
Zhengxia Dou, PhD
After completing PhD training in soil sciences, Dr. Dou has been working at the Center for Animal Health and Productivity at Penn Vet. Her research addresses agricultural nutrients and sustainable food security issues. Current work focuses on leveraging livestock to promote a circular food system, and developing strategies and finding ways to make livestock farming more of the solution for sustainable food security and less of a problem.
This is a list of selected publications.
On Global Food Loss and Waste:
- Dou, Z., J. Ferguson, D. Galligan, A. Kelly, S. Finn, R. Giegengack. Assessing food loss across U.S. supply chain and opportunities for reduction. Global Food Security 8: 19-26. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.gfs.2016.02.001 (2016)
- Xue, L., X. Liu, S. Lu, G. Cheng, Y. Hu, J. Liu, Z. Dou, S. Cheng, G. Liu. China’s food loss and waste embodies increasing environmental impacts. Nature Food. http:/ http://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-021-00317-6. (2021)
- Dou, Z., J.D. Toth, D. Pitta, J. S. Bender, M. L. Hennessy, B. Vecchiarelli, N. Indugu, T. Chen, Y. Li, R. Sherman, J. Deutsch, B. Hu, G. C. Shurson, B. Parsons, L. D. Baker... Proof of Concept for Developing Novel Feeds for Cattle from Wasted Food and Crop Biomass to Enhance Agri-Food System Efficiency. Scientific Reports. http://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-17812-w. (2022)
- Chen, T., Qiongyin Wang, Yifan Wang, Z. Dou, Xiaoqin Yu, Huajun Feng, Meizhen Wang, Yanfeng Zhang, Jun Yin. Using fresh vegetable waste from Chinese traditional wet markets as animal feed: Material feasibility and utilization potential. Science of The Total Environment, 166105, http://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.166105. (2023)
- Shurson, G.C., E. Dierenfeld, Z. Dou. 2023. Rules are meant to be broken – Rethinking the regulations on the use of food waste as animal feed. Resources Conservation Recycling. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2023.107273. (2023)
- Sun, X., Z. Dou, Gerald C. Shurson, B. Hu. Bioprocessing to upcycle agro-industrial and food wastes into high-nutritional value animal feed for sustainable food and agriculture systems. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, http://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2023.107325. (2023)
- Dou., Z., E. Dierenfeld, X. Wang, X. Chen, G.C. Shurson. A critical analysis on challenges and opportunities for upcycling food waste to animal feed to reduce climate and resource burdens. Resources Conservation Recycling, http://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2024.107418 (2024)
- Baker, L., J. Bender, J. Ferguson, D. Pitta, S. Rassler, S. Chann, Z. Dou. Culled citrus waste fed to dairy cows: Animal performance, sustainability implication, and lessons learned. Resources Conservation Recycling, http://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2024.107452. (2024)
- Wang, Y., S. Rassler, D. Stefanovski, J. Bender, J. Deutsch, T. Chen, Z. Cui, Z. Dou. Field evidence on animal performance when fed food waste derived feeds: A review. Resources Conservation Recycling, http://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2024.107411. (2024)
- Wang, Y., H. Ying, D. Stefanovski, G.C. Shurson, T. Chen, Z. Wang, Y. Yin, H. Zheng, T. Nakaishi, J. Li, Z. Cui, Z. Dou. Food waste used as a resource can reduce climate and resource burdens in agrifood systems. Nature Food. http://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-025-01140-z. (2025)
On Agricultural Nutrients (N and P):
- Dou Z, Ferguson JD, Fiorini J, Toth JD, Alexander SM, Chase LE, Ryan CM, Knowlton KF, Kohn RA, Peterson AB, Sims JT, Wu Z. Phosphorus Feeding Levels and Critical Control Points on Dairy Farms. J. Dairy Sci. 86(11): 3787-95. http://doi.org/10.3168/jds.S0022-0302(03)73986-1 (2003)
