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Mingyu Zhang, Ph.D.

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Biography
Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, Boston, MAPostdoctoral Fellowship08/2023Developmental and Lifecourse Epidemiology
Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MDPhD07/2022Environmental Epidemiology
Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MDCertificate06/2020Clinical Trials
Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MDMHS05/2018Cardiovascular and Clinical Epidemiology
Peking University, BeijingBS06/2016Experimental Medical Sciences
Peking University, BeijingBEcon06/2016Economics
2024
Fellow of the American Heart Association (FAHA)
2023
Society for Epidemiologic Research Lilienfeld Postdoctoral Prize Paper Award, Finalist
2023
Delta Omega Public Health Honor Society, Alpha Chapter
2023
Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society
2023
American Heart Association Scott Grundy Award for Excellence in Metabolism Research
2022
Pediatric Research Reviewer Award of 2021
2022
Public Health Conference Career Development Travel Award
2021
American Heart Association Jeremiah and Rose Stamler Research Award for New Investigators
2021
Society for Pediatric and Perinatal Epidemiologic Research Honorable Mention Paper
2021
Johns Hopkins Teaching Assistant Recognition Award
2021
Ellen B. Gold Fund
2020
The Winifred S. Hayes Fund
2019
Moyses Szklo Teaching Assistantship in Epidemiologic Methods
2019
American Heart Association Early Investigator Travel Award
2018
The Charlotte Ferencz Fund

Overview
Dr. Mingyu Zhang is a faculty member in the Department of Medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School. Dr. Zhang received his PhD (environmental epidemiology) and MHS (cardiovascular disease and clinical epidemiology) degrees from Johns Hopkins University. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Population Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute.

The primary focus of Dr. Zhang's research program is to understand how environmental exposures shape disease risks and impact cardiovascular and metabolic health across the lifespan. His scholarly collaborations at Johns Hopkins and Harvard have led to 39 manuscripts published in high-impact, peer-reviewed journals. Dr. Zhang has successfully competed for grants from the American Heart Association (AHA) and has received prestigious awards such as the AHA Jeremiah and Rose Stamler Research Award for New Investigators and the Scott Grundy Fellowship Award for Excellence in Metabolism Research.

Major media outlets, including The Washington Post, The New York Times, and Reuters, have covered Dr. Zhang's work. His research has also been cited in guidelines by national and international organizations, including the World Health Organization (WHO) and the American Public Health Association (APHA). Dr. Zhang currently serves as an Associate Editor for the journal Trials.

Mentoring
Available: 04/01/24, Expires: 03/31/27

The goal of this project is to investigate the impact of exposure to a "mixture" of heavy metals and trace elements during pregnancy and at 3 years postpartum on women’s mid-life cardiometabolic health. Additionally, it examines how adherence to healthy lifestyle behaviors (i.e., healthy diet, physical activity, avoiding smoking, and adequate sleep) may mitigate the adverse effects of heavy metals. Participants are from Project Viva, a prospective pregnancy cohort initiated in 1999-2002 to study how environmental and lifestyle factors affect the long-term health of women and their children (https://www.projectviva.org/). Students will have the opportunity to lead research projects, conduct data management and analysis, present at scientific conferences, and author peer-reviewed manuscripts. This research opportunity is based at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center with close collaboration with the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute. This project is funded by the American Heart Association.

Available: 07/01/24, Expires: 06/30/27

The goal of this project is to understand the impacts of pregnancy exposure to a mixture of toxic metals (Pb, Hg, Cd) and trace elements (Mn, Se) on diabetes risks across the reproductive lifespan of Black and Hispanic women, from gestational diabetes (GDM) during pregnancy to type 2 diabetes (T2D) in mid-life. The project also aims to uncover how metals could be an underrecognized source of racial and ethnic disparities in the progression from GDM to incident T2D. Participants are from the Boston Birth Cohort, a large, long-standing (over 20 years of follow-up), prospective U.S. cohort that comprises predominantly urban, low-income, and minority women. Students will have the opportunity to lead research projects, conduct data management and analysis, present at scientific conferences, and author peer-reviewed manuscripts. This research opportunity is based at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center with close collaboration with the Center on the Early Life Origins of Disease at Johns Hopkins University. This project is funded by the American Diabetes Association.


Research
The research activities and funding listed below are automatically derived from NIH ExPORTER and other sources, which might result in incorrect or missing items. Faculty can login to make corrections and additions.
  1. 7-24-ICTSWH-10 (ZHANG, MINGYU) Jul 1, 2024 - Jun 30, 2027
    American Diabetes Association
    Toxic Disparities: Metal Mixtures and Diabetes Risks Across the Reproductive Lifespan of Black and Hispanic Women
    Role: Principal Investigator
  2. 24CDA1257852 (ZHANG, MINGYU) Apr 1, 2024 - Mar 31, 2027
    American Heart Association
    From pregnancy to mid-life: metal mixtures and health behaviors shaping maternal cardiometabolic health over 20 years
    Role: Principal Investigator
  3. UG3OD035533 (OKEN, EMILY) Sep 1, 2023 - May 31, 2025
    NIH
    Neighborhoods and health across the life course: Early life inequities in food insecurity, diet quality, and chemical exposures
    Role: Co-Investigator
  4. R01HL153191 (JURASCHEK, STEPHEN P) Sep 1, 2021 - Aug 31, 2024
    NIH
    Clinical Implications of Blood Pressure Patterns Among Older Adults
    Role: Co-Investigator
  5. 827990 (ZHANG, MINGYU) Apr 1, 2021 - Aug 26, 2022
    American Heart Association
    In utero exposure to heavy metals and trace elements, maternal and cord metabolome, and childhood blood pressure
    Role: Principal Investigator

Featured Content

Bibliographic
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Funded by the NIH National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences through its Clinical and Translational Science Awards Program, grant number UL1TR002541.