Jinying Zhao

Jinying Zhao, MD, PhD

Deans Endowed Chair And Professor Director, Center For Genetic Epidemiology And Bioinformatics (GeneBio), Preeminence Faculty

Department: Department of Epidemiology
Business Phone: (352) 273-5933
Business Email: jzhao66@ufl.edu

About Jinying Zhao

Jinying Zhao, MD, PhD, is a Deans Endowed Chair and Professor of Epidemiology and Director of the Center for Genetic Epidemiology and Bioinformatics (GeneBio) at the University of Florida. She received MD and PhD (Molecular Genetics and Epidemiology) in China and her second PhD in Statistical Genetics & Genetic Epidemiology at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. Dr. Zhao’s research focuses on genetic epidemiology, statistical genetics, and bioinformatics using state-of-the-art molecular and statistical approaches including integration of large-scale multi-omics data sets and machine learning. The long-term goals of her research are to understand the mechanisms underlying human aging and age-related diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, major depression and Alzheimer’s disease, and to identify novel biomarkers and therapeutic targets for precision health. Dr. Zhao serves as the Principal Investigator of multiple NIH-funded research projects (R01s): 1) Telomere attrition and diabetes risk in American Indians (funded by NIDDK); 2) Epigenetic determinants for major depression: a monozygotic discordant twin study (funded by NIMH); 3) Novel metabolic predictors of diabetes in American Indians (funded by NIDDK); 4) Genome-wide profiling of brain DNA hydroxymethylome in Alzheimer’s disease (funded by NIA); 5) Genome-wide mapping and integrative analysis of DNA 6mA methylome in AD (funded by NIA); and 6) Gut microbiome, aging and cardiometabolic health in American Indians (funded by NIA). Prior to joining UF, Dr. Zhao was a faculty member at Tulane University and Emory University. Dr. Zhao’s research excellence was recognized by several prestigious awards, e.g., the Elizabeth Barrett-Connor Research Award, the Roger R. Williams Award for Genetic Epidemiology, presented by the American Heart Association. Dr. Zhao has also been mentoring graduate students (MS, MPH, and PhD), postdoctoral fellows and junior faculty members. Her mentees have been awarded with pre-doctoral fellowship, career development grants and other national awards.

Accomplishments

Dean’s Citation Award
2018 · Public Health and Health Professions, University of Florida
Roger R. Williams Award for Genetic Epidemiology in the Prevention and Treatment of Atherosclerosis
2012 · The American Heart Association
Sandra Daugherty Award for Excellence in Cardiovascular Disease or Hypertension Epidemiology (Finalist)
2009 · The American Heart Association
Elizabeth Barrett-Connor Research Award for Young Investigators
2006 · The American Heart Association

Teaching Profile

Courses Taught
2019-2020
PHC6971 Research for Master’s Thesis
2017-2024
PHC7979 Advanced Research
2017-2024
PHC7918 Independent Study
2019-2020,2022
PHC7594 Genetic Epidemiology
2017-2018,2020
PHC6946 Public Health Internship
2018,2020
PHC6601 Seminar in Contemporary Public Health Issues
2018,2021
PHC7980 Research for Doctoral Dissertation
2017-2018
PHC6937 Special Topics in Public Health
2021-2022
PHC6941 MPH Applied Practice Experience

Research Profile

Open Researcher and Contributor ID (ORCID)

