Benjamin Zhu, MD

Benjamin Zhu received his MD from the University of Pittsburgh where he also received his undergraduate degree. During medical school, he was awarded an NIH T35 grant to complete an eight-week summer research project during his M1 and M2 years. His path has taken him to Boston where he worked as a senior data scientist implementing machine learning pipelines to support clinical trials, Brazil where he worked as a Fullbright Scholar studying political behavior in Asian Brazilians and New York where he analyzed public survey data to study health disparities. Through his work in an immigration clinic in New York, he used his love of languages to interpret for Spanish, Chinese and Portuguese, speaking individuals. He has also published 14 manuscripts (seven as first author). Benjamin hopes to continue working at the interface of data science, with specific interests in studying gambling addiction.

• Hometown: Livermore, CA
• Professional Interests: Gambling disorder, psychocutaneous medicine, health services research
• Future Plans: Academics
• Awards/Grants: T35 Training Grant (March 2023), Silver Medal - Western PA Olympiada of Spoken Russian, Advanced Category (April 2024)
• Hobbies: Rock climbing, ice skating, microtransportation

• MD, University of Pittsburgh
• BS, University of Pittsburgh

Peer-Reviewed Publications

• Zhu B, English J. (2026) Use of IV and Oral Sodium Thiosulfate for Acute Treatment and Chronic Management of Nonuremic Calciphylaxis: A Retrospective Case Series. Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology: Case Series.
• Zhu B, Choudhary S. (2026) Association of Sociodemographic Factors and Mental Health Utilization for Psoriasis Patients in the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaad.2025.12.063
• Zhu B, Radomski TR. (2025) Unstable Housing is Associated with Increased Emergency Department Use and Hospitalizations in Patients with Asthma. Journal of General Internal Medicine.
• Zhu B, Dovigi E, English J. (2025). Association of Socioeconomic Factors with Teledermatology Usage. Telemedicine and e-Health.
• Zhu B, Ding D, Luo J, & Glied S. (2024). Rural-Urban Disparities in the Uptake of New Diabetes Medications. Diabetes Spectrum, ds230075.
• Dong D, Zhu B, Glied S. (2022). Racial and Ethnic Segregation in Primary Care and Association of Practice Composition with Quality of Care. Medical Care, 61(4), 216-221.
• Zhu B, Okado L, & Ribeiro E. (2021). The Political Culture of Asian Brazilians. Politica e Sociedade, 24(49), 198-213.
• Landau MA, Zhu B, Akwuole FN, & Pai RK. (2019). Histopathological predictors of recurrence in stage III colon cancer: reappraisal of tumor deposits and tumor budding using AJCC8 criteria. International Journal of Surgical Pathology, 27(2), 147-158.
• Landau MA, Zhu B, Akwuole FN, & Pai RK. (2018). Site-specific Differences in Colonic Adenocarcinoma. The American Journal of Surgical Pathology, 42(3), 351-358.
• Kermanshahi TR, Magge D, Choudry H, Ramalingam L, Zhu B, Pingpank J, ... & Zureikat A. (2017). Mucinous and signet ring cell differentiation affect patterns of metastasis in colorectal carcinoma and influence survival. International Journal of Surgical Pathology, 25(2), 108-117.
• Ma C, Patel K, Singhi AD, Ren B, Zhu B, Shaikh F, & Sun W. (2016). Programmed death-ligand 1 expression is common in gastric cancer associated with Epstein-Barr virus or microsatellite instability. The American Journal of Surgical Pathology, 40(11), 1496-1506.
• Ren B, Patel K, Shaikh F, Zhu B, Sun W, Singhi A, & Ma C. (2016). Programmed Death Ligand-1 (PD-L1) Expression in Mismatch Repair Deficient Gastric Tumors and Gastric Tumors Positive for Epstein-Barr Virus. Laboratory Investigation, 96(2), 195A-195A.
• Davison JM, Choudry HA, ... Zhu B, ... & Bartlett DL. (2014). Clinicopathologic and molecular analysis of disseminated appendiceal mucinous neoplasms: identification of factors predicting survival and proposed criteria for a three-tiered assessment of tumor grade. Modern Pathology, 27(11), 1521.

Conference Presentations, Posters, and Abstracts

• Zhu, Benjamin, & Choudhary, Sonal. (2026, March). Association of Sociodemographic Factors with Mental Health Utilization in Patients with Psoriasis. Poster at American Academy of Dermatology Annual Meeting.
• Zhu, Benjamin, Dovigi, Edwin, English, Joseph, III. (2026, January). Disparities in Teledermatology Use in the United States: A Nationally Representative Analysis of 2020-2022 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. Poster at Digital Health Summit 2026, Pittsburgh, PA.
• Zhu, Benjamin, Nash, Kenneth, Perez, Gina. (2026, January). Sociodemographic Disparities in Telepsychiatry Use and Spending: A National Analysis of the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, 2020-2022. Poster at Digital Health Summit 2026, Pittsburgh, PA.
• Zhu, Benjamin, Dovigi, Edwin, English, Joseph, III. (2025, March). Association of Sociodemographic Factors with Teledermatology Use. Poster at American Academy of Dermatology Annual Meeting.
• Zhu, Benjamin, Cifuentes, Lizeth, Rometo, David, and Luo, Jing. (2024, May). Association of Socioeconomic Factors and Anti-obesity Medication Use. Poster, Society of General Internal Medicine Annual Meeting. Selected for Distinguished Professor of Health Equity Poster Walk and Talk.
• Zhu, Benjamin, and Glied, Sherry. (2021, June). Racial Disparities in the Content of Primary Care Visits, 2006-2016. Poster, Academy Health Annual Research Meeting.
• Zhu, Benjamin. (2018, September). A Regression Model of Learner Interest and Language Acquisition. Abstract at the VIII Latin American Congress for the Formation of Language Teachers (CLAFPL).