Yitong Zhao
Biography
Yitong Zhao, Ph.D., is an Associate Specialist in the Department of Medicine, Division of Nephrology at the University of California, Irvine. Zhao received a Ph.D. in Nutrition and Food Science from Florida State University in 2018, where the dissertation focused on the contribution of zinc transporters to autophagy and vascular senescence. Following doctoral training, Zhao completed a postdoctoral fellowship at UC Irvine's College of Medicine from 2018 to 2024.
Zhao's research examines the kidney-gut-brain axis, investigating how gut-derived uremic toxins contribute to cardiovascular and neurological complications in chronic kidney disease. This work involves developing and characterizing mouse models of CKD using dietary adenine and 5/6 nephrectomy approaches, combined with interventions targeting the gut microbiome and uremic toxin production. Zhao has conducted studies on the effects of antibiotics, SGLT2 inhibitors, and dietary modifications on uremic toxin levels and their associations with brain microhemorrhages, cardiac dysfunction, and behavioral changes in CKD models.
Zhao has published research in journals including Traffic, Free Radical Biology and Medicine, Autophagy, Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation, and the Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics. The research portfolio spans multiple areas including zinc biology and vascular senescence, the role of polyphenol extracts in preventing vascular aging, and therapeutic interventions for nephrotic syndrome and diabetic nephropathy. Zhao has presented research findings at national conferences including the American Society for Nutrition and the American Society of Nephrology, and has served as a judge for research symposia at UC Irvine.
Return to topEducation
- Ph.D. in Nutrition and Food Science, Florida State University, 2018
- M.S. in Nutrition and Food Sciences, Florida State University, 2014
- B.E. in Food Science, Dalian Polytechnic University, 2011
Distinctions
- Second Place Poster Presentation Award, Research & Creativity Day, College of Human Sciences, Florida State University, 2017
- Anne Marie Edward Scholarship Recipient, Department of Nutrition, Food, & Exercise Sciences, Florida State University, 2016
- Dean's Scholar, College of Human Science, Florida State University, 2018
- Dissertation Award Program, College of Human Science, Florida State University, 2017
Areas of Expertise
- Nutritional Biochemistry and Nephrology
- Zinc Transporter Cellular Mechanisms
- Vascular Senescence and Autophagy
- Berry Polyphenol Antioxidant Effects
- Kidney-Gut-Brain Axis Interactions
- Cardiac Dysfunction in CKD
- Gut-Derived Uremic Toxin Pathophysiology
Recent Publications
- Zhao Y, Yang K, Nguyen CM, Wu H, Liu H, Velez LM, Kim JK, Seldin M, Lau WL, “Sex- specific cardiac dysfunction in mice with chronic kidney disease” (opens in new tab), Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation, vol. 40, pp. gfaf056, 2025.
- Zhao Y., Tran T., Fang C., Paganini-Hill A., Dulkanchainun M., Mai E., Eprem L., Cribbs D., Fisher M., Lau W.L., “Gut dysbiosis and brain microhemorrhages in young vs. aged mice with chronic kidney disease” (opens in new tab), Scientific Reports, vol. 15, 2025.
- Zhao Y, Yang K, Wu H, Liu H, Velez L, Kim JK, Seldin M, Lau WL, “Cardiac Dysfunction in C57Bl/6J Mice with CKD: Comparison of Dietary Adenine and 5/6 Nephrectomy Models” (opens in new tab), Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, vol. 35, no. 10S, 2024.
- Lee SM, Zhao Y, Tran Y, Vancheeswaran NM, Tran-Phung L, Jung JJ, Hazen SL, Fisher M, Lau WL, “Investigating the Kidney-Gut-Brain Axis in CKD: Effects of Choline Trimethylamine Lyase and SGLT2 Inhibitors” (opens in new tab), Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, vol. 35, no. 10S, 2024.
- Fang C, Lau WL, Sun J, Chang R, Vallejo A, Lee D, Liu J, Liu H, Zhao Y, Paganini-Hill A, Sumbria RK, Cribbs DH, Fisher M, “Chronic kidney disease promotes cerebral microhemorrhage formation” (opens in new tab), Journal of Neuroinflammation, vol. 20, no. 1, pp. 51, 2023.
- Khazaeli M, Nunes ACF, Zhao Y, Khazaali M, Prudente J, Vaziri ND, Singh B, Lau WL, “Tetrahydrocurcumin Add‐On therapy to losartan in a rat model of diabetic nephropathy decreases blood pressure and markers of kidney injury” (opens in new tab), Pharmacology Research and Perspectives, vol. 11, no. 2, pp. e01079, 2023.
- Zhao Y, Liu H, Tran T, Fisher M, Lau WL, “Investigating the kidney-gut-brain axis in CKD: Effects of high amino acids diet with/without antibiotic therapy”, JASN, 2023.
- Park J, Zhao Y, Rhee C, Narasaki, Whiteson K, Kalantar-Zadeh K, Lau WL, “Changes in gut-derived uremic toxins with dietary CKD counseling”, AJKD, vol. 81, no. 4, 2023.
- Zhao Y, Han L, Jung JJ, Vancheeswaran JM, Tran-Phung L, Lau WL, “Gut-Derived Uremic Toxins Correlate with Anxiety and Decreased Locomotor Activity in CKD Mice” (opens in new tab), Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, vol. 34, no. 11S, pp. 688, 2023.
- Li W, Fisher M, Han E, Floriolli D, Chow D, Zhao Y, Paganini-Hill A, Narasaki Y, You A, Kalantar-Zadeh K, Rhee C, Lau WL, “Gut-Derived Uremic Toxins and Brain Vascular Injury in End-Stage Renal Disease”, JASN, 2022.
- Zhao Y, Liu H, Tran T, Fisher M, Vaziri ND, Lau WL, “Effects of antibiotics on the gut microbiota and brain microbleeds in CKD mice”, JASN, 2022.
- Narasaki Y, Rhee C, Zhao Y, Kalantar-Zadeh K, Lau WL, “Association Between Dietary Protein Sources and Gut-Derived Uremic Toxins in Patients on Long-Term Hemodialysis” (opens in new tab), Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, vol. 33, no. 11S, pp. 280, 2022.
- Zhao Y, Goto M, Khazaeli M, Safarpour Y, Naderi N, Farzaneh T, Najafian N, Soundar M, Vaziri N, Moradi H, “RNAi targeting liver Angiopoietin-like protein 3 protects from nephrotic syndrome in a rat model via amelioration of pathologic hypertriglyceridemia” (opens in new tab), Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, vol. 376, no. 3, pp. 428-435, 2021.
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Last updated on 5/19/2026.