Dr Zuo Zhang PhD

Dr Zuo Zhang

School of Psychology
Assistant Professor in Psychology and Mental Health

Dr Zuo Zhang’s research focuses on two main themes: (a) understanding the psychological, social, and neural risk factors and mechanisms of mental health issues in young people, particularly eating disorders and co-occurring conditions, and (b) developing machine learning-based predictive models to assess the risk and prognosis of mental illness.

Qualifications

PhD in Pattern Recognition and Intelligent Systems, Tongji University, China, 2017

Biography

Dr Zuo Zhang holds a PhD in Pattern Recognition and Intelligent Systems from Tongji University, China. He was previously a Medical Research Foundation fellow at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London before joining the University of Birmingham in 2024.

Publications

Recent publications

Article

King, S, Zhang, Z, Robinson, L, Whelan, R, Nees, F, Bobou, M, Banaschewski, T, Barker, GJ, Bokde, ALW, Flor, H, Grigis, A, Garavan, H, Gowland, P, Brühl, R, Martinot, JL, Paillère Martinot, ML, Artiges, E, Poustka, L, Hohmann, S, Holz, N, Baeuchl, C, Smolka, MN, Vaidya, N, Walter, H, Winterer, J, Broulidakis, MJ, van Noort, BM, Stringaris, A, Zhang, Y, Sinclair, JMA, Schumann, G, Schmidt, U, Desrivières, S, Cotter, D, Young, A, Donohoe, G & Wolztynski, E 2025, 'Characterising a stress-sensitive default mode network (DMN) deficit in major neuropsychiatric disorders', Communications Biology.

IMAGEN Consortium & STRATIFY Consortium 2025, 'Distinct neural networks of emotional valence and uncertainty in the human amygdala underlying different mental disorders', Science Bulletin. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scib.2025.02.026

IMAGEN Consortium, STRATIFY Consortium, ESTRA Consortium & ZIB Consortium 2025, 'Hierarchical Neurocognitive Model of Externalizing and Internalizing Comorbidity', Nature Mental Health.

Yu, X, Zhang, Z, Herle, M, Banaschewski, T, Barker, GJ, Bokde, ALW, Flor, H, Grigis, A, Garavan, H, Gowland, P, Heinz, A, Brühl, R, Martinot, J-L, Paillère Martinot, ML, Artiges, E, Nees, F, Orfanos, DP, Lemaître, H, Paus, T, Poustka, L, Hohmann, S, Holz, N, Bäuchl, C, Smolka, MN, Vaidya, N, Walter, H, Whelan, R, Schmidt, U, Schumann, G, Desrivières, S & IMAGEN Consortium 2025, 'Relationships between eating behaviours, psychopathology, brain maturation and genetic risk for obesity in a longitudinal adolescent cohort study', Nature Mental Health, vol. 3, pp. 58–70. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44220-024-00354-7

Zhang, Z, Robinson, L, Campbell, I, Irish, M, Bobou, M, Winterer, J, Zhang, Y, King, S, Vaidya, N, Broulidakis, MJ, van Noort, BM, Stringaris, A, Banaschewski, T, Bokde, ALW, Brühl, R, Fröhner, JH, Grigis, A, Garavan, H, Gowland, P, Heinz, A, Hohmann, S, Martinot, JL, Paillère Martinot, ML, Nees, F, Orfanos, DP, Paus, T, Poustka, L, Sinclair, J, Smolka, MN, Walter, H, Whelan, R, Schumann, G, Schmidt, U, Desrivières, S, IMAGEN Consortium, ESTRA Consortium & STRATIFY Consortium 2024, 'Distinct personality profiles associated with disease risk and diagnostic status in eating disorders', Journal of Affective Disorders, vol. 360, pp. 146-155. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2024.05.132

