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Bio: Dr. Li Cai is an organic chemist and glyco-scientist whose research focuses on carbohydrate chemistry, enzymatic synthesis of carbohydrates, and chemical glycobiology. Dr. Cai is also devoted to enhancing the teaching and learning of chemistry, which includes advising undergraduate researches. He joined USC Salkehatchie in 2011 as an Assistant Professor and was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure in fall 2016. In summer 2017, he joined the faculty at USC Lancaster and was promoted to Full Professor in fall 2020. 

Dr. Cai was born in Chengdu, China in 1982. He received his B.S. degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences and M.S. degree in Medicinal Chemistry (with Prof. Zhenjun Yang) from Peking University. He then attended the Ohio State University, where he earned his Ph.D. (with Prof. Peng George Wang) in Organic Chemistry. He has published more than 30 peer-reviewed papers in chemical research and education (among more than 50 publications total, Google Scholar h-index 25) since joining the UofSC faculty. He is an Associate Editor for Chemistry Africa and an editorial board member for 2 journals. He has also reviewed more than 120 manuscripts for 44 journals. Some of his awards include: the 2020-2021 Denise R. Shaw Excellence in Scholarship Award; the 2020 USC Distinguished Research Service Award; the 2017 USC Breakthrough Star Award; the 2016 USC Salkehatchie Faculty Award for Excellence in Scholarship; the 2010 Chinese Government Award for Outstanding Self-financed Students Abroad; the Ohio State University Fellowship.