Prof. Dr. Wentao Li received a B.S. in bioengineering from Sichuan Agricultural University in 2008, a Ph.D. from Huazhong Agriculture University in 2014, and a Ph.D. from the Universiteit Utrecht in 2018. He is a professor at Huazhong Agricultural University. His research focuses on coronaviruses and African swine fever virus (ASFV), with particular interest in virus entry into the host cell. Within his research track, he has four lines of research: (1) the identification of host receptor(s) for ASFV and coronaviruses, including the porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) porcine deltacoronavirus (PDCoV); (2) the proteolytic activation of coronavirus spike fusion protein; (3) the characterization of monoclonal antibodies targeting the coronavirus spike protein and ASFV; and (4) exploring novel strategies to identify host receptors for viruses and understand virus–receptor interactions at the structural level.
Huazhong Agricultural University
Wuhan, Hubei, China
College of Veterinary Medicine
Best publication prize - 2017
Utrecht University
Excellence in Review Award-2021
Animal Diseases (Journal)
Highly Cited Researcher 2022
Clarivate
FEMS Meeting Attendance Grant-2019
FEMS
FEMS Meeting Attendance Grant-2017
FEMS
Highly Cited Researcher 2023
Clarivate
WORLD’S TOP 2% SCIENTISTS in 2023
STANFORD UNIVERSITY
WORLD’S TOP 2% SCIENTISTS in 2022
STANFORD UNIVERSITY
WORLD’S TOP 2% SCIENTISTS in 2021
STANFORD UNIVERSITY

Young Investigator Award
MDPI
Awarded by International Journal of Molecular Sciences in 2024
Senior Scientist or Principal Investigator
Huazhong Agricultural University
01 Apr 2021 - present
Post Doctoral Researcher
Utrecht University
01 Jul 2015 - 01 Feb 2021
Graduate Student or Post Graduate
Utrecht University
01 May 2013 - 01 Jun 2015
Graduate Student or Post Graduate
Huazhong Agricultural University
01 Sep 2008 - 01 Dec 2014
Undergraduate Student
Sichuan Agricultural University
01 Sep 2004 - 01 Jul 2008