Research Assistant Professor, Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research

Funded Research
- A Multi-Ancestry Study of Gene-Lifestyle Interactions and Multi-Omics in Cardiometabolic Traits
- Covid-19 Effects on Children & Families: 2021 Follow-Up of the PSID Child Development Supplement
- Family Dynamics, Fertility and Contraception, and Investments in Children across Generations
- Family Dynamics, Fertility, and Investments in Children across Generations
- Health and Well-being Over the Life Course and Across Multiple Generations
- PSID 2021-2024: Continuity and Change in American Economic and Social Life
Publications
- Jacquelyn Y. Taylor, Yunfeng Huang, Wei Zhao, Michelle L. Wright, Zeyuan Wang, Qin Hui, Stephanie Potts-Thompson, Veronica Barcelona, Laura Prescott, Yutong Yao, Cindy Crusto, Sharon L. R. Kardia, Jennifer Ann Smith, Yan V. Sun. 2023. Epigenome-wide association study of BMI in Black populations from InterGEN and GENOA. Obesity 31(1):243-255.
- Jinkook Lee, ..., Jennifer Ann Smith, Wei Zhao, Kenneth M Langa, et al.. 2023. Deep phenotyping and genomic data from a nationally representative study on dementia in India. Scientific Data 10:45.
- Chen, Fang, ..., Jessica Danielle Faul, Jennifer Ann Smith, David R Weir, Wei Zhao, et al.. 2023. Multi-ancestry transcriptome-wide association analyses yield insights into tobacco use biology and drug repurposing. Nature Genetics
- Julie Hahn, ..., Jennifer Ann Smith, Wei Zhao, et al.. 2023. DNA methylation analysis identifies novel genetic loci associated with circulating fibrinogen levels in blood. Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis
- Lahti, Jari, ..., Jessica Danielle Faul, Jennifer Ann Smith, David R Weir, Wei Zhao, et al.. 2022. Genome-wide meta-analyses reveal novel loci for verbal short-term memory and learning. Molecular Psychiatry [Epub] [Full Text]
- Yunju Yang, ..., Wei Zhao, et al.. 2022. Epigenetic and integrative cross-omics analyses of cerebral white matter hyperintensities on MRI. Brain
- Shweta Ramdas, ..., Wei Zhao, et al.. 2022. A multi-layer functional genomic analysis to understand noncoding genetic variation in lipids. The American Journal of Human Genetics 109(8):1366-1387.
- Lauren L. Schmitz, Wei Zhao, Scott M. Ratliff, Julia Goodwin, Jiacheng Miao, Qiongshi Lu, Xiuqing Guo, Kent D. Taylor, Jingzhong Ding, Yongmei Liu, Morgan Levine, Jennifer Ann Smith. 2022. The Socioeconomic Gradient in Epigenetic Ageing Clocks: Evidence from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis and the Health and Retirement Study. Epigenetics 17(6)
- Xiong, Zhuang, Yang, Fei, Li, Mengwei, Ma, Yingke, Wei Zhao, Wang, Guoliang, Li, Zhaohua, Zheng, Xinchang, Zou, Dong, Zong, Wenting, Kang, Hongen, Jia, Yaokai, Li, Rujiao, Zhang, Zhang, Bao, Yiming. 2022. EWAS Open Platform: integrated data, knowledge and toolkit for epigenome-wide association study. Nucleic Acids Research 50(D1):D1004-D1009.
- Yi Zhe Wang, Wei Zhao, Farah Ammous, Yanyi Song, Jiacong Du, Lulu Shang, Scott M. Ratliff, Kari Moore, Kristen M. Kelly, Belinda L. Needham, Ana V. Diez Roux, Yongmei Liu, Kenneth R. Butler, Sharon L. R. Kardia, Bhramar Mukherjee, Xiang Zhou, Jennifer Ann Smith. 2022. DNA Methylation Mediates the Association Between Individual and Neighborhood Social Disadvantage and Cardiovascular Risk Factors. Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine 9:848768.
- Zhang, Xinman, Ammous, Farah, Lin, Lisha, Ratliff, Scott M., Erin Bakshis Ware, Jessica Danielle Faul, Wei Zhao, Kardia, Sharon L. R., Jennifer Ann Smith. 2022. The Interplay of Epigenetic, Genetic, and Traditional Risk Factors on Blood Pressure: Findings from the Health and Retirement Study. Genes 13(11):1959.
- Chaar, Dima L., Nguyen, Kim, Wang, Yi-Zhe, Ratliff, Scott M., Mosley, Thomas H., Kardia, Sharon L. R., Jennifer Ann Smith, Wei Zhao. 2022. SNP-by-CpG Site Interactions in ABCA7 Are Associated with Cognition in Older African Americans. Genes 13(11):2150.
- Gretchen R. B. Saunders, ..., Jessica Danielle Faul, Jennifer Ann Smith, David R Weir, Wei Zhao, et al.. 2022. Genetic diversity fuels gene discovery for tobacco and alcohol use. Nature 612:720-724.
- Li, Xihao, ..., Jennifer Ann Smith, Wei Zhao, et al.. 2022. Powerful, scalable and resource-efficient meta-analysis of rare variant associations in large whole genome sequencing studies. Nature Genetics
- Sarah E. Graham, ..., Jessica Danielle Faul, Wei Zhao, David R Weir, et al.. 2021. The power of genetic diversity in genome-wide association studies of lipids. Nature 600(7890):675-679.
- Katherine S. Ruth, ..., Jessica Danielle Faul, Jennifer Ann Smith, David R Weir, Wei Zhao, et al.. 2021. Genetic insights into biological mechanisms governing human ovarian ageing. Nature 596(7872):393-397.
- Mariaelisa Graff, ..., Jessica Danielle Faul, Erin Bakshis Ware, David R Weir, Jennifer Ann Smith, Wei Zhao, et al.. 2021. Discovery and fine-mapping of height loci via high-density imputation of GWASs in individuals of African ancestry. American journal of human genetics 108(4):564-582.
- Praveen Surendran, Jessica Danielle Faul, Jennifer Ann Smith, David R Weir, Wei Zhao, et al.. 2020. Discovery of rare variants associated with blood pressure regulation through meta-analysis of 1.3 million individuals. Nature genetics 52(12):1314-1332.
- Amy R. Bentley, ..., Jessica Danielle Faul, Erin Bakshis Ware, David R Weir, Jennifer Ann Smith, Wei Zhao, et al.. 2019. Multi-ancestry genome-wide gene-smoking interaction study of 387,272 individuals identifies new loci associated with serum lipids. Nature Genetics 51(4):636-648.