Guodong Zhang

Dr. Guodong Zhang is an Associate Professor in the Department of Nutrition at the University of California, Davis. His research focuses on elucidating molecular mechanisms underlying the health effects of dietary and environmental compounds, particularly their roles in metabolic individualities, inter-individual susceptibilities, and inflammatory/ carcinogenic processes. His work integrates lipidomics, metabolomics, and microbiome analysis to study obesity-related comorbidities, colon cancer pathogenesis, and environmental chemical toxicity.

Key research areas include: lipid peroxidation byproducts (e.g., EKODE, 4-HNE), antimicrobial additive (triclosan/triclocarban) toxicity, and dietary fatty acid metabolism via cytochrome P450/eicosanoid pathways. He has developed novel methodologies for lipid metabolite profiling and microbial metabolism tracking.

His lab investigates mechanisms linking gut microbiota to colonic inflammation and tumorigenesis, with emphasis on how environmental chemicals interact with host metabolism. Recent findings highlight the role of soluble epoxide hydrolase in obesity-induced intestinal barrier dysfunction and the importance of microbial-mediated xenobiotic activation.