Zhang, Z, Robinson, L, Whelan, R, Jollans, L, Wang, Z, Nees, F, Chu, C, Bobou, M, Du, D, Cristea, I, Banaschewski, T, Barker, GJ, Bokde, ALW, Grigis, A, Garavan, H, Heinz, A, Brühl, R, Martinot, J-L, Martinot, M-LP, Artiges, E, Orfanos, DP, Poustka, L, Hohmann, S, Millenet, S, Fröhner, JH, Smolka, MN, Vaidya, N, Walter, H, Winterer, J, Broulidakis, MJ, van Noort, BM, Stringaris, A, Penttilä, J, Grimmer, Y, Insensee, C, Becker, A, Zhang, Y, King, S, Sinclair, J, Schumann, G, Schmidt, U & Desrivières, S 2024, 'Machine learning models for diagnosis and risk prediction in eating disorders, depression, and alcohol use disorder', Journal of Affective Disorders. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2024.12.053

IMAGEN, STRATIFY and ESTRA Consortia, Yu, X, Robinson, L, Bobou, M, Zhang, Z, Banaschewski, T, Barker, GJ, Bokde, ALW, Flor, H, Grigis, A, Garavan, H, Gowland, P, Heinz, A, Brühl, R, Martinot, J-L, Paillère Martinot, M-L, Artiges, E, Nees, F, Orfanos, DP, Lemaître, H, Poustka, L, Hohmann, S, Holz, N, Bäuchl, C, Smolka, MN, Stringaris, A, Walter, H, Whelan, R, Sinclair, J, Schumann, G, Schmidt, U & Desrivières, S 2024, 'Multimodal investigations of structural and functional brain alterations in anorexia and bulimia nervosa and their relationships to psychopathology', Biological Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2024.11.008

IMAGEN Consortium, STRATIFY Consortium, ESTRA Consortium, ZIB Consortium, Xie, C, Xiang, S, Shen, C, Peng, X, Kang, J, Li, Y, Cheng, W, He, S, Bobou, M, Broulidakis, MJ, van Noort, BM, Zhang, Z, Robinson, L, Vaidya, N, Winterer, J, Zhang, Y, King, S, Banaschewski, T, Barker, GJ, Bokde, ALW, Bromberg, U, Büchel, C, Flor, H, Grigis, A, Garavan, H, Gowland, P, Heinz, A, Ittermann, B, Lemaître, H, Martinot, JL, Martinot, MLP, Nees, F, Orfanos, DP, Paus, T, Poustka, L, Fröhner, JH, Schmidt, U, Sinclair, J, Smolka, MN, Stringaris, A, Walter, H, Whelan, R, Desrivières, S, Sahakian, BJ, Robbins, TW, Schumann, G, Jia, T & Feng, J 2023, 'A shared neural basis underlying psychiatric comorbidity', Nature Medicine, vol. 29, pp. 1232–1242. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-023-02317-4

Sun, Y, Jia, T, Barker, ED, Chen, D, Zhang, Z, Xu, J, Chang, S, Zhou, G, Liu, Y, Tay, N, Luo, Q, Chang, X, Banaschewski, T, Bokde, ALW, Flor, H, Grigis, A, Garavan, H, Heinz, A, Martinot, JL, Paillère Martinot, ML, Artiges, E, Nees, F, Orfanos, DP, Paus, T, Poustka, L, Hohmann, S, Millenet, S, Fröhner, JH, Smolka, MN, Walter, H, Whelan, R, Lu, L, Shi, J, Schumann, G & Desrivières, S 2023, 'Associations of DNA Methylation With Behavioral Problems, Gray Matter Volumes, and Negative Life Events Across Adolescence: Evidence From the Longitudinal IMAGEN Study', Biological Psychiatry, vol. 93, no. 4, pp. 342-351. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2022.06.012

IMAGEN Consortium, ESTRA Consortium, STRATIFY Consortium & Zhang, Z 2023, 'Differing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on youth mental health: combined population and clinical study', BJPsych Open, vol. 9, no. 6, e217. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjo.2023.601

