Yeyi Zhu, PhD

People

Kaiser Permanente Division of Research
2000 Broadway
Oakland, CA 94612

(510) 891-5937 (phone)
yeyi.zhu@kp.org

Yeyi Zhu, PhD, is a Research Scientist I (equivalent to Assistant Professor in a university setting) at Kaiser Permanente Northern California Division of Research. She received her bachelor's degree in Biological Sciences from Fudan University, Shanghai, China, and master's degree in Statistics and PhD in Nutritional Sciences from The University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Zhu completed her postdoctoral training on nutritional and environmental epidemiology with an intramural research training award at Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health And Human Development (NICHD), NIH.

In August 2016, Dr. Zhu joined the Division of Research to expand the scale and generalizability of her work in real-world health care settings serving over 4 million members. Dr. Zhu's research interests are at the interface of disease etiology and prevention strategies in the arena of women's and children's health across the lifespan. She has conducted etiological investigations to identify pre-diagnostic markers for gestational diabetes and risk factors for its progression to type 2 diabetes, as well as the respective underlying pathophysiological mechanisms. She has also investigated the impact of high-dimensional in-utero air pollution exposures (i.e., criteria air pollutants and air toxics) on adverse pregnancy and birth outcomes. Furthermore, she applies a life course approach to examine the developmental origins of cardiometabolic impairments of offspring exposed to nonoptimal intrauterine environment by integrating 'omics technologies, high-dimensional electronic health records, and "big data" analytics tools, which may inform upstream preventive strategies to interrupt the vicious intergenerational cycle of obesity and its related comorbidities across the lifespan.

Current Position(s):

Research Scientist I, Division of Research, Kaiser Permanente Northern California

Section Affiliations:

Women's and Children's Health

Primary Research Interests:

Developmental origins of metabolic impairments
Gestational diabetes and type 2 diabetes
Fetal growth and childhood obesity
Nutrition in critical windows of development
Prenatal exposure to environmental hazards

Related Website(s):

My NCBI Bibliography

Studies

Risk Prediction of Gestational Diabetes Treatment Modalities Utilizing Clinical and Laboratory Data in the EHR

This study will utilize data from the Kaiser Permanente Northern California Gestational Diabetes and Pregnancy Glucose Tolerance Registry for a cohort of 25,000 women diagnosed with gestational diabetes. The goal is to determine whether clinical and laboratory factors can be utilized to predict treatment modalities for this disease (insulin versus glyburide and/or medical nutrition therapy). NIH-funded UCSF-Kaiser Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health (K12) grant.
Investigator: Zhu, Yeyi
Funder: National Institutes of Health

Highlighted Publications

Ambient air pollution and risk of gestational hypertension

Author(s): Zhu Y; Zhang C; Liu D; Ha S; Kim SS; Pollack A; Mendola P;

Am J Epidemiol. 2017 May 4. doi: 10.1093/aje/kwx097. [Epub ahead of print]

Current Position(s):

Section Affiliations:

Primary Research Interests:

Related Website(s):

Studies

Risk Prediction of Gestational Diabetes Treatment Modalities Utilizing Clinical and Laboratory Data in the EHR

Highlighted Publications

​Ambient air pollution and risk of gestational hypertension

​Insulin-Like Growth Factor Axis and Gestational Diabetes Mellitus: A Longitudinal Study in a Multiracial Cohort

​​Growth and obesity through the first 7 years of life in association with levels of maternal glycemia during pregnancy: a prospective cohort study

​Prevalence of Gestational Diabetes and Risk of Progression to Type 2 Diabetes: A Global Perspective

Publications

A Longitudinal Study of Thyroid Markers across Pregnancy and the Risk of Gestational Diabetes

A prospective and longitudinal study of plasma phospholipid saturated fatty acid profile in relation to cardiometabolic biomarkers and the risk of gestational diabetes

Gestational Diabetes Mellitus and Renal Function: A Prospective Study With 9- to 16-Year Follow-up After Pregnancy

Acute Associations between Outdoor Temperature and Premature Rupture of Membranes

Offspring risk of obesity in childhood, adolescence and adulthood in relation to gestational diabetes mellitus: a sex-specific association

Chronic and Acute Ozone Exposure in the Week Prior to Delivery Is Associated with the Risk of Stillbirth

Maternal dietary intakes of refined grains during pregnancy and growth through the first 7 y of life among children born to women with gestational diabetes

Maternal consumption of artificially sweetened beverages during pregnancy, and offspring growth through 7 years of age: a prospective cohort study

Validation of Self-Reported Diagnosis of Gestational Diabetes at Six Weeks Postpartum

​Ambient air pollution and risk of gestational hypertension

​Ambient temperature and air quality in relation to small for gestational age and term low birthweight.

