During my PhD at Wageningen University in the Netherlands, I focused on simplifying existing dietary assessment methods used in National Food Consumption Surveys and incorporating new technologies.

Currently, at the Quadram Institute, my main area of focus is managing and updating the UK food composition data. My role involves:

• Working with the Food & Nutrition National Bioscience Research Infrastructure (FN-NBRI) team and external stakeholders on new food composition data acquisition and management.
• Developing data analysis capabilities from dietary assessment tool outputs for the wider research community.
• Leading and supporting FN-NBRI research grant proposals.
• Coordinating food data standardization activities and developing training activities related to FN-NBRI core resources and capabilities.

Key Publications

Zhang L, Geelen A, Boshuizen HC, Ferreira J, Ocke MC. Importance of details in food descriptions in estimating population nutrient intake distributions. Nutr J. 2019;18(1):17. doi: 10.1186/s12937-019-0443-5  

Zhang L, Nawijn E, Boshuizen H, Ocke M. Evaluation of the Recipe Function in Popular Dietary Smartphone Applications, with Emphasize on Features Relevant for Nutrition Assessment in Large-Scale Studies. Nutrients. 2019;11(1). doi: 10.3390/nu11010200

Zhang L, Boshuizen H, Ocke M. How does a simplified recipe collection procedure in dietary assessment tools affect the food group and nutrient intake distributions of the population. Br J Nutr. 2020:1-10. doi: 10.1017/S0007114520000999

Zhang L, Misir A, Boshuizen H, Ocké M. A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Validation Studies Performed on Dietary Record Apps. Adv Nutr. 2021 May 21:nmab058. doi: 10.1093/advances/nmab058

Zhang L, Langlois E, Williams K, et al. A comparative analysis of nutritional quality, amino acid profile, and nutritional supplementations in plant-based products and their animal-based counterparts in the UK[J]. Food Chemistry, 2024, 448: 139059. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2024.139059