Jinying Zhao MD, PhD

Jinying Zhao, MD, Ph.D., is a Deans's Endowed Chair and Professor of Epidemiology and Director of the Center for Genetic Epidemiology and Bioinformatics (GeneBio) at the University of Florida. She received her MD and Ph.D. (Molecular Genetics and Epidemiology) in China and her second Ph.D. in Statistical Genetics & Genetic Epidemiology at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston. Dr. Zhao’s research focuses on genetic epidemiology, statistical genetics, and bioinformatics using state-of-the-art molecular and statistical approaches including the 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 hydroxy methylome 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, and 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 Ph.D.), postdoctoral fellows, and junior faculty members. Her mentees have been awarded pre-doctoral fellowships, career development grants, and other national awards.