Jian Zhang

Associate Professor, Biostatistics Georgia Southern University

Statesboro GA

Jian Zhang's research focuses on chronic disease from both public health and preventative medicine perspectives.

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Spotlight

Jun 16, 2020

2 min

Georgia Southern student research shows Georgia doing well in stopping spread of COVID-19 but is still home to 4 of the nation’s 10 highest counties for mortality rate

Graduate students in the Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health at Georgia Southern University analyzed mortality data to reveal that a county in southwest Georgia is dealing with deaths from COVID-19 at a rate higher than most other counties in the country. The students found that the mortality rate of 305 per 100,000 residents (as of May 28, 2020) for Terrell County in southwestern Georgia, is 50% higher than that of New York state’s Nassau County, the documented highest rate in New York. The three other Georgia counties that are highest in terms of mortality rate are Hancock, Early and Dougherty counties. Three out of these four are in southwest Georgia, around the Albany area. That accounts for almost half of the 10 counties in the United States with the highest mortality rate, which is defined as a measure of the frequency of occurrence of death among a defined population. However, it’s interesting to note that none of Georgia counties reached the top 20 in terms of incidence and the death numbers per 100 confirmed Covid-19 cases, said professor Dr. Jian Zhang, a veteran medical epidemiologist. “Georgia is doing pretty well to stop the spread of the virus, and hospitals in Georgia are doing well to save hospitalized COVID-19 patients. The high mortality rate, in this case, may be deeply rooted in the historical burden of poverty in Georgia,” Zhang said. The findings are part of a service-learning project Zhang led. A six-student group formed the surveillance team that began running a real-time COVID-19 numbers in his Public Health Surveillance class. If you are a journalist covering COVID-19 and would like to learn more about this research taking place at Georgia Southern University – then let us help. Dr. Jian Zhang has worked with the Chinese Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the World Health Organization prior to moving to the United States.

Jan 24, 2020

2 min

Covering coronaviruses? Let an epidemiologist from Georgia Southern University help with your coverage

By early afternoon Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had confirmed a second case of the new coronavirus on American soil. With cases now being detected in Europe and across Asia, the world is watching and worrying about the potential spread of this dangerous virus. There are 63 cases being monitored in the U.S. that stretch across 22 states, including the first patient in Washington state and the new case in Illinois, said Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. Officials said the new patient, a woman in her 60s, is doing well and is in stable condition. She remains isolated in a hospital as a precaution, U.S. health officials said on a conference call with reporters. The Illinois patient traveled to China in late December and began experiencing symptoms when she returned to the U.S. last week, officials said. She did not have symptoms while flying, they said. “She was not symptomatic when flying. And based on what we know now about this virus, our concern for transmission before symptoms develop is low, so that is reassuring,” Dr. Allison Arwady, Chicago’s public health commissioner, said on the call. January 24 – CNBC As this story progresses – there are a lot of questions journalists are asking. How is this virus spread? How worried do Americans need to be about the coronavirus? Are there warning signs or methods to prevent the spread? And how far away are we from a vaccination? If you are a journalist covering this developing issue – let our experts help. Dr. Jian Zhang has worked with the Chinese Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the World Health Organization prior to moving to the United States. He obtained a Doctorate in Public Health from the Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina before he joined the faculty of Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health at Georgia Southern University. He is available to speak with journalists regarding the coronavirus and its origins and its potential to spread across America – simply click on his icon to arrange an interview.

Biography

Jian Zhang had worked with the Chinese Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the World Health Organization prior to moving to US for an advanced degree. He obtained a Doctorate in Public Health from the Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, USA. Before he joined the faculty of Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health in 2008, he had worked with the University of South Carolina, Institute of Family in Society, and the Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, USA.

Areas of Expertise

Public Health Surveillance

Vaccine-preventative Diseases

Epidemiology

Chronic Diseases

Global Health

Mental Health

Accomplishments

Recipient, Faculty Awards of Research Excellence, Georgia Southern University

2015

Correspondent author of the top 10 most talked-about article published in JAMA

2017

Education

University of South Carolina

DrPH.

Epidemiology

2002

Fudan University

M.Sc.

Health Service Research

1992

Shanxi Medical University

M.D.

Preventative Medicine

1984

Media Appearances

Scientists Retract Study that Found Americans Had Given Up on Losing Weight

Gizmodo

2018-12-18

Senior author Jian Zhang, an epidemiologist at Georgia Southern University, told me at the time that one reason could be that people were trying less to lose weight because of their surrounding social environment. If the average weight of the population is higher, they theorized, a person who’s overweight might be less inclined to perceive their weight as being out of the ordinary and subsequently not feel motivated to lose weight...

More U.S. adults may be trying to lose weight, after all

Reuters

2018-12-18

Furthermore, “It looks like the proportion of adults trying to lose weight increased slightly,” said senior study author Jian Zhang, a public health researcher at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, in an email to Reuters Health...

Study: More and more parents can’t see that their children are overweight

Fox News 31 online

2014-08-26

STATESBORO, Ga. — Parents are increasingly unable to tell when their children have a weight problem, according to a new study.

The study, published Aug. 25 in the journal Pediatrics, found that parents interviewed between 2005 and 2010 were 24 percent less likely to spot a weight problem in their child than parents interviewed between 1988 and 1994.

“The society as a whole is stuck with a vicious cycle,” senior study author Dr. Jian Zhang, an associate professor of epidemiology at Georgia Southern University, told Healthday. “Parents incorrectly believe their kids are healthy, they are less likely to take action, and so it increases the likelihood that their kids will become even less healthy.”

Obesity has more than doubled among children aged 6 to 11, rising from 7 percent in 1980 to nearly 18 percent in 2012, researchers said.

More than three-quarters of parents interviewed in the 2005-2010 survey perceived their overweight children as “about the right weight” — 83 percent for boys and 78 percent for girls, researchers reported.

Articles

Overweight is associated with decreased cognitive functioning among school‐age children and adolescents

Obesity

Y Li, Q Dai, JC Jackson, J Zhang

2008

Objective: Childhood overweight and obesity have increased substantially in the past two decades, raising concerns about their psychosocial and cognitive consequences. We examined the associations between academic performance (AP), cognitive functioning (CF), and increased BMI in a nationally representative sample of children.

Relationships between body size satisfaction and weight control practices among US adults

The Medscape Journal of Medicine

RA Millstein, SA Carlson, JE Fulton, DA Galuska, J Zhang, HM Blanck, BE Ainsworth

2008

Objectives: Describe correlates of body size satisfaction and examine whether satisfaction was associated with trying to lose weight or specific weight control practices among US adults using a national sample of women and men.

Associations between body mass index and the prevalence of low micronutrient levels among US adults

Medscape General Medicine

JE Kimmons, HM Blanck, BC Tohill, J Zhang, LK Khan

2006

Background: Low micronutrient levels observed with increasing adiposity may result from inadequate nutrient intake and/or alterations in nutrient metabolism.

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