Cai Zhang

I am a PhD student in Community Health, and working in Dr. Geiger’s Children’s Environmental Health Laboratory, specifically on the Illinois Kids Development Study (IKIDS) team. Currently, I am working on an IKIDS ancillary study, in collaboration with Dr. Geiger, which involves remote, single-channel electroencephalogram (EEG) data collection among a sub-set of IKIDS participants around the age of 7 years. We plan to assess whether there is an association depression during pregnancy and EEG-derived sleep metrics in childhood.

I am becoming increasingly motivated in my studies. My passion for research is constantly growing, and I have two primary research interests. Firstly, I am fascinated by the correlation between chemical exposures and their impact on children’s health and neurodevelopment. My aim is to explore this correlation further and develop potential interventions to reduce the negative impact of chemical exposures on children’s health. Secondly, I am interested in the risk factors associated with endocrine, diabetes, and obesity in children. My goal is to acquire a comprehensive understanding of current endocrine information and risk factors for diabetes and obesity and apply this knowledge to preventative medicine.