Dr. Cao is a Professor at the State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Her research focuses on wetland and biodiversity ecology and conservation, but with increasing emphasis on movement ecology. Professor Cao has worked with industry to combine recent technology innovations in IT and micro-electronics to rapidly develop miniature GPS/BDS loggers for deployment on migratory waterbirds that send data on their positions and movements through mobile phone networks. By deploying these cutting-edge transmitting devices, Professor Cao’s group has initiated avian tracking programs in many sites throughout China and East Asia. Professor Cao is also coordinating the development of a national monitoring and research network of bird-tracking for China with industrial partners. Recent deployment of thousands of telemetry devices on 140 species of waterbird throughout Far East Eurasia, Collected over 6 billion data entries. Professor Cao is currently presiding over 20 research projects, mainly sponsored by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), but including many other international cooperative projects. As of December 2020, Professor Cao has published over 100 international journal articles in the fields of ecology, ornithology or multidisciplinary sciences, including journals such as Nature, Nature Communications and Current Biology. She is a frequent invited international plenary speaker, including at the 26th International Ornithological Congress (Tokyo, 2014), the prestigious Alfred Newton Lecture at the British Ornithologists’ Union 2019 Annual Conference (Coventry, 2019), and the “British Ornithologists' Union Godman-Salvin Prize” (Mongolia, 2023).

Education

Sep 2002- Dec 2005, Ph.D., Biology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu, China

Sep 1987-Jun 1991, B.S., Biology, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, Hunan, China

Professional experience

Dec 2013- present Professor, State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China

Jul 2011- Sep 2011 Visiting Professor, Charles Sturt University, Albury, Australia

Dec 2010- Nov 2013 Professor, School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, China

Dec 2005- Nov 2010 Associate professor, School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, China

Committee Membership

Associate Editor of Ibis since 2019

Associate Editor of Wetlands since 2016

Associate Editor of Avian Research since 2014

Member of the British Ornithologists' Union since 2016

Member of the International Ornithologists' Union since 2014

Associate Editor of Bird Conservation International since 2011

Member of the 10th Council of China Ornithological Society since 2009

Member of IUCN-Wetlands International Goose Specialist Group since 2005

Member of Pacific Seabirds Group since 2004