Zhila Semnani-Azad

Biography

I am a research fellow at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health passionate about integrating epidemiological methods and precision approaches to better understand factors that impact human health.
My primary research interest focuses on the role of obesity and associated lifestyle factors and its impact on cardiometabolic health. Currently, my work incorporates high-throughput omics techniques, specifically metabolomics, into traditional epidemiological analyses to gain insights into underlying mechanisms that could explain the associations between obesity and cardiometabolic outcomes, including type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. My work spans the life course with projects focusing on early childhood and into older adulthood from cohort studies based in North America and Europe.

Education and Training

• PhD,
  University of Toronto

Awards and Honors

• Scott Grundy Fellowship Award in Metabolic Research, 2023
  American Heart Association Lifestyle Council
• CIHR Postdoctoral Fellowship, 2022 - 2025
  Canadian Institutes of Health Research
• CIHR Canada Graduate Scholarships - Doctoral Award, 2018 - 2021
  Canadian Institutes of Health Research

Publications

• Reporting guidelines for precision medicine research of clinical relevance: the BePRECISE checklist.

  Lim SS, Semnani-Azad Z, Morieri ML, Ng AH, Ahmad A, Fitipaldi H, Boyle J, Collin C, Dennis JM, Langenberg C, Loos RJF, Morrison M, Ramsay M, Sanyal AJ, Sattar N, Hivert MF, Gomez MF, Merino J, Tobias DK, Trenell MI, Rich SS, Sargent JL, Franks PW. Nat Med 2024

• Precision treatment of beta-cell monogenic diabetes: a systematic review.

  Naylor RN, Patel KA, Kettunen JLT, Männistö JME, Støy J, Beltrand J, Polak M, Vilsbøll T, Greeley SAW, Hattersley AT, Tuomi T. Commun Med (Lond) 2024 Jul 18

• Plasma metabolomic profile of adiposity and body composition in childhood: The Genetics of Glucose regulation in Gestation and Growth cohort.

  Semnani-Azad Z, Rahman ML, Arguin M, Doyon M, Perron P, Bouchard L, Hivert MF. Pediatr Obes 2024

• Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids with Adipose Tissue Inflammation: Longitudinal Analysis in the PROMISE Cohort.

  Chon JE, Semnani-Azad Z, Lai KZH, Connelly PW, Retnakaran R, Harris SB, Metherel AH, Jenkins DJA, Bazinet RP, Hanley AJ. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2024 Jun 29

• Precision prognostics for cardiovascular disease in Type 2 diabetes: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

  Ahmad A, Lim LL, Morieri ML, Tam CH, Cheng F, Chikowore T, Dudenhöffer-Pfeifer M, Fitipaldi H, Huang C, Kanbour S, Sarkar S, Koivula RW, Motala AA, Tye SC, Yu G, Zhang Y, Provenzano M, Sherifali D, de Souza RJ, Tobias DK, Gomez MF, Ma RCW, Mathioudakis N. Commun Med (Lond) 2024 Jan 22