0000-0003-3243-2660

Publications

2024
Learning from vertically distributed data across multiple sites: An efficient privacy-preserving algorithm for Cox proportional hazards model with variable selection.
Journal of biomedical informatics. 149 [DOI] 10.1016/j.jbi.2023.104581. [PMID] 38142903.
2024
Longitudinal Lipidomic Signature of Coronary Heart Disease in American Indian People.
Journal of the American Heart Association. 13(3) [DOI] 10.1161/JAHA.123.031825. [PMID] 38293910.
2024
Longitudinal Profiling of Fasting Plasma Metabolome in Response to Weight-Loss Interventions in Patients with Morbid Obesity.
Metabolites. 14(2) [DOI] 10.3390/metabo14020116. [PMID] 38393008.
2024
Plasma lipidomic markers of diet quality are associated with incident coronary heart disease in American Indian adults: the Strong Heart Family Study.
The American journal of clinical nutrition. 119(3):748-755 [DOI] 10.1016/j.ajcnut.2023.12.024. [PMID] 38160800.
2023
DNA methylation is differentially associated with glycemic outcomes by different types of weight-loss interventions: an epigenome-wide association study.
Clinical epigenetics. 15(1) [DOI] 10.1186/s13148-023-01522-9. [PMID] 37393279.
2023
Epigenome-wide association study identifies novel genes associated with ischemic stroke.
Clinical epigenetics. 15(1) [DOI] 10.1186/s13148-023-01520-x. [PMID] 37370144.
2023
Estrogen Receptor Genes, Cognitive Decline, and Alzheimer Disease.
Neurology. 100(14):e1474-e1487 [DOI] 10.1212/WNL.0000000000206833. [PMID] 36697247.
2023
Fine-mapping and replication of EWAS loci harboring putative epigenetic alterations associated with AD neuropathology in a large collection of human brain tissue samples.
Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association. 19(4):1216-1226 [DOI] 10.1002/alz.12761. [PMID] 35959851.
2023
Graphical Learning and Causal Inference for Drug Repurposing.
medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences. [DOI] 10.1101/2023.07.29.23293346. [PMID] 37577650.
2023
Lipidomics profiling of biological aging in American Indians: the Strong Heart Family Study.
GeroScience. 45(1):359-369 [DOI] 10.1007/s11357-022-00638-9. [PMID] 35953607.
2023
Longitudinal Lipidomic Profile of Hypertension in American Indians: Findings From the Strong Heart Family Study.
Hypertension (Dallas, Tex. : 1979). 80(8):1771-1783 [DOI] 10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.123.21144. [PMID] 37334699.
2023
Longitudinal lipidomic signature of carotid atherosclerosis in American Indians: Findings from the Strong Heart Family Study.
Atherosclerosis. 382 [DOI] 10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2023.117265. [PMID] 37722315.
2023
Longitudinal lipidomic signatures of all-cause and CVD mortality in American Indians: findings from the Strong Heart Study.
GeroScience. 45(4):2669-2687 [DOI] 10.1007/s11357-023-00793-7. [PMID] 37055600.
2023
mTOR pathway candidate genes and energy intake interaction on breast cancer risk in Black women from the Women’s Circle of Health Study.
European journal of nutrition. 62(6):2593-2604 [DOI] 10.1007/s00394-023-03176-y. [PMID] 37209192.
2023
mTOR pathway candidate genes and obesity interaction on breast cancer risk in black women from the Women’s Circle of Health Study.
Cancer causes & control : CCC. 34(5):431-447 [DOI] 10.1007/s10552-022-01657-9. [PMID] 36790512.
2023
mTOR pathway candidate genes and physical activity interaction on breast cancer risk in black women from the women’s circle of health study.
Breast cancer research and treatment. 199(1):137-146 [DOI] 10.1007/s10549-023-06902-6. [PMID] 36882608.
2023
Plasma lipidomic profile of depressive symptoms: a longitudinal study in a large sample of community-dwelling American Indians in the strong heart study.
Molecular psychiatry. 28(6):2480-2489 [DOI] 10.1038/s41380-023-01948-w. [PMID] 36653676.
2022
Analysis and Comparison of Mouse and Human Brain Gangliosides via Two-Stage Matching of MS/MS Spectra.
ACS omega. 7(7):6403-6411 [DOI] 10.1021/acsomega.1c07070. [PMID] 35224401.
2022
Arsenic Exposure, Blood DNA Methylation, and Cardiovascular Disease.
Circulation research. 131(2):e51-e69 [DOI] 10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.122.320991. [PMID] 35658476.
2022
Associations between Vitamin D, Omega 6:Omega 3 Ratio, and Biomarkers of Aging in Individuals Living with and without Chronic Pain.
Nutrients. 14(2) [DOI] 10.3390/nu14020266. [PMID] 35057447.
