Congratulations to Associate Professor Zhang Guodong’s being appointed as Dean’s Chair. Dean’s Chair appointees have achieved recognition in their fields at the rank of Associate Professor, and have very good prospects for rapid promotion to Professor.
Associate Professor Zhang’s most important work is on identifying how triclosan increases the risk of colon inflammation and cancer in mice. This led to a famous toothpaste product containing the compound being removed from the market in 2019. This discovery received extensive coverage in international media including Bloomberg, USNews and Los Angeles Times. He also won several awards, including the Institute of Food Technologists’ (IFT) Samuel Cate Prescott Outstanding Young Scientist Award (2020) and the Young Scientist Research Award from the American Oil Chemists’ Society (2019).