Jiang He, M.D., M.S., Ph.D. - Faculty Profile

Biography

Dr. He is Professor and Chair of Epidemiology at the UT Southwestern O'Donnell School of Public Health, as well as Professor of Internal Medicine and Neurology at the UT Southwestern Medical School. He is a globally recognized leader in epidemiological, clinical, and translational research focused on cardiometabolic and brain health. Dr. He has served as principal investigator or co-investigator on over 50 major NIH research grants and authored over 800 scientific articles, including high-impact papers in N Engl J Med, JAMA, and The Lancet.

Dr. He's research focuses on the epidemiology and prevention of cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, stroke, and dementia. He has led several landmark epidemiological studies documenting the global epidemic and disparities in obesity, hypertension, and diabetes. Dr. He has also led several large-scale, multicenter clinical trials demonstrating that a lower blood pressure treatment goal further reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke, and dementia. Furthermore, he has developed and tested effective, adoptable, and scalable implementation strategies to improve hypertension control in low-income populations.

As a dedicated educator, Dr. He has mentored numerous master's and doctoral students, postdoctoral fellows, and junior faculty members. Many of his mentees have gone on to build successful research careers and become leaders in their fields.

Among his many honors are the Abraham Lilienfeld Award from the American College of Epidemiology and the Distinguished Scientist Award from the American Heart Association. In 2023, he was elected to the National Academy of Medicine.

Research Interest

Cardiometabolic and brain health
Community and healthcare system interventions to reduce health disparities
Effectiveness and implementation trials
Global health
Multicenter clinical trials
Precision population health

Publications

Featured Publications

Blood pressure reduction and all-cause dementia in people with uncontrolled hypertension: an open-label, blinded-endpoint, cluster-randomized trial.: He J, Zhao C, Zhong S, Ouyang N, Sun G, Qiao L, Yang R, Zhao C, Liu H, Teng W, Liu X, Wang C, Liu S, Chen CS, Williamson JD, Sun Y, Nat Med 2025 Apr
Intensive Blood-Pressure Control in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes.: Bi Y, Li M, Liu Y, Li T, Lu J, Duan P, Xu F, Dong Q, Wang A, Wang T, Zheng R, Chen Y, Xu M, Wang X, Zhang X, Niu Y, Kang Z, Lu C, Wang J, Qiu X, Wang A, Wu S, Niu J, Wang J, Zhao Z, Pan H, Yang X, Niu X, Pang S, Zhang X, Dai Y, Wan Q, Chen S, Zheng Q, Dai S, Deng J, Liu L, Wang G, Zhu H, Tang W, Liu H, Guo Z, Ning G, He J, Xu Y, Wang W, N Engl J Med 2024 Nov
Early versus delayed antihypertensive treatment in patients with acute ischaemic stroke: multicentre, open label, randomised, controlled trial.: Liu L, Xie X, Pan Y, Wang A, Wei Y, Liu J, Nie X, Liu D, Zhao Z, Wang P, Shen S, Zhong C, Xu T, Wang D, Wang GC, Song D, Ma Y, Zhao J, Jiang Y, Jing J, Meng X, Obst K, Chen CS, Wang D, Wang Y, Zhang Y, Wang Y, He J, BMJ 2023 Oct 383 e076448
Effectiveness of a non-physician community health-care provider-led intensive blood pressure intervention versus usual care on cardiovascular disease (CRHCP): an open-label, blinded-endpoint, cluster-randomised trial.: He J, Ouyang N, Guo X, Sun G, Li Z, Mu J, Wang DW, Qiao L, Xing L, Ren G, Zhao C, Yang R, Yuan Z, Wang C, Shi C, Liu S, Miao W, Li G, Chen CS, Sun Y, Lancet 2023 Mar 401 10380 928-938
A village doctor-led multifaceted intervention for blood pressure control in rural China: an open, cluster randomised trial.: Sun Y, Mu J, Wang DW, Ouyang N, Xing L, Guo X, Zhao C, Ren G, Ye N, Zhou Y, Wang J, Li Z, Sun G, Yang R, Chen CS, He J, Lancet 2022 05 399 10339 1964-1975
Calorie Restriction with or without Time-Restricted Eating in Weight Loss.: Liu D, Huang Y, Huang C, Yang S, Wei X, Zhang P, Guo D, Lin J, Xu B, Li C, He H, He J, Liu S, Shi L, Xue Y, Zhang H, N Engl J Med 2022 04 386 16 1495-1504
Trends in Cardiovascular Risk Factors in US Adults by Race and Ethnicity and Socioeconomic Status, 1999-2018.: He J, Zhu Z, Bundy JD, Dorans KS, Chen J, Hamm LL, JAMA 2021 Oct 326 13 1286-1298
Prevalence and risk factors of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in China (the China Pulmonary Health [CPH] study): a national cross-sectional study.: Wang C, Xu J, Yang L, Xu Y, Zhang X, Bai C, Kang J, Ran P, Shen H, Wen F, Huang K, Yao W, Sun T, Shan G, Yang T, Lin Y, Wu S, Zhu J, Wang R, Shi Z, Zhao J, Ye X, Song Y, Wang Q, Zhou Y, Ding L, Yang T, Chen Y, Guo Y, Xiao F, Lu Y, Peng X, Zhang B, Xiao D, Chen CS, Wang Z, Zhang H, Bu X, Zhang X, An L, Zhang S, Cao Z, Zhan Q, Yang Y, Cao B, Dai H, Liang L, He J Lancet 2018 Apr
Effect of a Community Health Worker-Led Multicomponent Intervention on Blood Pressure Control in Low-Income Patients in Argentina: A Randomized Clinical Trial.: He J, Irazola V, Mills KT, Poggio R, Beratarrechea A, Dolan J, Chen CS, Gibbons L, Krousel-Wood M, Bazzano LA, Nejamis A, Gulayin P, Santero M, Augustovski F, Chen J, Rubinstein A, JAMA 2017 Sep 318 11 1016-1025
Sodium Excretion and the Risk of Cardiovascular Disease in Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease.: Mills KT, Chen J, Yang W, Appel LJ, Kusek JW, Alper A, Delafontaine P, Keane MG, Mohler E, Ojo A, Rahman M, Ricardo AC, Soliman EZ, Steigerwalt S, Townsend R, He J JAMA 2016 May 24-31 315 20 2200-10

