Wenli Zhu

Professor
zhuwenli@bjmu.edu.cn
Xueyuan Road 38, Haidian District, Beijing, China
Peking University

Personal profile

From 1990 to 2000, Wenli Zhu experienced undergraduate and postgraduate education in Peking University Health Science Center, and got a bachelor's degree of preventive medicine and a PhD of maternal and child Health. From 2000 to now, she was employed in the Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, School of Public Health, Peking University Health Science Center, and held professorship in 2010.

Prof. Zhu focused on the maternal and child nutrition issues. The effects of dietary intake during early life on child’s development and health, and the molecular and genetic mechanisms were explored though cohort study. Also, the relationship of children’s feeding practices with maternal and family factors were investigated. The results would put forward effective nutritional intervention paths and strategy to promote the maximum of early child development and maternal health. Besides, the influence of individual and food environment on children's eating behavior and nutritional status was also concerned, to explore the integration of school-based nutrition education and nutrition services. Based on above academic background, Prof. Zhu participated in the development and evaluation of national children’s nutrition policies, actions and guidelines.

Main research directions

Early life nutrition: Maternal and child nutrition and health cohort study; Folate, one carbon metabolism and maternal and child health; Association study and genome-wide linkage analysis of birth defects related susceptibility gene.

l School nutrition: School-based nutrition education and its integration with school feeding; Individual (nutrition literacy) and food environmental impact on the children's eating behavior and nutritional status.

Representative scientific research projects

1. Mother＆Child Nutrition and Health Cohort Study (Ausnutria Food and Nutrition Institute Project, 2020-2029, AU-YJY-B-LX-20-003)

2. Effects of early life nutrition and feeding practices on infant and toddler development (Ausnutria Food and Nutrition Institute Project, 2014-2019)

3. Investigation of children's eating behavior and related factors (Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, 2020-2021)

4. Gene mapping of cleft lip and palate (National Natural Science Foundation of China 2007-2009, New Century Excellent Talents Support Program of Ministry of Education 2008-2010)

5. Development of nutrition literacy measurement tools for different population (United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, 2018-2019)

6. Development of nutrition education curriculum system for elementary and middle school students (Danone's Diet Nutrition Research and Education Grant, 2017-2019)

7. Establishment of Primary School Catering Behavior System Model and Intervention Evaluation (Chinese Red Cross Foundation, 2012-2013)

10 representative papers

1. Evidence-based qualitative study on community food environment and childhood obesity [J]. Chin J Sch Health, 2021, 42(11): 1613-1615.

2. Dietary patterns of Chinese puerperal women and their association with postpartum weight retention: Results from the mother-infant cohort study[J]. Matern Child Nutr. 2021, 17(1): e13061.

3. Development and validation of a food and nutrition literacy questionnaire for Chinese school-age children[J]. PLoS One. 2021, 16(1): e0244197.

4. Maternal Postpartum Feeding Anxiety was associated with Infant Feeding Practices: Results from the Mother-Infant Cohort Study of China[J]. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2020, 20(1):780.

5. Adjusting DBI-2016 to dietary balance index for Chinese maternal women and assessing the association between maternal dietary quality and postpartum weight retention: A longitudinal study[J]. PLoS One. 2020,15(8): e0237225.

6. Breastfeeding change during 0~24 months in Chinese urban infants and related factors [J]. Food and Nutrition in China, 2020, 26(10): 77-81.

7. Development and assessment of home food environment measurement questionnaire for Chinese school-aged children [J]. Food and Nutrition in China, 2020, 26(6): 74-79.

8. Effect of Smo SiRNA-mediated Hedgehog Signaling Pathway Inhibition on Palatal Fusion[J]. Biomed Environ Sci, 2016; 29(8): 594-598.

9. Association between interferon regulatory factor 6 gene polymorphisms and nonsyndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate in a Chinese population. The Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Journal, 2013,50(5):570-576.

10. Genome-wide and interaction linkage scan for non-syndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate in two multiplex families in Shenyang, China. Biomedical and environmental sciences, 2010, 23: 363-370.