Zhanghua Chen

Zhanghua Chen is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Population and Public Health Sciences at the University of Southern California. She leads the Z Chen Lab Site and focuses on environmental epidemiology and biostatistics, integrating multi-omics approaches to study environmental health impacts. Her research emphasizes early-life environmental exposures, diabetes/obesity epidemiology, and metabolic pathways.

Dr. Chen’s work has been supported by the NIEHS K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award, investigating metabolomic signatures linking air pollution, obesity, and diabetes. Her studies frequently appear in top journals like Diabetes Care and American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, with media coverage from Reuters and Xinhua News Agency.

Key research themes include air pollution’s effects on metabolic health (e.g., insulin sensitivity, gut microbiota), PFAS exposure’s role in glucose dysregulation, and genetic-environmental interactions in conditions like autism and asthma. She collaborates with consortia such as EGG and EAGLE to address global health challenges.

• Grants: NIEHS K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award
• Labs/Teams: Z Chen Lab Site
• Collaborations: Southern California Children’s Health Study, Multi-ethnic Cohorts