Professor Yun Yun Gong

Profile

I am Professor in Food Safety and Global Health. I am interested in assessing the impact of food chemical contaminants (specifically mycotoxins) on human health, and developing effective intervention to protect public health from these toxic chemicals.

My training background is in the field of Medicine and Public Health. Aflter obtaining a PhD in food toxicology, I worked in the School of Medicine in Leeds as an Reserach Fellow since 2000.  I was a Visiting Scientist in the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) during Jan-May 2013. Between 2013-2016, I worked in the Queen's University of Belfast as a Reader on nature toxins epidemiology. I returned to Leeds in the School of Food Science and Nutrition from 2016 to continue my research on mycotoxins and human health. 

I have served as a working group member for international agents including the IARC, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).

As a passionate and experienced research on global health, I have led a number of international collaborative research projects studying exposure to food mycotoxins and child health. These work demonstrated the toxins detrimental effect on child nutrition and health, providing scientific evidence for policy decision on mycotoxin reduction and control in Africa and China. My research has been generously funded by the Royal Society UK, The BBSRC, The National Institute of Environment Health Sciences (NIEHS) USA, and charities including The Bill and Melina Gates Fundation, the Wellcome Trust and the Sir Halley Stewart Trust. In the past 20 years' research, I have established a strong research network with scientrists worldwide including the Tanzania TFDA, The South Africa MRC, the Gambia MRC, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), the IARC and the China CFSA.

Responsibilities

• School International Lead

Research interests

• Exposure biomarkers to assess dietary exposure to food born natural toxins such as mycotoxins.
• Epidemiology studies to investigate the impact of exposure to mycotoxins on human health, in high risk regions (e.g. sub-Sahara Africa) with a focus on cancer, child malnutrition, and reproductive function.
• Laboratory in vitro study to understand the mechanism of mycotoxins on human health.
• Evaluate interventions to mitigate mycotoxins, using sustainable methods such as post-harvest storage improvement and public education.
• Prevention of child double and triple burden of malnutrition

Some of my recent research projects:

• 2023-2026 Food Systems Transformation in Southern Africa for One Health (FoSTA Health), EU | Directories | University of Leeds (Co-I)
• 2020- 25 BBSRC: Addressing micronutrient deficiencies associated with the double burden of childhood malnutrition in China, a combined food system framework (PI) 
• 2021-2023 Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation: The Childhood Acute Illness and Nutrition (CHAIN) study: Aflatoxin nested case control study (Co-I)
• 2020- 22 Royal Society of Medicine:Newton International Fellowship Aflatoxin exposure assessment in peanut oil consumers and biomarkers of early health effects
• 2019- 21 British Council: UK-China Educational Partnership Award on Food Safety and Nutrition (PI)
• 2018-19 BBSRC: Analysis of Biological Small Molecules (Co-I)
• 2017- 21 BBSRC GCRF collective fund: “Agricultural and Food-system Resilience: Increasing Capacity and Advising Policy (GCRF-AFRICAP)  (Co-I) 
• 2013-17 Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation: Understanding mechanisms and identifying biomarkers for the relationship between aflatoxin exposure and child stunting (PI)
• 2014-16 Partnership for Aflatoxin Control in Africa (PACA): Aflatoxin exposure and associated immune function damage in young children (Co-I)
• 2016- 17 WHO: Biomarker diagnosis of a recent aflatoxicosis outbreak in Tanzania (PI)
• 2015-16 Literature Reviewing "Norovirus transmission in food handlers and its prevention" for the FSA UK https://food.gov.uk/sites/default/files/media/document/report_2.pdf
• 2014-16 Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation: Mycotoxins as a Risk Factor in Childhood Growth Impairment Worldwide (Co-I)
• 2010-13 Leverhulme - Royal Society Africa Award: Evaluation of Dietary Exposure to Mycotoxins in Young Children (PI)
• 2013-14 Developing scientific reports on aflatoxin impact on human health and delivered workshops to the East Africa Community (EAC), providing scientific guidance on food policy and regulations.

Research projects:

PI – GCRF - Addressing micronutrient deficiencies associated with the double burden of childhood malnutrition in China, a combined food system framework | School of Food Science and Nutrition | University of Leeds
CI – Food Systems Transformation in Southern Africa for One Health (FoSTA Health), EU | Directories | University of Leeds
 

• Addressing micronutrient deficiencies associated with the double burden of childhood malnutrition in China, a combined food system framework
• Aflatoxin exposure assessment in home-based peanut oil consumers and biomarkers of early health effects
• Agricultural and Food-system Resilience: Increasing Capacity and Advising Policy (GCRF-AFRICAP)
• Community-led, nutrition-sensitive agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa
• Food Systems Transformation in Southern Africa for One Health (FoSTA Health), EU
• GCRF - Addressing micronutrient deficiencies associated with the double burden of childhood malnutrition in China, a combined food system framework

Qualifications

• PhD in Food toxicology
• Master in Epidemiology
• Bachelor in Medicine

Professional memberships

• UK Toxicology Society
• UK Environmental Mutagen Society
• World Mycotoxin Society
• Nutrition Society UK

Student education

I am module leader and lecturer on a number of UG and PGT modules. I contribute to a number of UG and MSc research project modules as supervisor. 

Research groups and institutes

• Food Chemistry and Biochemistry
• Obesity, Cancer and Metabolic Disease
• Human Nutrition and Lifestyle Intervention
• Food safety, food security and global health
• Sustainable Food Systems

Current postgraduate researchers

• Rui Ma
• Xiaomian Tan