Longgang Zhao, PhD
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Postdoctoral Associate
Biography
I'm currently a postdoctoral research associate at the Yale School of Nursing with expertise in nutritional and molecular epidemiology. My research focuses on how diet, inflammation, and metabolic dysfunction contribute to liver cancer and chronic liver disease. I also apply large-scale cohort data and multi-omics approaches—particularly proteomics and metabolomics—to identify early biomarkers and advance precision prevention. I have authored over 60 peer-reviewed publications, including first-author papers in leading journals such as JAMA, The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, and Journal of Hepatology. My work has been recognized through national awards and invited presentations at major scientific conferences, such as ASN, SER, and AASLD.
Last Updated on August 08, 2025.
Appointments
School of Nursing
Postdoctoral AssociatePrimary
Other Departments & Organizations
- School of Nursing
- Yale School of Nursing
Education & Training
- Research fellows
- Harvard Medical School (2025)
- PhD
- University of South Carolina, Epidemiology
- MS
- Fudan University, Shanghai Cancer Institute
Research
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Overview
I am a molecular epidemiologist with specialized training in nutrition and chronic disease epidemiology. My research is centered on the impact of dietary patterns, nutrition, and related biomarkers on the development and progression of chronic noncommunicable diseases, particularly liver cancer and cardiovascular diseases. Throughout my doctoral and postdoctoral training at the University of South Carolina, Harvard Medical School, and Yale University, I have conducted extensive research utilizing large cohort datasets to identify dietary risk factors and their mechanistic pathways in chronic disease etiology. My work has been recognized through several awards, including the Emerging Leaders in Nutrition Science Poster Competition Award from the American Society for Nutrition. I am committed to advancing our understanding of diet-disease relationships to inform public health strategies and interventions aimed at reducing chronic disease burden.
Public Health Interests
Biomarkers; Cancer; Chronic Diseases; Global Health; Metabolomics; Non-Communicable Diseases; Nutrition; Obesity; PFAS
ORCID
0000-0001-9254-1952
Research at a Glance
Publications Timeline
A big-picture view of Longgang Zhao's research output by year.
Yale Co-Authors
Frequent collaborators of Longgang Zhao's published research.
85Publications
1,900Citations
Yun Chen
Tamar Taddei, MD
Wei Zheng
David Vlahov
Shuangge Steven Ma, PhD
Xiaomei Ma, PhD
Publications
2026
Blood Pressure Trajectories in Young Adulthood and Midlife Steatotic Liver Disease.
Chen Y, Zhao L, Zheng Y, Carr J, Gao T, Terry J, Qu Y, Ning H, Zhang X, Wilkins J, Bae S, Carnethon M, Allen N, Jacobs D, Lloyd-Jones D, Hou L, Zhang X. Blood Pressure Trajectories in Young Adulthood and Midlife Steatotic Liver Disease. Hypertension 2026 PMID: 41867060, DOI: 10.1161/hypertensionaha.125.26319.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsBP trajectoriesYoung adulthoodSystolic BP trajectoriesBlood pressureBlood pressure trajectoriesHigh riskSteatotic liver diseaseHigh blood pressureCARDIA studyElevated-stableHypertensive trajectoryWhite adultsLong-term BP changesPressure trajectoriesModerate-stableAnalytic sampleIdentification of individualsModerate-increasingMid-adulthoodLiver diseaseAbdominal computed tomography scanProspective cohortAccurate identification of individualsDiastolic BP groupPositive associationBody mass index (BMI) and risk of lung cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies using directly measured and genetically proxied measures of BMI
