He received MD from Zhejiang Medical University, Hangzhou, China in 1986. From 1986 to 1995 he worked as a resident, chief resident and attending physician in the Department of Medicine, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Beijing China. In 1995 he was hired as a Postdoctoral research assistant at the University of Calgary, Canada. In February, 1996, Dr. Cao joined Gastrointestinal Motility Research Lab, Department of Medicine, Rhode Island Hospital and The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. Dr. Cao has been an attending pathologist in Department of Pathology and Medicine at RI hospital. He has published 62 original research articles, two book chapters and 95 abstracts.