Harvard Catalyst Profiles

Fudan University, Shanghai, China	B.S.
University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA	Ph.D.

Dr. Qian is the Associate Director of the Medical Chronobiology Program at BWH. She has been actively involved in the research of the circadian system and physiology for over 10 years. Her research is primarily focused on the physiological mechanisms by which timing of behavior, such as food intake and physical activity, can interact with the circadian system, and synergistically affect cardiometabolic outcomes. She is also interested in understanding the interindividual differences based on sex and genetics in these interactions. For example, She has demonstrated the impacts of circadian misalignment on glycemic and appetite control, sex differences in energy metabolism under night shift, and the interaction effects of the circadian system and physical activity on cardiometabolic health. At every stage of her training she has been awarded fellowships or training grants that recognize academic excellence, research ability, and leadership, including a postdoctoral fellowship from American Diabetes Association, a pilot and feasibility grant from Nutrition Obesity Research Center at Harvard, and a prestigious K99 Award from NIH.