Stanford University
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Haoqi (Nina) Zhao
Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering
BioNina joined Stanford CEE as an Assistant Professor in Summer 2026. Her research bridges computational metabolomics and exposomics to uncover unknown lifestyle chemicals and their impacts on health. Nina earned her B.S. from Peking University, her Ph.D. from the University of Washington, and was a postdoctoral scientist at UC San Diego. She received the Pathway to Independence Award (K99/R00) from the National Institutes of Health in 2025.
The Zhao Lab at Stanford will operate at the interface of environmental chemistry, environmental health, and computational mass spectrometry. We aim to identify previously unrecognized chemical drivers that influence human and ecosystem health. We pursue this goal by developing innovative computational and analytical methods centered around untargeted mass spectrometry. Through these efforts, we aim to enable precision environmental health strategies, inform public health policies, and inspire sustainable chemical design.
Current research interests include (but are not limited to):
1.Leveraging mass spectrometry data repositories and advanced informatics tools to systematically map the chemical exposome.
2.Developing tools and resources for mass spectrometry data analysis to advance exposomics research.
3.Investigating host-microbiome-xenobiotic interactions and their impacts on human health.
4.Integrating toxicology with untargeted screening to accelerate the discovery and risk assessment of unknown molecules.
5.Pediatric environmental health: chemical exposures through breastfeeding and their implications for infant development.
6.Traffic-related chemical pollution: environmental fate, occurrence, and relevance to human exposures. -
Renee Zhao
Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering and, by courtesy, of Bioengineering and of Materials Science and Engineering
BioRuike Renee Zhao is an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Stanford University, where she directs the Soft Intelligent Materials Laboratory. Originally from the historic city of Xi'an, she earned her BS from Xi'an Jiaotong University in 2012. She then pursued Solid Mechanics at Brown University, obtaining her MS in 2014 and PhD in 2016. Following her doctoral studies, she completed postdoctoral training at MIT (2016–2018) before serving as an Assistant Professor at The Ohio State University (2018–2021).
Renee’s research focuses on developing stimuli-responsive soft composites for multifunctional robotic systems with integrated shape-changing, assembly, sensing, and navigation capabilities. By integrating mechanics, material science, and advanced material manufacturing, her work enables innovations in soft robotics, miniaturized biomedical devices, robotic surgery, origami systems, active metamaterials, and general deployable morphing structures.
Her contributions have been recognized with honors and awards, including the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), DARPA Young Faculty Award (YFA, 2025), ARO Early Career Program (ECP) Award (2023), AFOSR Young Investigator Research Program (YIP) Award (2023), Eshelby Mechanics Award for Young Faculty (2022), ASME Henry Hess Early Career Publication Award (2022), ASME Pi Tau Sigma Gold Medal (2022), ASME Applied Mechanics Division Journal of Applied Mechanics Award (2021), NSF CAREER Award (2020), and ASME Applied Mechanics Division Haythornthwaite Research Initiation Award (2018). She is also recognized as a National Academy of Sciences Kavli Fellow and was named one of MIT Technology Review's 35 Innovators Under 35.
