Assistant Professor
song-yang.zhang [at] mcgill.ca (Email) | Macdonald-Stewart Building MS2-043
Degrees
BMSc - Basic Medical Science, Peking University;
PhD - Human Physiology, Peking University
Short Bio
Song-Yang Zhang received his PhD in Human Physiology in 2016 from Peking University. He worked as a postdoctoral researcher at Toronto General Hospital Research Institute before joining the School of Human Nutrition as an assistant professor in 2025.
"Life is an adventure, and it's fine if you haven't figured out where to go at this point. As a supervisor, I am excited to actively participate in your research journey."
Awards and Recognitions
2021-2024 Postdoctoral Fellowship, Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Research Interests
Metabolism
Nutrition
Current Research
Brain is a central metabolic organ. It monitors nutrient, hormone, and cytokine levels which indicate body nutritional status, and coordinates nutrient metabolism to meet the body's needs. However, overnutrition could disrupt these nutrient-associated signals in the brain, contributing to metabolic disorders like obesity, diabetes, and dyslipidemia.
Dr. Zhang studies how the nutrient, hormone, and cytokine signals in the brain maintain energy, glucose, and lipid balance, and how these signals are impaired by overnutrition. His lab employs rodent brain stereotaxic cannulation surgery combined with chemical and genetic approaches to manipulate brain nutrient-associated signals, feeding studies to monitor energy intake, glucose clamp experiments and tolerance tests to assess glucose turnover and handling, and VLDL secretion experiments to study lipid metabolism. By exploring the role of brain nutrient-associated signals in energy, glucose, and lipid metabolism, the ultimate goal of his research is to develop novel medications for obesity, diabetes, and dyslipidemia.
Publications
View Dr. Zhang's full list of publications on .
