Youliang Rao earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Northwest A&F University, then obtained his Ph.D. from Huazhong Agricultural University. From August 2018 to July 2022, he received his first postdoctoral training in Prof. Pinghui Feng’lab at the University of Southern California. From September 2022 to September 2024, He joined Professor Ren Sun’s lab at Westlake University for second postdoctoral training. Since September 2024, he has been serving as an assistant research professor in Prof. Sun’s lab.

Dr. Rao’s current research focuses on systematically studying the molecular mechanisms by which influenza viruses regulate inflammatory cell death and the development of immune-enhanced attenuated vaccines.

Dr. Rao enjoys playing badminton and hiking.