Professor Jane Zhao
Assistant Professor, School of Public Health, The University of Hong Kong
Assistant Professor, School of Public Health, The University of Hong Kong
Professor Jane Zhao is an Assistant Professor at the School of Public Health, The University of Hong Kong. Professor Zhao has been focusing on the potential causes and modifiable drivers of chronic diseases, mainly cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and chronic kidney disease. In her research, she utilised an interdisciplinary approach incorporating epidemiology, genetics, nutrition and clinical trials to assess the sex-specific role of modifiable targets, such as dietary factors and medications, on chronic diseases. These dedicated efforts generated fruitful research outputs, with 91 publications in prestigious international journals such as the British Medical Journal (BMJ), European Heart Journal (EHJ), Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC), BMC Medicine, Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN), Diabetologia, Drugs, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Among these, 69 publications are as first/senior and/or corresponding author. Professor Zhao was awarded the HKU Research Output Prize, and Faculty Outstanding Research Output Award, as well as the prestigious Takemi Fellowship at Harvard University.
Considering differences across settings, Professor Zhao is dedicated to finding locally relevant evidence, as well as prevention and treatment strategies. As Principal Investigator (PI) in collaboration with Elderly Health Service Centers in Hong Kong, Professor Zhao coordinated the Elderly Biobank, which was established based on a large elderly cohort across all 18 districts in Hong Kong. As a leader, she got funded to establish the Collaboration Hub on healthy aging, aimed at promoting data sharing and leading collaborative work.