IMAGEN Consortium, Gazula, H, Rootes-Murdy, K, Holla, B, Basodi, S, Zhang, Z, Verner, E, Kelly, R, Murthy, P, Chakrabarti, A, Basu, D, Bhagyalakshmi Nanjayya, S, Lenin Singh, R, Lourembam Singh, R, Kalyanram, K, Kartik, K, Kalyanaraman, K, Ghattu, K, Kuriyan, R, Kurpad, SS, Barker, GJ, Bharath, RD, Desrivieres, S, Purushottam, M, Orfanos, DP, Sharma, E, Hickman, M, Toledano, M, Vaidya, N, Banaschewski, T, Bokde, ALW, Flor, H, Grigis, A, Garavan, H, Gowland, P, Heinz, A, Brühl, R, Martinot, JL, Paillére Martinot, ML, Artiges, E, Nees, F, Paus, T, Poustka, L, Fröhner, JH, Robinson, L, Smolka, MN, Walter, H, Winterer, J, Whelan, R, Turner, JA, Sarwate, AD, Plis, S, Benegal, V & Schumann, G 2023, 'Federated Analysis in COINSTAC Reveals Functional Network Connectivity and Spectral Links to Smoking and Alcohol Consumption in Nearly 2,000 Adolescent Brains', Neuroinformatics, vol. 21, no. 2, pp. 287-301. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12021-022-09604-4

Wang, Z, Zhang, Z & Sun, Y 2022, 'Different Neural Information Flows Affected by Activity Patterns for Action and Verb Generation', Frontiers in Psychology, vol. 13, 802756. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.802756

Gazula, H, Holla, B, Zhang, Z, Xu, J, Verner, E, Kelly, R, Jain, S, Bharath, RD, Barker, GJ, Basu, D, Chakrabarti, A, Kalyanram, K, Kumaran, K, Singh, L, Kuriyan, R, Murthy, P, Benega, V, Plis, SM, Sarwate, AD, Turner, JA, Schumann, G & Calhoun, VD 2021, 'Decentralized Multisite VBM Analysis During Adolescence Shows Structural Changes Linked to Age, Body Mass Index, and Smoking: a COINSTAC Analysis', Neuroinformatics, vol. 19, pp. 553-566. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12021-020-09502-7

Zhang, Z, Robinson, L, Jia, T, Quinlan, EB, Tay, N, Chu, C, Barker, ED, Banaschewski, T, Barker, GJ, Bokde, ALW, Flor, H, Grigis, A, Garavan, H, Gowland, P, Heinz, A, Ittermann, B, Martinot, JL, Stringaris, A, Penttilä, J, van Noort, B, Grimmer, Y, Paillère Martinot, ML, Isensee, C, Becker, A, Nees, F, Orfanos, DP, Paus, T, Poustka, L, Hohmann, S, Fröhner, JH, Smolka, MN, Walter, H, Whelan, R, Schumann, G, Schmidt, U & Desrivières, S 2021, 'Development of disordered eating behaviors and comorbid depressive symptoms in adolescence: neural and psychopathological predictors', Biological Psychiatry, vol. 90, no. 12, pp. 853-862. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2020.06.003

Preprint

Desrivières, S, Zhang, Z, Robinson, L, Whelan, R, Jollans, L, Wang, Z, Nees, F, Chu, C, Bobou, M, Du, D, Cristea, I, Banaschewski, T, Barker, G, Bokde, A, Grigis, A, Garavan, H, Heinz, A, Bruhl, R, Martinot, J-L, Martinot, M-LP, Artiges, E, Orfanos, DP, Poustka, L, Hohmann, S, Millenet, S, Fröhner, J, Smolka, M, Vaidya, N, Walter, H, Winterer, J, Broulidakis, M, van Noort, B, Stringaris, A, Penttilä, J, Grimmer, Y, Insensee, C, Becker, A, Zhang, Y, King, S, Sinclair, J, Schumann, G & Schmidt, U 2024 'Machine learning models for diagnosis and risk prediction in eating disorders, depression, and alcohol use disorder' Research Square. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-3777784/v1

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