Das Gupta R, Merchant A, McDonnell K, Akonde M, Zhao L, Zhang J, Alberg A. Body mass index (BMI) and risk of lung cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies using directly measured and genetically proxied measures of BMI. Cancer Causes & Control 2026, 37: 56. PMID: 41784894, DOI: 10.1007/s10552-026-02143-2.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsLung cancer riskBody mass indexRisk of lung cancerCancer riskMendelian randomizationRisk associationOdds ratioMeasures of body mass indexMass indexCriteria of biological plausibilityRandom-effects meta-analysesAssociated with lung cancerEffects meta-analysesDose-response trendOverweight/obese categoryMeta-analysis of studiesInverse associationNormal weightUnderweight categoryLung cancerSystematic reviewInclusion criteriaMeta-analysesBibliographic databasesMeta-analysisAssociation Between Dietary Folate and Prostate Cancer Aggressiveness Among African Americans and European Americans
Su L, O’Connor S, Aguilar D, Lee M, Wong H, Lin H, Bensen J, Mohler J, Arab L, Zhao L, Butler E, Farnan L, Steck S. Association Between Dietary Folate and Prostate Cancer Aggressiveness Among African Americans and European Americans. Nutrients 2026, 18: 748. PMID: 41829916, PMCID: PMC12986587, DOI: 10.3390/nu18050748.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsProstate cancer aggressivenessProstate cancerFolate intakeCancer aggressivenessConclusions:Quartile levelsMethods:Cancer progressionHigh-aggressive prostate cancerDietary history questionnaireHigher oddsProstate cancer progressionFolate intake levelsNeural tube defectsLogistic regression analysisAfrican AmericansChi-square testAA subjectsClinical characteristicsDietary folateProstateNutritional guidanceTube defectsEA menHistory questionnaireSupplementation with mixed nuts does not improve inflammatory biomarkers or dietary inflammatory potential in post-myocardial infarction: a secondary analysis of the DICA-NUTS Trial
Marcadenti A, Bersch-Ferreira A, Vieira Machado R, Nakagawa Santos R, de Abreu-Silva E, da Silva A, Stein E, Bressan J, Hebert J, Zhao L, Rogero M. Supplementation with mixed nuts does not improve inflammatory biomarkers or dietary inflammatory potential in post-myocardial infarction: a secondary analysis of the DICA-NUTS Trial. Nutrition Metabolism And Cardiovascular Diseases 2026, 104625. PMID: 41856832, DOI: 10.1016/j.numecd.2026.104625.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricConceptsDietary inflammatory potentialC-reactive proteinInflammatory biomarkersAcute myocardial infarctionInflammatory potentialIndependent predictorsPost-AMI patientsSystemic inflammationIFN-gMixed nutsPlasma concentrationsIndependent predictor of cardiovascular eventsLowest DII tertileE-DII scoresTumor necrosis factor-alphaDietary inflammatory indexPredictor of cardiovascular eventsEnergy-adjusted DIIPlasma concentrations of interleukinsNut-enriched dietsIL-4 levelsNecrosis factor-alphaNo significant between-group differencesIFN-g concentrationSecondary analysisSocial determinants disadvantage score and liver health in the All of Us Research Program
Zhang X, Zhao L, Zhang K, Vlahov D, Chen Y, Hsing A, Nguyen M, McGlynn K, Taddei T, Hou L, Zhang X. Social determinants disadvantage score and liver health in the All of Us Research Program. European Journal Of Epidemiology 2026, 41: 207-216. PMID: 41579292, PMCID: PMC12975775, DOI: 10.1007/s10654-025-01358-y.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsSocial determinants of healthUs Research ProgramOdds ratioSocial determinantsSocial determinants of health domainsDisadvantage scoreDeterminants of healthConfidence intervalsElectronic health recordsCross-sectional analysisHigh riskLogistic regression modelsSDOH domainsHealthcare accessHealth outcomesHealth recordsTargeted interventionsSocial disadvantageCommunity contextHealthLongitudinal studyRegression modelsQuintileLiver conditionsAssociation
2025
The impact of genetic and environmental risk factors on adverse liver outcomes
Zhang X, Zhao L, Campbell P, Chen Y, Fang A, Liu Z, Li X, Yang W, Fan J, Petrick J, McGlynn K, Lai M, Zhang X. The impact of genetic and environmental risk factors on adverse liver outcomes. International Journal Of Cancer 2025, 158: 2317-2328. PMID: 41345374, DOI: 10.1002/ijc.70259.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricConceptsPolygenic risk scoresPopulation attributable riskPolygenic risk score tertileEnvironmental risk scoreRisk scoreUK Biobank participantsLevel of genetic predispositionRisk factorsEnvironmental risk factorsCancer RegistryBiobank participantsAttributable riskIncident outcomesLiver cancerGenetic riskHospital recordsTertileLiver cirrhosisGenetic predispositionFollow-upRiskLiver diseaseParticipantsLiver outcomesAdverse liver outcomesProteomic signatures of sweetened beverages are associated with higher risk of adverse liver outcomes
