Dr. Hongliu Cai serves as Director of the Department of Critical Care Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, where he also holds the positions of Academic Leader and Secretary of the Primary Party Branch. With three decades of experience in critical care medicine, he has developed extensive clinical expertise in managing critically ill patients, demonstrates solid professional knowledge, strong clinical competence, and displays a deep sense of compassion as a physician. He has been instrumental in saving numerous critically ill patients and has consistently received commendation from both colleagues and patients.
During the COVID-19 pandemic that emerged in late 2019, Dr. Cai exhibited exceptional leadership, guiding his critical care team in safeguarding the frontline of patient care and achieving a milestone of zero fatalities among severe cases in Zhejiang Province. Following Zhejiang’s initial success in pandemic containment, Dr. Cai was commissioned by the National Health Commission and the Zhejiang Provincial Party Committee and Government to travel approximately 20,000 kilometers to Italy—then the most severely affected country—where he provided guidance and shared expertise on COVID‑19 prevention and treatment, earning widespread recognition. He participated in multiple international videoconferences with health officials and experts from countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia, Japan, and Ethiopia to exchange COVID‑19 response strategies, thereby contributing to global pandemic mitigation efforts. As a nationally appointed expert by the National Health Commission, he played a direct role in guiding COVID‑19 response efforts in Shijiazhuang, Xingtai, Hebei, Jilin, Shanghai and Hainan.
He has received numerous prestigious honors, including Outstanding Communist Party Member of Zhejiang Province, Advanced Individual in the Fight Against COVID‑19 in Zhejiang Province, Outstanding Communist Party Member of Zhejiang University, Zhejiang University Good Doctor Award, International Critical Care Anti-Pandemic Pioneer (awarded by the Chinese Society of Critical Care Medicine), and Distinguished Individual on the 2020 Pandemic Heroes Roster (Physician News). Under his leadership, the team has been commended by the Zhejiang Provincial Party Committee and Government and has received several distinctions, including the title of National Advanced Collective in COVID‑19 Prevention and Control in the Health System, Advanced Collective for Threefold Education at Zhejiang University, and Advanced Grassroots Party Organization of the same hospital.
