Dr. Fung is an Assistant Research Scientist at the Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute (CHORI) and an Associate Adjunct Professor at the UC Davis Nutrition Department. She has advanced training in nutrition and a long-standing interest in the impact of nutrition on children with chronic disease.
The complexity of trace element metabolism and the paucity of information that is available for many of the essential trace minerals, particularly zinc, was an initial focus of Dr. Fung’s research. She undertook the first prospective study of mineral metabolism recruiting women prior to conception and following them through weaning their infants. A landmark study, Dr. Fungs’ findings have been cited numerous times in other publications by scientists in the field, and the results were also used to develop the new Dietary Reference Intakes for zinc during pregnancy and lactation (Institute of Medicine, 2001).
