Jianhui Zhu, MD, PhD, Technical Director of MedStar Health Research Institute's (MHRI's) core clinical research laboratory, is an internationally regarded scientist with years of experience directing research laboratories and managing clinical studies. She has expertise in automated and esoteric chemistries and immunoassays, including RIA and ELISA.
Dr. Zhu's background includes laboratory research, with specific experience in immunology and atherosclerosis research. She has investigated the role of infection and inflammation in coronary artery disease since 1995 and has developed new measures, such as the measurement of heat-shock proteins 60 and 70 and antibodies, to enhance the study of the associations between cardiovascular disease (CVD) and its risk factors. As Technical Director of the core research laboratory, Dr. Zhu oversees the scientific and operational aspects of the laboratory's clinical and in vitro studies for a wide range of investigations led by internal and external researchers.
Dr. Zhu often serves as a key laboratory sciences collaborator for private and government-sponsored projects. In this capacity, she develops sample acquisition strategies, adapts assays, designs laboratory protocols, and maintains the quality of the laboratory work being conducted. In addition, she conducts data analyses on measures of bio-markers. Such analyses have included clinical markers of chemical panels; lipids; glucose; HbA1c; insulin; hsCRP; and inflammatory markers, such as cytokines. Dr. Zhu also has developed many smaller scale custom biomarkers for collaborating investigators involved in the conduct of clinical trials.
The collaborative nature of her work has enabled her to work with numerous investigators across a broad range of disciplines, and she has co-authored many peer-reviewed articles. Her work is published widely, in journals ranging from the Journal of the American Medical Association and the American Heart Journal toClinical Microbiology and Infection. Dr. Zhu's professional affiliations include membership in the American Heart Association and the Canadian Society for Immunology.
Dr. Zhu received her medical degree from Beijing Medical University and her PhD in Immunology from McGill University in Montreal. She was a Guest Researcher in Epidemiology at the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta and was a Visiting Associate in Cardiology Research at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD.
Research Interests
Dr. Zhu's research interests include
- Immunology
- Inflammatory markers
- Atherosclerosis
- Chemical bio-markers measurement
- Innovative laboratory measures, such as heat-shock protein 60 and 70, antibodies, and Lp-PLA2 mass and activity
Dr. Zhu's research is supported through government grants and contracts and private foundations.
Selected Research
Dr. Zhu is currently the Laboratory Technical Director for the NHLBI-sponsored Strong Heart Study (SHS) Phase V, Cardiovascular Disease in Pima Indians, a longitudinal study of cardiovascular disease and its risk factors in American Indians.
She also is the Laboratory Technical Director for the NHLBI-sponsored Genetics of Coronary Artery Disease in Alaska Natives (GOCADAN), Phase II. This study is designed to document CVD and its risk factors and to identify and map genes among 1200 Native Alaskans who are members of approximately 40 families.
In addition, Dr. Zhu is the Laboratory Technical Director for the NHLBI-sponsored Cerebrovascular Disease in the SHS project. This study examines 1000 members of the original SHS cohort and includes magnetic resonance imaging of the brain. This study is designed to explore manifestations of stroke and or cognitive dysfunction and links these to risk factors measured in previous SHS exams.
View Dr. Zhu's publications on PubMed
