Babette S. Zemel
Research Professor of Pediatrics (Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition)
Director, Nutrition and Growth Laboratory, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Leader, Metabolism, Nutrition and Physical Development Research Affinity Group, The Research Institute, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Associate Program Director, Center for Human Phenomic Science, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Director, Nutrition Core Laboratory and Bionutrition Unit, Center for Human Phenomic Science, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Director, Nutrition Core Laboratory and Bionutrition Unit, Clinical and Translational Research Center, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
Co-Director, Clinical Grant Proposal Success program, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Department: Pediatrics
Graduate Group Affiliations
Contact information
Division of GI, Hepatology and Nutrition
The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Roberts Center for Pediatric Research
2716 South Street, 14th Floor/Room 14471
Philadelphia, PA 19104-4399
The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Roberts Center for Pediatric Research
2716 South Street, 14th Floor/Room 14471
Philadelphia, PA 19104-4399
Office: 215-590-1669
Lab: 215-313-4299
Lab: 215-313-4299
Email:
ZEMEL@EMAIL.CHOP.EDU
ZEMEL@EMAIL.CHOP.EDU
Publications
Links
Search PubMed for articles
Pediatric Z-Score Calculator
Metabolism, Nutrition and Physical Development Research Affinity Group, The Research Institute, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Growth charts for children with Down syndrome
Search PubMed for articles
Pediatric Z-Score Calculator
Metabolism, Nutrition and Physical Development Research Affinity Group, The Research Institute, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Growth charts for children with Down syndrome
Education:
B.A. (Anthropology)
University of Pennsylvania, 1979.
M.A. (Anthropology)
University of Pennsylvania, 1985.
Ph.D. (Anthropology)
University of Pennsylvania, 1989.
B.A. (Anthropology)
University of Pennsylvania, 1979.
M.A. (Anthropology)
University of Pennsylvania, 1985.
Ph.D. (Anthropology)
University of Pennsylvania, 1989.
Post-Graduate Training
National Science Foundation Graduate Fellow, , 1981-1985.
Research Associate, Papua New Guinea Institute of Medical Research, 1984-1984.
American Association of University Women Educational Foundation Fellow, , 1985-1986.
Dean's Fellow, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, University of Pennsylvania, 1986-1987.
Permanent linkNational Science Foundation Graduate Fellow, , 1981-1985.
Research Associate, Papua New Guinea Institute of Medical Research, 1984-1984.
American Association of University Women Educational Foundation Fellow, , 1985-1986.
Dean's Fellow, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, University of Pennsylvania, 1986-1987.
Description of Research Expertise
Dr. Zemel is a Biological Anthropologist by training, and Professor of Pediatrics at The University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition. Her overall research program aims to improve understanding of lifelong health and how it relates to childhood antecedents of physical growth and maturation, body composition, population ancestry/genetics, and lifestyle factors including diet and physical activity. Such understanding has public health implications for disease prevention and lifelong wellness, and addresses concerns for children across a wide spectrum of chronic diseases who experience impaired growth, altered body composition and limitations in nutrition and physical activity.Her research program has advanced understanding of bone mineral accretion from early childhood through adulthood, and the effects of growth, muscle development, physical activity, diet and genetics on bone health during this critical life phase. She also conducts research in childhood body composition and health outcomes in the general population and in children with chronic diseases, including Down syndrome, sickle cell disease, children with kidney disease, cardiac malformations, cancer survivors, inflammatory bowel disease and type 2 diabetes.
Description of Itmat Expertise
Dr. Zemel's studies pertain to childhood growth and nutrition, body composition, energy expenditure and bone density across the lifespan.Selected Publications
Rimal B, Collins SL, Tanes CE, Rocha ER, Granda MA, Solanki S, Hoque NJ, Gentry EC, Koo I, Reilly ER, Hao F, Paudel D, Singh V, Yan T, Kim MS, Bittinger K, Zackular JP, Krausz KW, Desai D, Amin S, Coleman JP, Shah YM, Bisanz JE, Gonzalez FJ, Vanden Heuvel JP, Wu GD, Zemel BS, Dorrestein PC, Weinert EE, Patterson AD.: Bile salt hydrolase catalyses formation of amine-conjugated bile acids. Nature Feb 2024.Avitabile CM, Weber DR, Zemel BS.: Paediatric dominant and non-dominant handgrip reference curves and the association with body composition. Ann Hum Biol Feb 2024.
