Zhongzheng Niu
University at Buffalo, NY·Public Health & Epidemiology
Our bodies have a biological age that can run faster or slower than the calendar. One marker of it is telomere length (TL).
- Fields
Public Health & Epidemiology
Medicine & Clinical Research
- Topics
telomere length
biological aging
subclinical atherosclerosis
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through May 2030
What they work on
- Test whether higher birth weight, faster BMI growth across childhood and early obesity shorten telomere length and speed its loss from birth to age 24, using birth records, yearly growth data and stored samples from the Southern California Children's Health Study.
- Test whether lifetime exposure to ambient and traffic-related air pollution, especially during sensitive windows such as early childhood and puberty, shortens telomeres, using exposures estimated from residential history and environmental monitoring.
- Determine whether shorter telomeres and faster telomere shortening predict early artery changes, measured by carotid ultrasound (artery wall thickness, vascular stiffness and fat deposits) at ages 10–11 and 24.
More about the research
Telomeres are protective caps on the ends of chromosomes; they are longest at birth and shorten over time. In adults, shorter telomeres are linked to more illness and death from atherosclerosis, the artery-clogging process behind heart attacks and strokes. Little is known about what shapes telomere length in childhood, how fast it changes over the first two decades of life, or whether these early changes affect artery health later on.
Why it matters
Heart attack and stroke begin with artery damage that starts long before symptoms appear. By showing how childhood growth and air pollution affect a marker of biological aging, and whether that marker predicts early artery changes, this work could point to prevention strategies that begin in childhood. Such strategies could reduce later illness and disability and help extend healthy lifespan.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
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The school
University at Buffalo: 32 labs on PI Pages, $542M a year on research, 316 research doctorates a year.
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