Cuilin Zhang is a Chinese-American epidemiologist andphysician-scientist researching the roles of genetic andenvironmental factors in thepathogenesis ofgestational diabetes,type 2 diabetes, and obesity and health consequences of these complications. Zhang is a senior investigator and acting chief of the epidemiology branch at theEunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
Zhang completed a M.D. atBeijing Medical University in 1993. She earned a M.P.H. (1999) and Ph.D. in epidemiology (2004) at theUniversity of Washington School of Public Health.[1][2] Zhang's dissertation was titledVariants in the Lipoprotein Lipase Gene and Paraoxonase Gene and Risk of Preeclampsia. Her doctoral advisor wasMichelle Ann Williams.[3] Zhang received postdoctoral training in genetic andnutritional epidemiology atHarvard University.[2]
Zhang worked as a research scientist at theHarvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.[2] In 2007, she joined theEunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) in 2007. Zhang is atenure-track senior investigator[2] and the acting chief of the epidemiology branch.[4]
Zhang's research interest is at the interface of genetic and non-geneticbiological markers and potentially modifiableexogenous factors, focusing on their interplay in relation to the development of complex diseases. More specifically, her current research activities focus primarily on the roles of genetic andenvironmental factors in thepathogenesis ofgestational diabetes,type 2 diabetes, and obesity and health consequences of these complications. Zhang also has long-standing research interests in fetal origins ofchronic diseases, life course epidemiology, and modifications of diet and lifestyle to improve reproductive outcomes and child health.[4][5][6]
Zhang serves as theprincipal investigator of the diabetes andwomen's health study, which is a retrospective cohort study of approximately 4,000 women from U.S. and Denmark who had diabetes in pregnancy and have been followed up for at least 10 years. These women will be prospectively followed up for an additional four years to collect updated information on major environmental factors and timedbiospecimens. The study is focusing on the identification ofdeterminants (medical, lifestyle, genetic and their interactions) for the progression from gestational diabetes to type 2 diabetes and its complications and the investigation ofbiochemical markers that may predict the development of these complications among thepre-diabetic population.[4][7] The results of one of Zhang's studies suggests that physical activity and a healthy diet may prevent the occurrence of type 2 diabetes in women who are at a heightened risk.[8] A study Zhang led found that women who have had gestational diabetes may be able to reduce or even eliminate their elevated risk for cardiovascular disease by following a healthy lifestyle in the years after giving birth. Zhang and her team analyzed data from the Nurses' Health Study, which followed health habits and medical history of more than 90,000 women from before pregnancy through middle age and the early senior years. The study confirms the links between gestational diabetes and cardiovascular disease found by other studies. It also provides some strong evidence that cardiovascular disease after gestational diabetes is not inevitable for women who adopt a healthy diet, maintain a healthy weight, exercise moderately, and do not smoke. In this study, the researchers found that women who failed to adopt a healthy lifestyle in the wake of gestational diabetes had a 43 percent higher risk for cardiovascular disease, particularly heart attack and stroke.[9][10]
Zhang is also the principal investigator of the investigation of therisk factors and pathogenesis of gestational diabetes using biospecimenslongitudinally collected from prospective pregnancy cohorts. Currently, the study focuses on a comprehensive panel of biochemical markers andepigenetic markers that are putatively implicated inglucose homeostasis,fetal growth, or both. Non-targetedmetabolomics will also be analyzed for the discovery of new pathways and/or biochemical markers related to glucose intolerance and subsequent adverse fetal outcomes.[4] In one of Zhang's studies, her findings suggested that a diet rich in potatoes could potentially increase the risk of gestational diabetes.[11][12]
Zhang has published a number of papers and book chapters focusing on the determinants of gestational diabetes,preeclampsia, type 2 diabetes and its complications, and obesity including genetic factors, diet and lifestyle factors, and biochemical markers.[4][13] In 2018, Zhang and her team's research explored factors increasing the chances ofmacrosomia.[14] In 2020, she contributed to research led by Xiang Gao and Muzi Na that investigated possible connections betweenrestless legs syndrome during pregnancy and race and ethnicity.[15]
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