Zhao L, Zhang X, Zheng J, Chen Y, Haslam D, Zeng H, Bhupathiraju S, Hu F, Tobias D, McGlynn K, Zhang X. Proteomic signatures of sweetened beverages are associated with higher risk of adverse liver outcomes. Nature Food 2025, 6: 1186-1195. PMID: 41326748, DOI: 10.1038/s43016-025-01266-0.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsPositively associated with riskArtificially sweetened beveragesAssociated with higher riskUK BiobankChronic liver disease mortalityConsumption of sweetened beveragesSweetened beverage intakeLiver disease mortalityCox proportional hazards regressionAssociation of sugarProportional hazards regressionAdverse liver outcomesBeverage intakeDisease mortalitySevere liver diseaseLiver outcomesLiver diseaseHazards regressionProteomic signatureRisk of adverse liver outcomesSteatotic liver diseaseMedian Follow-UpHealthFollow-upLiver healthCumulative lipid exposure in young adulthood and risk of midlife MASLD
Chen Y, Zheng Y, Zhao L, Gao T, Qu Y, Carr J, Terry J, Ning H, Kim K, Long M, Zhang X, Wilkins J, Chen A, Zhang K, Allen N, Lloyd-Jones D, Hou L, Zhang X. Cumulative lipid exposure in young adulthood and risk of midlife MASLD. JHEP Reports 2025, 8: 101679. PMID: 41659770, PMCID: PMC12878633, DOI: 10.1016/j.jhepr.2025.101679.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsLipoprotein cholesterolDNA methylation markersLipid levelsLipid exposureLiver diseaseAbdominal computed tomography scanAssociation of lipid profileCoronary Artery Risk DevelopmentNon-high-density lipoprotein cholesterolSteatotic liver diseaseYoung adulthoodMultivariable-adjusted odds ratioLow-density lipoprotein cholesterolHigh-density lipoprotein cholesterolDNA methylationModifiable risk factorsOptimal lipid levelsLongitudinal observational studyBlood DNA methylationExposure to lipidsEpigenomic biomarkersAbnormal triglyceridesLipid assessmentTomography scanRisk stratificationTrends in dietary supplement use among U.S. adults between 2011 and 2023
Zhao L, Zhang Y, Liu J, Hébert J, Giovannucci E, Zhang X, Steck S. Trends in dietary supplement use among U.S. adults between 2011 and 2023. European Journal Of Nutrition 2025, 64: 304. PMID: 41128907, DOI: 10.1007/s00394-025-03825-4.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsDietary supplement useBody mass indexSupplement useMass indexSelf-reported health statusNational Health and Nutrition Examination SurveyHealth and Nutrition Examination SurveyU.S. adultsNutrition Examination SurveySurvey-weighted prevalencePatterns of dietary supplement useDietary supplementsHealth statusSubgroup analysisCo-enzyme Q10Examination SurveyGroups of ageNon-vitaminDietary supplement informationApolipoprotein E4 allele, antibodies against periodontal microorganisms, and cognition in older adults
Merchant A, Zhao L, Bawa E, Yaseri A, Lohman M, Zhang J, Clay-Gilmour A, Newman-Norlund R, Fridriksson J. Apolipoprotein E4 allele, antibodies against periodontal microorganisms, and cognition in older adults. Journal Of Alzheimer's Disease Reports 2025, 9: 25424823251370770. PMID: 40919417, PMCID: PMC12413519, DOI: 10.1177/25424823251370770.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricConceptsPeriodontal microorganismsIgG antibodiesAntibody groupNational Health and Nutrition Examination SurveyHealth and Nutrition Examination SurveyMeasurement of IgG antibodiesMultivariable-adjusted modelsNutrition Examination SurveyCognitive scoresNHANES III studyPeriodontal diseaseIII studiesMean cognitive scoreProspective studyAllele carriersCross-sectional analysisExamination SurveyNHANES IIINon-carriersOlder adultsAntibodiesCarrier statusNHANESOlder aged adultsScores
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