Dr. Zhao holds a master of sciences degree in Medicinal Administration from University of Macau; and a PhD degree in Health Systems Management from Tulane University. She has participated in a variety of projects in health economic evaluation and outcomes research, with an extensive experience in secondary database analysis. Dr. Zhao's current research interests include establishing the essential need for new medications and evaluating new medications comparatively in real-world applications and health care equity in access, quality, and outcome. She is also interested in pharmacoepidemiology with the focus on safety issues in medication treatment and medical informatics to improve quality of patient care. The majority of her research has been conducted in the area of chronic disease (e.g., diabetes and hypertension) and quality of care for health systems.