2022
Lipidomic profiling in the Strong Heart Study identified American Indians at risk of chronic kidney disease.
Kidney international. 102(5):1154-1166 [DOI] 10.1016/j.kint.2022.06.023. [PMID] 35853479.
2022
PM2.5 constituents and onset of gestational diabetes mellitus: Identifying susceptible exposure windows
Atmospheric Environment. 291 [DOI] 10.1016/j.atmosenv.2022.119409. [PMID] 37151750.
2021
An atlas of metallome and metabolome interactions and associations with incident diabetes in the Strong Heart Family Study.
Environment international. 157 [DOI] 10.1016/j.envint.2021.106810. [PMID] 34365318.
2021
Blood DNA Methylation and Incident Coronary Heart Disease: Evidence From the Strong Heart Study.
JAMA cardiology. 6(11):1237-1246 [DOI] 10.1001/jamacardio.2021.2704. [PMID] 34347013.
2021
Causal AI with Real World Data: Do Statins Protect from Alzheimer’s Disease Onset?
ICMHI 2021 : 2021 5th International Conference on Medical and Health Informatics : May 14-16, 2021, Kyoto, Japan. International Conference on Medical and Health Informatics (5th : 2021 : Online). 2021:296-303 [DOI] 10.1145/3472813.3473206. [PMID] 37954527.
2021
Characterization of Glycosphingolipids and Their Diverse Lipid Forms through Two-Stage Matching of LC-MS/MS Spectra.
Analytical chemistry. 93(6):3154-3162 [DOI] 10.1021/acs.analchem.0c04542. [PMID] 33534538.
2021
Human Brain and Blood N-Glycome Profiling in Alzheimer’s Disease and Alzheimer’s Disease-Related Dementias.
Frontiers in aging neuroscience. 13 [DOI] 10.3389/fnagi.2021.765259. [PMID] 34776937.
2021
Longitudinal Plasma Lipidome and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes in a Large Sample of American Indians With Normal Fasting Glucose: The Strong Heart Family Study.
Diabetes care. 44(12):2664-2672 [DOI] 10.2337/dc21-0451. [PMID] 34702783.
2021
Metabolites Associated with Early Cognitive Changes Implicated in Alzheimer’s Disease.
Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD. 79(3):1041-1054 [DOI] 10.3233/JAD-200176. [PMID] 33427733.
2021
Methylation biomarkers of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and association with breast cancer risk at the time of menopause.
Environment international. 156 [DOI] 10.1016/j.envint.2021.106772. [PMID] 34425644.
2021
Racial, Ethnic, and Geographic Disparities in Cardiovascular Health Among Women of Childbearing Age in the United States.
Journal of the American Heart Association. 10(17) [DOI] 10.1161/JAHA.120.020138. [PMID] 34431309.
2020
An external exposome-wide association study of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy.
Environment international. 141 [DOI] 10.1016/j.envint.2020.105797. [PMID] 32413622.
2020
Brain and blood metabolome for Alzheimer’s dementia: findings from a targeted metabolomics analysis.
Neurobiology of aging. 86:123-133 [DOI] 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2019.10.014. [PMID] 31785839.
2020
Corrigendum to brain and blood metabolome for Alzheimer’s dementia: findings from a targeted metabolomics analysis [Neurobiology of Aging Volume 86, February 2020, Pages 123-133].
Neurobiology of aging. 91 [DOI] 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2020.04.004. [PMID] 32312579.
2020
Design and methodology challenges of environment-wide association studies: A systematic review.
Environmental research. 183 [DOI] 10.1016/j.envres.2020.109275. [PMID] 32105887.
2020
High-Order Association Mapping for Expression Quantitative Trait Loci.
Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.). 2082:147-155 [DOI] 10.1007/978-1-0716-0026-9_10. [PMID] 31849013.
2020
Metabolic Profiling of Cognitive Aging in Midlife.
Frontiers in aging neuroscience. 12 [DOI] 10.3389/fnagi.2020.555850. [PMID] 33250761.
2020
Shared Causal Paths underlying Alzheimer’s dementia and Type 2 Diabetes.
Scientific reports. 10(1) [DOI] 10.1038/s41598-020-60682-3. [PMID] 32139775.
2019
An investigation of racial/ethnic and sex differences in the association between experiences of everyday discrimination and leukocyte telomere length among patients with coronary artery disease.
Psychoneuroendocrinology. 106:122-128 [DOI] 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2019.03.021. [PMID] 30978531.
2019
DNA Methylation of Five Core Circadian Genes Jointly Contributes to Glucose Metabolism: A Gene-Set Analysis in Monozygotic Twins.
Frontiers in genetics. 10 [DOI] 10.3389/fgene.2019.00329. [PMID] 31031806.
2019
