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 the UK food composition data. This involves a range of tasks, including generating new food composition data, publishing the data in various formats to cater for different applications, and participating in discussions about standardizing food data alongside other European data compilers and users. I have also contributed to research carried out by the group involving dietary assessment methods, linking data to food-related indicators such as environmental data, and assessing the nutritional quality of food products in the UK, with a particular focus on contributing to sustainability efforts.

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