Zhaoping Li

Zhaoping Li is a Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). His research focuses on nutrition, obesity, metabolic disorders, and cardiovascular health, with a particular emphasis on the effects of dietary interventions such as avocado consumption, cinnamon, and probiotic-rich foods on health outcomes. He leads the Habitual Diet and Avocado Trial (HAT), a randomized controlled trial examining the impacts of daily avocado intake on cardiometabolic risk factors, gut microbiota, and body composition. His work also explores precision nutrition strategies to address health disparities in diverse populations and advances in imaging techniques for adipose tissue analysis.

Key areas of investigation include the microbiome's role in obesity-related conditions, the metabolic effects of anti-obesity medications, and the design of community-engaged clinical trials to improve inclusivity. Dr. Li's research integrates metabolomics, clinical trials, and machine learning to address complex health challenges such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and inflammatory bowel disorders. He collaborates on studies evaluating the efficacy of natural products like pomegranate extract and concentrated grape powder in modulating cholesterol metabolism and improving gut health.

• Expertise: Nutritional interventions, metabolic syndrome, gut microbiome analysis, clinical trial design
• Notable Projects: HAT Trial, studies on cinnamon's glycemic effects, and microbiome profiling in bariatric surgery patients