DNA methylation variability in Alzheimer’s disease.
Neurobiology of aging. 76:35-44 [DOI] 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2018.12.003. [PMID] 30660039.
2019
Genome-wide profiling of DNA methylome and transcriptome in peripheral blood monocytes for major depression: A Monozygotic Discordant Twin Study.
Translational psychiatry. 9(1) [DOI] 10.1038/s41398-019-0550-2. [PMID] 31477685.
2019
Identifying Multi-Omics Causers and Causal Pathways for Complex Traits.
Frontiers in genetics. 10 [DOI] 10.3389/fgene.2019.00110. [PMID] 30847004.
2019
Identifying Rare Variant Associations in Admixed Populations.
Scientific reports. 9(1) [DOI] 10.1038/s41598-019-41845-3. [PMID] 30931973.
2019
Targeted metabolomics to understand the association between arsenic metabolism and diabetes-related outcomes: Preliminary evidence from the Strong Heart Family Study.
Environmental research. 168:146-157 [DOI] 10.1016/j.envres.2018.09.034. [PMID] 30316100.
2019
Telomere length and cancer mortality in American Indians: the Strong Heart Study.
GeroScience. 41(3):351-361 [DOI] 10.1007/s11357-019-00080-4. [PMID] 31230193.
2019
Urinary metals and leukocyte telomere length in American Indian communities: The Strong Heart and the Strong Heart Family Study.
Environmental pollution (Barking, Essex : 1987). 246:311-318 [DOI] 10.1016/j.envpol.2018.12.010. [PMID] 30557805.
2018
Childhood Trauma, DNA Methylation of Stress-Related Genes, and Depression: Findings From Two Monozygotic Twin Studies.
Psychosomatic medicine. 80(7):599-608 [DOI] 10.1097/PSY.0000000000000604. [PMID] 29781947.
2018
Perinatal Exposure to Western Diet Programs Autonomic Dysfunction in the Male Offspring.
Cellular and molecular neurobiology. 38(1):233-242 [DOI] 10.1007/s10571-017-0502-4. [PMID] 28478572.
2018
Physical activity and telomere length in American Indians: the Strong Heart Study.
European journal of epidemiology. 33(5):497-500 [DOI] 10.1007/s10654-018-0363-2. [PMID] 29417315.
2018
Study Design and Rationale for the Mood and Methylation Study: A Platform for Multi-Omics Investigation of Depression in Twins.
Twin research and human genetics : the official journal of the International Society for Twin Studies. 21(6):507-513 [DOI] 10.1017/thg.2018.64. [PMID] 30484417.
2018
Telomere Length and Magnetic Resonance Imaging Findings of Vascular Brain Injury and Central Brain Atrophy the Strong Heart Study
American Journal of Epidemiology. 187(6):1231-1239 [DOI] 10.1093/aje/kwx368. [PMID] 29860472.
2018
Video-assisted topographical measurement of cigarette smoking: Exploration of an objective approach to evaluate nicotine dependence.
Tobacco prevention & cessation. 4 [DOI] 10.18332/tpc/90821. [PMID] 32411847.
2017
A genome-wide profiling of brain DNA hydroxymethylation in Alzheimer’s disease.
Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association. 13(6):674-688 [DOI] 10.1016/j.jalz.2016.10.004. [PMID] 28089213.
2017
Erratum to: Integrating mean and variance heterogeneities to identify differentially expressed genes.
BMC bioinformatics. 18(1) [DOI] 10.1186/s12859-017-1507-1. [PMID] 28158966.
2017
Leukocyte telomere length and ideal cardiovascular health in American Indians: the Strong Heart Family Study.
European journal of epidemiology. 32(1):67-75 [DOI] 10.1007/s10654-016-0199-6. [PMID] 27660162.
2017
Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 is associated with leukocyte telomere length in American Indians: findings from the Strong Heart Family Study.
Journal of thrombosis and haemostasis : JTH. 15(6):1078-1085 [DOI] 10.1111/jth.13689. [PMID] 28378522.
2017
Relationship between plasma plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 and hypertension in American Indians: findings from the Strong Heart Study.
Journal of hypertension. 35(9):1787-1793 [DOI] 10.1097/HJH.0000000000001375. [PMID] 28379891.
2017
Telomere Shortening, Regenerative Capacity, and Cardiovascular Outcomes.
Circulation research. 120(7):1130-1138 [DOI] 10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.116.309421. [PMID] 27956416.
2016
Depressive Symptoms Are Associated With Leukocyte Telomere Length in American Indians: Findings From the Strong Heart Family Study
Aging-US. 8(11):2961-2970 [DOI] 10.18632/aging.101104. [PMID] 27870638.
2016
Integrating Mean and Variance Heterogeneities to Identify Differentially Expressed Genes
BMC bioinformatics. 17(1) [DOI] 10.1186/s12859-016-1393-y. [PMID] 27923367.

