Jiada  Zhan

Jiada (James) Zhan, MS, RD, is a Ph.D. candidate in Nutrition and Health Sciences at Emory University. With a BS in Nutrition and Dietetics from Purdue University's Honor Program and an MS in Public Health Nutrition from Case Western Reserve University, James possesses a solid foundation in his field. As a Registered Dietitian, he honed his skills at renowned institutions, including the Cleveland Clinic and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Beyond nutrition, James is a passionate data scientist specializing in metabolomics and its relation to chronic diseases such as Alzheimer's and cardiometabolic disorders. Equipped with a Data Scientist certificate from DataCamp and in-depth training in machine learning and programming, James has made notable contributions to his field, including the development of the dietaryindex R package. This package is the first of its kind, providing a comprehensive bioinformatics tool designed for user-friendly methods in standardizing the assembly of dietary intake data. Its aim is to convert this data into index-based dietary patterns, making it easier to assess adherence to these patterns in epidemiologic and clinical research. Furthermore, James is trying to advance the boundaries of metabolomics with his work on Mega Scale Metabolite Identification using Connection Algorithm (MSMICA). This innovative approach promises to identify a vast number of previously unconfirmed metabolites (thousands), in addition to commonly confirmed metabolites (hundreds).

James is currently engaged in his Ph.D. research at Dr. Dean Jones and Young-Mi Go's Clinical Biomarkers Lab, where his focus is on computational metabolomics in Alzheimer's disease research. With a long-term vision, James aspires to be a computational omics scientist, bridging interdisciplinary knowledge to elucidate disease mechanisms and foster drug discovery using AI and machine learning, ultimately promoting optimal human health.