Award, and the 2016 USC Salkehatchie Faculty Award for Excellence in Scholarship.