Grants

Sep 2023 ACTIVE
Brain glycosphingolipids and Alzheimer's disease
Role: Principal Investigator
Funding: NATL INST OF HLTH NIA
Sep 2023 ACTIVE
Sociocultural factors, DNA methylation and Risk of Diabetes in Hispanics/Latinos
Role: Principal Investigator
Funding: NATL INST OF HLTH NIDDK
May 2023 ACTIVE
Brain lipids and AD
Role: Principal Investigator
Funding: NATL INST OF HLTH NIA
Sep 2022 ACTIVE
Survival genetics methods for detecting sex-dependent genetic effects on Alzheimers disease
Role: Co-Investigator
Funding: MICHIGAN STATE UNIV via NATL INST OF HLTH NIA
Jun 2021 – Sep 2021
Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy and Early Risk of Maternal DCVD: Influence of the External Exposome
Role: Other
Funding: NATL INST OF HLTH NHLBI
Sep 2020 ACTIVE
Gut microbiome, aging and cardiometabolic diseases in American Indians
Role: Principal Investigator
Funding: NATL INST OF HLTH NIA
Jan 2020 – Aug 2021
Telomere length, DNA methylation, and CVD risk: transethnic meta-EWAS in four large prospective cohorts
Role: Other
Funding: AMER HEART ASSOCIATION
Sep 2019 ACTIVE
Genome-wide profiling of brain 6mA methylome in AD
Role: Principal Investigator
Funding: NATL INST OF HLTH NIA
Aug 2017 ACTIVE
Epigenetic mechanisms of emotional/behavioral health among impoverished African American youth
Role: Co-Investigator
Funding: NATL INST OF HLTH NIMHD
Jul 2017 – Jun 2021
The Total Environment and Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy: A Precision Public Health Approach
Role: Co-Investigator
Funding: AMER HEART ASSOCIATION
Jun 2017 – May 2021
DRPD-R0F2017: An Integrated Multi-'omics' Analysis of Myelodysplastic Syndromes
Role: Principal Investigator
Funding: UF DSR OPPORTUNITY FUND
Sep 2016 – Aug 2023
Novel Metabolic Predictors of Diabetes in American Indians
Role: Principal Investigator
Funding: NATL INST OF HLTH NIDDK
Aug 2016 – Jul 2021
Epigenetic Determinants of Major Depression: a Monozygotic Discordant Twin Study
Role: Principal Investigator
Funding: NATL INST OF HLTH NIMH
Aug 2016 – May 2017
Telomere Attrition and Diabetes Risk in American Indians
Role: Principal Investigator
Funding: TULANE UNIV. via NATL INST OF HLTH NIDDK
Jun 2016 – Aug 2021
Genome-wide Profiling of Brain DNA Hydroxymethylome in Alzheimers Disease
Role: Principal Investigator
Funding: NATL INST OF HLTH NIA
Apr 2015 – Jun 2021
Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI)
Role: Project Manager
Funding: UF DIV OF SPONSORED RES MATCHING FUNDS

Education

PhD in Genetic Epidemiology and Statistical Genetics
2005 · University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
PhD in Molecular Genetics and Epidemiology
1999 · Chinese Academy of Medicine Sciences/Peking Union Medical College
Doctor in Medicine (MD)
1989 · Zhengzhou University School of Medicine

Contact Details

Phones:
Business:
(352) 273-5933
Emails:
Business:
jzhao66@ufl.edu
Addresses:
Business Mailing:
PO Box 100231
2004 MOWRY RD FL 4
GAINESVILLE FL 32610
Business Street:
2004 MOWRY RD
GAINESVILLE FL 32610