Faculty Candidate Research Seminar - Chang Cao, PhD

Chang Cao, PhD

Title: Environmental and Nutritional Regulation of Physiological Resilience in Poultry

Synopsis: Modern poultry production systems face growing pressures from environmental stress, pathogen exposure and nutritional variability. His research examines how physiological and epigenetic mechanisms integrate these signals to regulate feeding behavior, metabolism and resilience in poultry. This seminar highlights research on the molecular regulation of feed intake and stress responses and outlines future directions aimed at improving productivity, welfare and sustainability in commercial poultry production.

Candidate Bio: Chang Cao, PhD, is a postdoctoral research associate in the Department of Animal Sciences and the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He earned his doctorate in animal and poultry science from Virginia Tech, where he studied hypothalamic mechanisms regulating appetite and stress physiology in poultry. His research integrates molecular physiology, nutrition and systems biology to examine how environmental and nutritional factors influence feeding behavior, metabolic efficiency and stress responses in animals. Cao’s current work uses epigenetic and imaging approaches to identify early molecular signatures that precede physiological or pathological changes. His long-term goal is to develop integrative strategies that improve feed efficiency, health and resilience in modern poultry production systems.

For access to the Zoom link, email Marion Welsh at welsh@purdue.edu.