Xuefeng Yang
Professor of Nutrition & Food Hygiene 
Department of Nutrition & Food Hygiene
* xxyxf@mails.tjmu.edu.cn
Academic Areas
Nutrition and Chronic Disease/ Maternal and Child Nutrition.
Research Interests
> Population-based birth cohort study to examine the associations of dietary factors (nutrients, food groups and dietary patterns), gene-diet interactions with pregnancy outcomes
> Animal or cell model studies to investigate the mechanisms of chronic metabolic disorders (obesity, metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes, et al) and nutritional intervention on these diseases by using new approaches in nutrigenomics and in metabolomics
Selected Professional Affiliations
> Vice Chair Council of Youth Nutrition, Chinese Nutrition Society
> Vice Chair and Secretary-General Hubei Nutrition Society
Courses Taught
Nutrition and Food Hygiene/ Clinical Nutrition/Preventive Medicine/ Functional Food.
Awards and Honors
> 2017 Award for Outstanding Young Scientists, Chinese Nutrition Society
Education
2002‑2005 Ph.D.in Nutrition and Food Hygiene, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
1998‑2001 M.S. in Nutrition and Food Hygiene. Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology
1993-1998 B.S. in Preventive Medicine, Tongji Medical University, Wuhan, China
Professional/working Experience
2014-present Professor, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
2010-2012 Postdoctoral research fellow, Department of Nutrition, The Gillings School of Global Public Health, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA
2007-2014 Associate Professor, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
2001-2007 Teaching assistant & lecturer, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
Past and ongoing projects, funding, programs
> 2014－2017, Prevention of type 2 diabetes mellitus by modulating mitochondrial function with leucine. Funded by The National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC Grant No.3080090,).
> 2015-2017, A prospective study of the dietary cholesterol intake and cholesterol metabolic biomarkers during pregnancy and risk of gestational diabetes mellitus. Funded by Danone institute nutrition and health ( DIC2015-08).
> 2008-2011,The effects of dietary leucine supplementation on the insulin resistance and underlied mechanisms involving mTOR pathway. Funded by The National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC Grant No.30800907).
>
Select Publications
Books, patents
1. Developmental effects of toxic doses of iodine. In: Victor R. Preedy, Gerard N. Burrow and Ronald Watson, editor, Comprehensive Handbook of Iodine. Oxford: Academic Press, 2009, pp 855-864.
2. Clinical Nutrition. Associate Chef Editor, Published by Science Press, 2016.
3. Maternal and Child Nutrition. Editor, People's Medical Publishing House, 2018.
4. Molecular Toxicology, Editor, People's Medical Publishing House, 2017.
Journal Article
* Corresponding author
1. Zhou X, Chen R, Zhong C, Wu J, Li X, Cui W, Yi N, Xiao M, Xiong G, Han W, Hao L, Yang X *, and Yang N * . Maternal dietary pattern characterised by high protein and low carbohydrate intake in pregnancy is associated with a higher risk of gestational diabetes mellitus in Chinese women: a prospective cohort study. Br J Nutr. 2018, 120:1045-1055.
2. Wu Y,Wang Y,Huang J,Zhang Z,Wang J,Zhou L,Ni Z,Hao L,Yang N*,Yang X*. The association between caesarean delivery and the initiation and duration of breastfeeding: a prospective cohort study in China. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2018 Apr 18. doi: 10.1038/s41430-018-0127-9. [Epub ahead of print]
3. Zhou, X; Chen, R; Zhong, C; Wu, J; Li, X; Li, Q; Cui, W; Yi, N; Xiao, M; Yin, H; Xiong, G; Han W; Hao, L; Yang, X*; Yang N*. Fresh fruit intake in pregnancy and the association with gestational diabetes mellitus: a prospective Chinese cohort study, Nutrition. 2019, 60:129-135.
4. Huang J, Zhang Z, Wu Y, Wang Y, Wang J, Zhou L, Ni Z, Hao L, Yang N*, Yang X*. Early feeding of larger volumes of formula milk is associated with greater body weight or overweight in later infancy. Nutr J. 2018 Jan 24; 17(1):12. doi: 10.1186/s12937-018-0322-5.
5. Liu R, Fan W, Jin Q, Chao T, Wu Y, Huang J, Hao L, Yang X*. Leucine supplementation differently modulates branched-chain amino acid catabolism, mitochondrial function and metabolic profiles at the different stage of insulin resistance in rats on high-fat diet. Nutrients, 2017, 9(6) Pii: E565.
6. Zhang H, Qiu X, Zhong C, Zhang K, Xiao M, Yi N, Xiong G, Wang J, Hao L, Wei S, Yang N, Yang X*. Reproducibility and relative validity of a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire for Chinese pregnant women. Nutr J, 2015, 14(6):56-66.
7. Liu H , Liu R, Xiong Y, Li X , Wang X , Ma Y , Guo H , Hao L , Yao P , Liu L , Wang D and Yang X. Leucine facilitates the insulin-stimulated glucose uptake and insulin signaling in skeletal muscle cells: involving mTORC1 and mTORC2. Amino Acids, 2014, 46(8):1971-1979.
8. Yang X, Mei S, Gu H, Guo H, Zha L, Cai J, Li X, Liu Z, Cao W. Exposure to Excess insulin (glargine) induces type 2 diabetes mellitus in mice on chow diet. J Endocrinol., 2014, 221(3): 469-480.
9. Yang X*, Mei S, Wang X, Li X, Liu R, Ma Y, Hao L, Yao P, Liu L, Sun X, Gu H, Liu Z, Cao W*. Leucine facilitates insulin signaling through a Gαi protein-dependent signaling pathway in hepatocytes. J Biol Chem. 2013, 288(13):9313-20. 4
10. Li X, Wang X, Liu R, Ma Y, Guo H, Hao L, Yao P, Liu L, Sun X, He K, Cao W, Yang X*. Chronic leucine supplementation increases body weight and insulin sensitivity in rats on high-fat diet likely by promoting insulin signaling in insulin-target tissues. Mol Nutr Food Res.2013; 57(6):1067-79.