Trang KB, Pahl MC, Pippin JA, Su C, Littleton SH, Sharma P, Kulkarni NN, Ghanem LR, Terry NA, O'Brien JM, Wagley Y, Hankenson KD, Jermusyk A, Hoskins JW, Amundadottir LT, Xu M, Brown KM, Anderson SA, Yang W, Titchenell PM, Seale P, Cook L, Levings MK, Zemel BS, Chesi A, Wells AD, Grant SFA.: 3D genomic features across >50 diverse cell types reveal insights into the genomic architecture of childhood obesity. medRxiv (preprint) Feb 2024.
Bradfield JP, Kember RL, Ulrich A, Balkiyarova Z, Alyass A, Aris IM, Bell JA, Broadaway KA, Chen Z, Chai JF, Davies NM, Fernandez-Orth D, Bustamante M, Fore R, Ganguli A, Heiskala A, Hottenga JJ, Íñiguez C, Kobes S, Leinonen J, Lowry E, Lyytikainen LP, Mahajan A, Pitkänen N, Schnurr TM, Have CT, Strachan DP, Thiering E, Vogelezang S, Wade KH, Wang CA, Wong A, Holm LA, Chesi A, Choong C, Cruz M, Elliott P, Franks S, Frithioff-Bøjsøe C, Gauderman WJ, Glessner JT, Gilsanz V, Griesman K, Hanson RL, Kaakinen M, Kalkwarf H, Kelly A, Kindler J, Kähönen M, Lanca C, Lappe J, Lee NR, McCormack S, Mentch FD, Mitchell JA, Mononen N, Niinikoski H, Oken E, Pahkala K, Sim X, Teo YY, Baier LJ, van Beijsterveldt T, Adair LS, Boomsma DI, de Geus E, Guxens M, Eriksson JG, Felix JF, Gilliland FD, Biobank PM, Hansen T, Hardy R, Hivert MF, Holm JC, Jaddoe VWV, Järvelin MR, Lehtimäki T, Mackey DA, Meyre D, Mohlke KL, Mykkänen J, Oberfield S, Pennell CE, Perry JRB, Raitakari O, Rivadeneira F, Saw SM, Sebert S, Shepherd JA, Standl M, Sørensen TIA, Timpson NJ, Torrent M, Willemsen G, Hypponen E, Power C; Early Growth Genetics Consortium; McCarthy MI, Freathy RM, et al.: Trans-ancestral genome-wide association study of longitudinal pubertal height growth and shared heritability with adult health outcomes. Genome Biol 25: 22, Jan 2024.
Abu-El-Haija M, Hornung L, Ellery K, Fishman DS, Gonska TY, Gariepy C, Lowe M, Larson Ode K, Maqbool A, Mascarenhas M, Morinville VD, Ooi CY, Perito ER, Schwarzenberg SJ, Sellers ZM, Zemel BS, Yuan Y, Wang F, Uc A, Kalkwarf HJ; Consortium for the Study of Chronic Pancreatitis, Diabetes, and Pancreatic Cancer (CPDPC).: Bone health in children with recurrent and chronic pancreatitis: A multi-center cross sectional analysis. Pancreatology Nov 2023.
Zemel BS, Shepherd JA, Grant SFA, Lappe JM, Oberfield SE, Mitchell JA, Winer KK, Kelly A, Kalkwarf HJ.: Reference Ranges for Body Composition Indices by Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry from the Bone Mineral Density in Childhood Study Cohort. Am J Clin Nutr Oct 2023.
Xanthopoulos MS, Walega R, Xiao R, Pipan ME, Cochrane CI, Zemel BS, Kelly A, Magge SN.: Physical Activity in Youth with Down Syndrome and Its Relationship with Adiposity. J Dev Behav Pediatr 44: e436-e443, Aug 2023.
Husain S, Morales KH, Williamson AA, Mayne SL, Fiks AG, Basner M, Dinges DF, Zemel BS, Mitchell JA.: The neighborhood environment and sleep health in adolescents. Sleep Health Aug 2023.
Kralick AE, O'Connell CA, Bastian ML, Hoke MK, Zemel BS, Schurr TG, Tocheri MW.: Beyond Dimorphism: Body Size Variation among Adult Orangutans is not Dichotomous by Sex. Integr Comp Biol Apr 2023.
Manfredo J, Capone G, Yanek L, McCarter R, Zemel B, Kelly A, Magge SN.: Cardiometabolic risk in young adults with Down syndrome. Am J Med Genet A Mar 2023.