Xuan Zhao MSc. MD.

PhD Candidate

Developmental Psychology and Individual Differences, Lifespan Health, Wellbeing Group

Division of Health Sciences, Warwick Medical School

Research Interests:

My research focuses on how antenatal and obstetric exposures and interventions influence child neurodevelopment. I work at the intersection of obstetrics, perinatal health and developmental psychology, using observational and randomised evidence alongside epidemiological and causal inference approaches.

My current research uses antenatal corticosteroids as a model intervention to investigate the long-term developmental consequences of prenatal and obstetric interventions, with a particular interest in how effects may vary according to timing, exposure characteristics, clinical context and individual susceptibility.

About me

Jesus Christ is my light.

I have a medical background, with a Bachelor’s degree in Medicine (1st class) from China and an M.Sc. in Epidemiology (full scholarship) from Karolinska Institutet, Sweden.

My PhD at the University of Warwick, supervised by Prof. Siobhan Quenby and Prof. Dieter Wolke, examines induction of labour, gestational age, foetal size and child neurodevelopment. This work has involved population-based longitudinal studies, systematic review and meta-analysis, and follow-up of a randomised controlled trial.

Through my PhD, I have developed experience in obstetrics, child neurodevelopment, longitudinal research, causal inference and evidence synthesis, with methodological interests including Bayesian approaches.

I have co-authored international peer-reviewed publications and presented my research at international academic conferences. I was awarded a Psychology Departmental BB2UP PhD Fellowship and the Chancellor’s International Scholarship at the University of Warwick.

Give glory to God the Father.

Collaboration

I am interested in developing collaborations across obstetrics, perinatal health and child neurodevelopment, particularly through randomised controlled trials, individual participant data, longitudinal birth cohorts and linked health records.

A particular focus of my emerging research programme is antenatal corticosteroids (ACS) and their longer-term effects on child neurodevelopment. I am interested in collaborating with investigators to integrate evidence across trials and longitudinal datasets and to investigate how developmental effects may vary according to timing, exposure characteristics, clinical context and individual susceptibility.

Conferences:

BMFMS 2026 — Oral presentation; Best Talk, Labour and Delivery section
RCOG World Congress 2025 — Oral presentation
jENS 2025 — Short oral presentation

Publications:

Zhao X, Underwood M, Bouliotis G, Quenby S, Wolke D. Child development at 2 years following planned induction of labour for suspected large-for-gestational-age foetuses: follow-up of the Big Baby randomised controlled trial. The Lancet Obstetrics, Gynaecology & Women's Health. 2026. (Manuscript submitted)
Zhao X, Quenby S, Brandlistuen RE, Valand SB, Havdahl AKS, Ask H, Wolke D. The relationship between gestational age at delivery and fetal size, and neurodevelopment outcomes from infancy to adolescence. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. 2026. doi:10.1016/j.ajog.2026.08.025.
Zhao X, Eves R, Quenby S, Lemola S, Wolke D. Fetal size, gestational age, and cognitive performance at 5 years in term-born children: Four national cohorts' study. International Journal of Gynaecology & Obstetrics. 2026;173(2):791–800. doi:10.1002/ijgo.70671.
Zhao X, Poskett A, Stracke M, Quenby S, Wolke D. Cognitive and academic outcomes of large-for-gestational-age babies born at early term: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica. 2025;104(2):288–301. doi:10.1111/aogs.15001.
Wolke D, Zhao X, Quenby S. The trade-off of delivery timing between reduced perinatal complications versus adverse long-term outcomes. Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology. 2025. doi:10.1111/ppe.70025.
Lu MS, Lu JH, Zhang LF, Liu X, Zhao X, Nagraj S, Shen SY, Xiao WQ, He JR, Qiu X. Infancy weight gain and neurodevelopmental outcomes among term-born infants at age one year: A large prospective cohort study in China. Child Neuropsychology. 2021. doi:10.1080/09297049.2021.1999402.
Rahman MS, Zhao X, Liu JJ, Torres EQ, Tibert B, Kumar P, Kaldo V, Lindefors N, Forsell Y, Lavebratt C. Exercise reduces salivary morning cortisol levels in patients with depression. Molecular Neuropsychiatry. 2019;4(4):196–203. doi:10.1159/000494699.
He JR, Ramakrishnan R, Lai YM, Li WD, Zhao X, Hu Y, Chen NN, Hu F, Lu JH, Wei XL, Yuan MY, Shen SY, Qiu L, Chen QZ, Hu CY, Cheng KK, Mol BWJ, Xia HM, Qiu X. Prediction of preterm birth from early pregnancy characteristics: Born in Guangzhou Cohort Study. Journal of Clinical Medicine. 2018;7(8):185. doi:10.3390/jcm7080185.
Lu MS, Zhao X, Wei DM, Zhang JY, Li YS, He JR, Xia HM, Qiu X. Ambient temperature and reproductive health outcomes. In: Ambient Temperature and Health in China. pp.95–104. Springer, 2018. doi:10.1007/978-981-13-2583-0.
Zhao X. Effect of oral contraceptives on risk of high-incidence diseases in women and its safety analysis. Xinli Yesheng. 2012;6:585–587. doi:10.3969/j.issn.1007-8231.2012.06.694.

Display name: Xuan Zhao

Email address: Xuan.Zhao.2@Warwick.Ac.Uk

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Xuan Zhao

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