Michael Zulyniak

University of Guelph: PhD, Human Health and Nutritional Sciences, 2010 - 2014

University of Aberdeen (MSc, with Distinction), Molecular Exercise Physiology, 2008 - 2009

University of Saskatchewan (BSc), College of Kinesiology, 2003 - 2005

My research interests are focussed on untangling the biological and environmental contributors to disparity in disease risk between population groups. Using novel epidemiological and statistical methods to identify patterns within dietary, environmental, metabolic, and genomic networks help us to untangle complex networks and identify the key drivers responsible. Our main focus is on metabolic diseases in pregnancy and their impact on women and future generations (such as gestational diabetes, type-2 diabetes, and obesity) but my curiosity often leads to other areas where interests overlap (e.g., non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and cancers).

While my research is primary driven by large cohorts with rich genomic, metabolite, and clinical data, it is undertaken within a highly-collaborative and exciting cross-disciplinary research environment that is ideally positioned to inform and advance prevention and treatment lifestyle strategies that are better accepted, more precise, and more effective for reducing disease risk in under-represented populations. This multi-disciplinary approach has generated numerous formative publications, informed global public health guidelines (i.e., WHO), and attracted funding in Canada and the UK (i.e., CIHR, Hamilton Health Sciences, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, Wellcome UK, N8 Research Partnership, and the UK Nutrition Society). In short, I lead an exciting multi-disciplinary and internationally recognized nutritional research program focussed on informing and designing strategies that offer equitable benefit between population groups.

I am interested in graduate students with a strong interest in molecular biology, epidemiology, nutritional biochemistry, and statistics. Ideal candidates have experience with large data sets (e.g., omics’ data such as genomics or metabolites) alongside clinical data using statistical packages (i.e., R) and are able to present their complex findings at their most fundamental level. An interest in complementary wet lab work (e.g., analysis of blood samples) is also welcome for discussion.

Fuller, H., Iles, M. M., Moore, J. B., & Zulyniak, M. A. (2023). Metabolic drivers of dysglycemia in pregnancy: ethnic-specific GWAS of 146 metabolites and 1-sample Mendelian randomization analyses in a UK multi-ethnic birth cohort. Frontiers in Endocrinology 2023, 14. https://doi.org/10.3389/fendo.2023.1157416

Zhang, Z.; Burrows, K.; Fuller, H.; Speliotes, E.K.; Abeysekera, K.W.M.; Thorne, J.L.; Lewis, S.J.; Zulyniak, M.A*.; Moore, J.B*. Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease and Vitamin D in the UK Biobank: A Two-Sample Bidirectional Mendelian Randomisation Study. Nutrients 2023, 15. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15061442

Dingena, C.F.; Arofikina, D.; Campbell, M.D.; Holmes, M.J.; Scott, E.M.; Zulyniak, M.A. Nutritional and Exercise-Focused Lifestyle Interventions and Glycemic Control in Women with Diabetes in Pregnancy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Clinical Trials. Nutrients 2023, 15. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15020323

Fuller, H.; Iles, M.; Moore, J.B.; Zulyniak, M.A. Unique Metabolic Profiles Associate with Gestational Diabetes and Ethnicity in Low- and High-Risk Women Living in the UK. The Journal of Nutrition 2022, 152. https://doi.org/10.1093/jn/nxac163

Moon, R.; Moore, J.B.; Hull, M.A.; Zulyniak, M.A. Investigation of the Association between High Arachidonic Acid Synthesis and Colorectal Polyp Incidence within a Generally Healthy UK Population: A Mendelian Randomization Approach. Lifestyle Genomics 2022. https://doi.org/10.1159/000526447