- GGNB Alumni
Class of 2019
Major Professor: Patricia I. Oteiza
Research Interest: The effects of of (-)-epicatechin on mitigating high-fat diet-induced intestinal permeability and endotoxemia
Bio: My interest in nutrition developed in high school and has never disappeared since. Therefore, I came to UC Davis to continue my graduate level studies in nutritional biology after receiving a B.S. degree in bio-pharmaceutics from Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, China.
During my undergrad studies I became very interested in the idea that dietary bioactives could improve human health. For my Ph.D., I am studying the beneficial health effects of dietary flavonoids at the gastrointestinal tract. Chronic inflammation and loss of intestinal barrier integrity are relevant to the pathogenesis of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, obesity-associated adverse effects (e.g. insulin resistance, NASH), and other conditions. I look forward to identify specific beneficial flavonoids, and their mechanism of action, which could help to design diets with a beneficial/preventive action on diseases of major public relevance.