Dr. He is a nationally and internationally renowned scientist in clinical, translational, and implementation research. He has conducted novel studies in obesity, hypertension, diabetes, stroke, cardiovascular disease, and chronic kidney disease funded by NIH. He has been the principal investigator and co-investigator for more than 45 major research awards from the NIH worth more than 200 million US dollars. Dr. He has authored over 700 scientific articles with a h-index of 148 (citations >144,000). He has published in first class biomedical journals, including the New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA, and the Lancet.
Dr. He has led landmark studies which documented: (1) cardiovascular disease and cancer are the leading causes of death, and that hypertension and cigarette smoking are the leading preventable risk factors for premature death in China; (2) the global burden of obesity and diabetes has rapidly accelerated, along with large global disparities in hypertension; (3) high sodium intake increased the risk of cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality in individuals with obesity or chronic kidney disease; (4) early antihypertensive treatment is safe in patients with acute ischemic stroke; and (5) a community health worker-led intervention not only lowered blood pressure and improved hypertension control, but also significantly reduced cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality. These study findings contribute to cardiometabolic disease prevention in resource-constrained populations globally.
Dr. He is a devoted educator. He has mentored >100 masters’ students and >50 doctoral students and post-doctoral fellows in his career. In addition, he has mentored 22 junior faculty investigators sponsored by the NIH K-award or other awards. Many have developed successful research careers and become leaders in their fields.
Dr. He is a prolific NAM volunteer, having served on four committees: the Committee on Secondhand Smoke Exposure and Acute Coronary Events, the Committee on Public Health Priorities to Reduce and Control Hypertension in the U.S. Population, the Committee on the Consequences of Sodium Reduction in Populations, and the Review of the DRIs for Sodium and Potassium consensus committee. In addition, he has served in numerous NIH Study Sections and Special Emphasis Panels.
He has received many awards from local, national, and international academic institutions and professional societies, including the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the Johns Hopkins University, Highly Cited Researchers from Thomson Reuters, the Research Hall of Fame from Tulane University, the Detlev Ganten Excellence Award in Hypertension and Global Health Implementation from the World Hypertension League, and the Abraham Lilienfeld Award from the American College of Epidemiology.
Dr. He received his B.M. from Jiangxi Medical College and his M.D. from Peking Union Medical College in China. He earned his Ph.D. in Epidemiology from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and an M.S. in Human Genetics from Tulane University School of Medicine in the US.