The Pregnancy Environment and Lifestyle Study (PETALS); a population-based longitudinal multi-racial birth cohort

​A longitudinal study of sleep duration in pregnancy and subsequent risk of gestational diabetes: findings from a prospective, multiracial cohort.

Racial/ethnic differences in preterm perinatal outcomes.

Ambient Temperature and Early Delivery of Singleton Pregnancies.

Spontaneous and indicated preterm delivery risk is increased among overweight and obese women without prepregnancy chronic disease

​A longitudinal study of iron status during pregnancy and the risk of gestational diabetes: findings from a prospective, multiracial cohort.

Proximity to major roadways and prospectively-measured time-to-pregnancy and infertility.

​A longitudinal study of depression and gestational diabetes in pregnancy and the postpartum period

​Insulin-Like Growth Factor Axis and Gestational Diabetes Mellitus: A Longitudinal Study in a Multiracial Cohort

Obstetric and Neonatal Risks Among Obese Women Without Chronic Disease.

​Exposure to Ambient Air Pollution and Premature Rupture of Membranes.

Dietary Patterns and the Risk of Hypertension Among Women With a History of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus; A Prospective Cohort Study.

Age at Menarche and Risk of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus; A Prospective Cohort Study Among 27,482 Women.

​Predictive Models for Characterizing Disparities in Exclusive Breastfeeding Performance in a Multi-ethnic Population in the US.

​​Growth and obesity through the first 7 years of life in association with levels of maternal glycemia during pregnancy: a prospective cohort study

​Prevalence of Gestational Diabetes and Risk of Progression to Type 2 Diabetes: A Global Perspective

Low Carbohydrate-Diet Scores and Long-term Risk of Type 2 Diabetes Among Women With a History of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus; A Prospective Cohort Study.

Maternal ambient air pollution exposure preconception and during early gestation and offspring congenital orofacial defects.

Longer breastfeeding duration reduces the positive relationships among gestational weight gain, birth weight and childhood anthropometrics.

Arm span and ulnar length are reliable and accurate estimates of recumbent length and height in a multiethnic population of infants and children under 6 years of age.

Data Acquisition and Preprocessing in Studies on Humans: What Is Not Taught in Statistics Classes?

Ambient air pollution and risk of gestational hypertension

Insulin-Like Growth Factor Axis and Gestational Diabetes Mellitus: A Longitudinal Study in a Multiracial Cohort

Growth and obesity through the first 7 years of life in association with levels of maternal glycemia during pregnancy: a prospective cohort study

Prevalence of Gestational Diabetes and Risk of Progression to Type 2 Diabetes: A Global Perspective

Ambient air pollution and risk of gestational hypertension

Ambient temperature and air quality in relation to small for gestational age and term low birthweight.

A longitudinal study of sleep duration in pregnancy and subsequent risk of gestational diabetes: findings from a prospective, multiracial cohort.

A longitudinal study of iron status during pregnancy and the risk of gestational diabetes: findings from a prospective, multiracial cohort.

A longitudinal study of depression and gestational diabetes in pregnancy and the postpartum period

Insulin-Like Growth Factor Axis and Gestational Diabetes Mellitus: A Longitudinal Study in a Multiracial Cohort

Exposure to Ambient Air Pollution and Premature Rupture of Membranes.

Predictive Models for Characterizing Disparities in Exclusive Breastfeeding Performance in a Multi-ethnic Population in the US.

Growth and obesity through the first 7 years of life in association with levels of maternal glycemia during pregnancy: a prospective cohort study

Prevalence of Gestational Diabetes and Risk of Progression to Type 2 Diabetes: A Global Perspective