Biography
Dr. Zhu is currently a tenured associate professor of Human Nutrition. He earned his B.S. and M.D. in Clinical Medicine from Wuhan University, followed by a Ph.D. in Internal Medicine with a focus on Gastroenterology and Nutrition from the First Clinical Medical College at Wuhan University. He completed his postdoctoral fellowship in Human Nutrition at the UNC Nutrition Research Institute, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Dr. Zhu’s research focuses on personalized nutrition within the framework of Food is Medicine. His work investigates how diet/nutrient intake interacts with genetic, lifestyle, and environmental factors to influence the risk of human chronic diseases. Utilizing systems biomedical approaches, he aims to uncover inter-individual differences in nutrient metabolism and diet-related disease susceptibility. His long-term goal is to develop personalized nutrition recommendations and evidence-based dietary strategies for disease prevention and precision health. Dr. Zhu has published extensively in leading peer-reviewed journals, including Diabetes Care and JAMA Network Open, and has presented his findings at national and international conferences. He has been recognized with multiple research awards and serves as a reviewer for external grants as well as high-impact academic journals.
In addition, Dr. Zhu prioritizes excellence in teaching and mentoring. He actively engages students in research. Through hands-on mentoring, his students have obtained research awards, presented research findings at national academic conferences (e.g., American Society for Nutrition Annual Meeting), and published several original research papers as first authors or co-authors in high-quality peer-reviewed journals.
Dr. Zhu’s research focuses on personalized nutrition within the framework of Food is Medicine. His work investigates how diet/nutrient intake interacts with genetic, lifestyle, and environmental factors to influence the risk of human chronic diseases. Utilizing systems biomedical approaches, he aims to uncover inter-individual differences in nutrient metabolism and diet-related disease susceptibility. His long-term goal is to develop personalized nutrition recommendations and evidence-based dietary strategies for disease prevention and precision health. Dr. Zhu has published extensively in leading peer-reviewed journals, including Diabetes Care and JAMA Network Open, and has presented his findings at national and international conferences. He has been recognized with multiple research awards and serves as a reviewer for external grants as well as high-impact academic journals.
In addition, Dr. Zhu prioritizes excellence in teaching and mentoring. He actively engages students in research. Through hands-on mentoring, his students have obtained research awards, presented research findings at national academic conferences (e.g., American Society for Nutrition Annual Meeting), and published several original research papers as first authors or co-authors in high-quality peer-reviewed journals.
Research Interests
Dr. Zhu’s nutrigenetic and nutrigenomic lab focuses on elucidating how diet, genetic susceptibility, lifestyle, and environmental determinants interact to influence chronic disease risk, while leveraging systems biomedical approaches to uncover inter-individual differences in nutrient metabolism through integrated biochemical, genetic, epigenetic, metabolomic, microbiome, and physiological assessments.
The goal of this research is to define the individual factors that contribute to diet-related disease risk, elucidate inter-individual differences in nutrient metabolism, and develop effective nutrition-based interventions among different populations.
By translating precision nutrition concepts into public health contexts, this research work aims to advance personalized dietary recommendations within the Food is Medicine framework, ultimately improving health outcomes and enhancing the prevention and treatment of human chronic diseases.
The goal of this research is to define the individual factors that contribute to diet-related disease risk, elucidate inter-individual differences in nutrient metabolism, and develop effective nutrition-based interventions among different populations.
By translating precision nutrition concepts into public health contexts, this research work aims to advance personalized dietary recommendations within the Food is Medicine framework, ultimately improving health outcomes and enhancing the prevention and treatment of human chronic diseases.
Teaching Interests
Dr. Zhu is dedicated to excellence in teaching and mentoring, with instructional experience in Nutrient Metabolism, Nutritional Biochemistry, and Nutrition and Health. He actively engages undergraduate and graduate students in research, fostering critical thinking and scientific inquiry through hands-on mentorship.
Beyond the classroom, Dr. Zhu is committed to promoting education on personalized nutrition and healthy eating to broader public audiences, bridging evidence-based scientific knowledge with real-world applications to improve health.
Beyond the classroom, Dr. Zhu is committed to promoting education on personalized nutrition and healthy eating to broader public audiences, bridging evidence-based scientific knowledge with real-world applications to improve health.