Dr Mingli Zhao
Postdoctoral Researcher
Department: Pathobiology & Population Sciences
Research Centres: Veterinary Epidemiology, Economics and Public Health
Mingli is a Postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Sarah Hill's lab in the department of Pathobiology and Population Sciences.
Mingli graduated with a BA in Aquaculture from the Ocean University of China in 2014. She got her master’s degree from the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2017. She got her DPhil from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County in 2022. Her PhD thesis was titled ‘Investigating interactions between climate, host life history and viral diversity across a trans-hemispheric range of marine ecosystems’.
She joined the Hill lab in Sep. 2022 as a postdoctoral fellow, working on a BBSRC funded project to investigate the "Genomic epidemiological determination of routes of pathogenic virus transmission between farmed salmon".
Mingli’s research focuses on investigating virus transmission and viral epidemiology, especially in marine and aquaculture animals. She is interested in using next generation sequencing techniques for novel virus discovery and phylogenetic analyses of virus genomes. Working as a postdoctoral fellow in RVC and collaborating with many scientists, stakeholders, companies and fish farmers in Scotland, Norway, the United States, she is eager to learn more about the viral outbreak dynamics and viral diseases transmission in aquaculture and marine ecosystems.
Zhao, M., dos Santos Tavares, C.P. and Schott, E.J., 2021. Diversity and classification of reoviruses in crustaceans: A proposal. Journal of Invertebrate Pathology, 182, p.107568. oi.org/10.1016/j.jip.2021.107568
Zhao, M., Behringer, D.C., Bojko, J., Kough, A.S., Plough, L., dos Santos Tavares, C.P., Aguilar-Perera, A., Reynoso, O.S., Seepersad, G., Maharaj, O. and Sanders, M.B., 2020. Climate and season are associated with prevalence and distribution of trans-hemispheric blue crab reovirus (Callinectes sapidus reovirus 1). Marine Ecology Progress Series, 647, pp.123-133. doi.org/10.3354/meps13405
Zhao, M., Xu, L., Bowers, H., and Schott, E.J., 2022. Characterization of Two Novel Toti-Like Viruses Co-infecting the Atlantic Blue Crab, Callinectes sapidus, in Its Northern Range of the United States. Frontiers in microbiology, 13. doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2022.855750
Zhao, M., Flowers, E.M., and Schott, E.J., 2021. Near-complete sequence of a highly divergent Reovirus genome recovered from Callinectes sapidus. Microbiology Resource Announcements, 10(1), pp.e01278-20. doi: 10.1128/MRA.01278-20
dos Santos Tavares, C.P., Zhao, M., Vogt, É.L., Model, J.F.A., Vinagre, A.S., da Silva, U.D.A.T., Ostrensky, A. and Schott, E.J., 2022. High prevalence of CsRV2 in cultured Callinectes danae: Potential impacts on soft-shell crab production in Brazil. Journal of Invertebrate Pathology, 190, p.107739. doi: 10.1016/j.jip.2022.107739
Xu, L., Zhao, M., Ryu, J.H., et al. Reproductive sterility in aquaculture: A review of induction methods and an emerging approach with application to Pacific Northwest finfish species. Rev Aquac. 2022; 1- 22. doi:10.1111/raq.12712
Mingli Zhao, Heng Chi, Li Sun. 2017. Neutrophil extracellular traps of Cynoglossus semilaevis: production mechanism and antibacterial effect. Frontiers in immunology. Front. Immunol. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2017.00290
Lilian Wen, Mingli Zhao, Heng Chi, Li Sun. 2018. Histones and chymotrypsin-like elastases play significant roles in the antimicrobial activity of tongue sole neutrophil extracellular traps. Fish & Shellfish Immunology. doi: 10.1016/j.fsi.2017.11.004.
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Genomic epidemiological determination of routes of pathogenic virus transmission between farmed salmon
Viruses in farmed salmon harm the UK's economy, decrease industry sustainability, and reduce fish welfare. Piscine myocarditis virus (PMCV) and infectious salmon anaemia virus (ISAV) are particularly damaging. This project aims to improve understanding of how these viruses spread between farms, and hence inform actions that can improve disease control and reduce disease incidence.