Books

Lifestyle Modification for the Prevention and Treatment of Hypertension

Whelton PK, He J, and Louis GT (Ed.) (2003). New York, Marcel Dekker, Inc

Honors & Awards

American Heart Association Distinguished Scientist
The Distinguished Scientist award honors American Heart Association professional members who have made extraordinary contributions to cardiovascular and stroke research. (2024)
Peter Sleight Excellence Award in Hypertension Clinical Research Trials
The World Hypertension League presents this award to an individual who holds a leadership role in clinical trials and has an international reputation for clinical research and publications. (2024)
National Academy of Medicine Member
Election to the Academy is considered one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine and recognizes individuals who have demonstrated outstanding professional achievement and commitment to service. (2023)
Abraham Lilienfeld Award
The American College of Epidemiology's most prestigious award honors a senior leader who has made extraordinary contributions to the field of epidemiology over the course of their career, through both teaching or mentoring and research or scholarship. (2022)
Detlev Ganten Excellence Award in Hypertension and Global Health Implementation
The World Hypertension League presents this award to an individual who has made outstanding contributions to basic research on the mechanisms of blood pressure measurement and who holds a leadership role in a national organization or institution. (2022)
Tulane University Research Hall of Fame Award
This prestigious lifetime achievement award recognizes a nationally and internationally renowned scholar or investigator who has made substantial contributions to advancing knowledge throughout their academic career. (2021)
Oliver Fund Award for Excellence in Faculty Mentoring
This award recognizes senior faculty at Tulane University for their commitment to excellence in mentoring. (2017)
Highly Cited Researchers (Clinical Medicine)
Each researcher selected has authored multiple Highly Cited Papers which rank in the top 1 percent by citations for their field(s) and publication year in the Web of Science over the past decade. (2014)
Johns Hopkins University Distinguished Alumnus/a Award
This award honors alumni who have typified the Johns Hopkins tradition of excellence and brought credit to the university by their personal accomplishment, professional achievement, or humanitarian service. (2008)

Professional Associations/Affiliations

American College of Epidemiology
American Heart Association
National Academy of Medicine
Texas Academy of Medicine, Engineering, Science and Technology