- Zhang, W., Z. Dou, P. He, X. Ju, D. Powlson, D. Chadwick, D. Norse,Y. Lu, Y. Zhang, L. Wu, X. Chen, K. G. Cassman, and F. Zhang: New technologies reduce greenhouse gas emissions from nitrogenous fertilizer in China. PNAS. http://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1210447110 (2013)
- Li, T, W. Zhang, D. Powlson, X. Liu, X. Chen, F. Zhang, Z. Dou. Enhanced-efficiency fertilizers are not a panacea for resolving the nitrogen problem. Global Change Biology. http://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.13918 (2017)
- Cui, Z., H. Zhang….42 other co-authors…, F. Zhang, and Z. Dou. Pursuing sustainable productivity with millions of smallholder farmers. Nature. http://doi.org/10.1038/nature25785 (2018)
- Hao, Y., Y. Yin, Y. Wang, W. Zhang, D. Stefanovski, Z. Cui, Z., and Z. Dou. New maize, wheat, and rice varieties help reduce agricultural N footprints while producing more grain. Global Change Biology. http://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.14798. (2019 (2019)
- Liu, L., Z. Bai, Y. Guo, Y. Tu, D. Chadwich, Z. Dou, and L. Ma. A higher water-soluble phosphorus supplement in pig diet improves the whole system phosphorus use efficiency. J. Cleaner Production. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.122586. (2020)
- Wang, X., Dou, Z., Shi, X. et al. Innovative management programme reduces environmental impacts in Chinese vegetable production. Nature Food. http://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-020-00199-0. (2020)
- Li, T., X. Zhang, Y. Zhong, E. Davidson, Z. Dou, W. Zhang, P. Pavinato, L. Martinelli, D. Kanter, J. Liu, F. Zhang. A hierarchical framework for unpacking the nitrogen challenge. Earth’s Future. http://doi.org/10.1029/2022EF002870. (2022)
- Wang, X., Z. Dou, S. Feng, Y. Zhang, L. Ma, Z. Bai, P. Lakshmann, Z. Shi, D. Liu, W. Zhang, Y. Deng, W. Zhang, X. Chen, and X. Chen. 2023. Global food nutrients analysis reveals alarming gaps and daunting challenges. Nature Food. http://www.nature.com/articles/s43016-023-00851-5. (2023)
On Soil Health, Pollution Mitigation, and Other:
- Zhang W., G. Cao, X. Li, H. Zhang, C. Wang, Q. Liu, X. Chen, Z. Cui, J. Shen, R. Jiang, G. Mi, Y. Miao, F. Zhang, Z. Dou. Closing yield gaps in China by empowering smallholder farmers. Nature. 537(7622): 671-674. http://doi.org/10.1038/nature19368 (2016)
- Hou Jun, Weifeng Zhang, Pei Wang, Zhengxia Dou, Liwei Gao, and David Styles. Greenhouse gas mitigation of rural household biogas systems in China: A life cycle assessment. Energies. doi:10.3390/en10020239 (2017)
- Tong, Y., J. Liu, X. Li, J. Sun, A. Herzberger, W. Zhang, Z. Dou, F. Zhang. Cropping system conversion led to organic carbon change in China’s mollisols regions. Scientific Reports, doi:10.1038/s41598-017-18270-5 (2017)
- Wang, X., Dou, Z., Shi, X. et al. Innovative management programme reduces environmental impacts in Chinese vegetable production. Nature Food. http://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-020-00199-0. (2020)
- Dou, Z., D. Stefanovski, D. Galligan, M. Lindem, P. Rozin, T. Chen, and A. Chao. The COVID-19 Pandemic Impacting Household Food Dynamics: A Cross-National Comparison of China and the U.S. 2020. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems. http://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2020.577153. (2020)
- Dipti Pitta; Nagaraju Indugu; John D. Toth; Joseph S. Bender; Linda D. Baker; Meagan L. Hennessy; Bonnie Vecchiarelli; Helen Aceto; Z. Dou. The distribution of microbiomes and resistomes across farm environments in conventional and organic dairy herds in Pennsylvania. Environmental Microbiomes. http://doi.org/10.1186/s40793-020-00368-5. (2020)
- Liu, Z., H. Ying, M., Chen, J. Bai, Y. Xue, Y. Yin, W. Batchelor, Y. Yang, Z. Bai, M. Du, Y. Guo, Q. Zhang, Z. Cui, F. Zhang, and Z. Dou. Optimizing China’ s maize and soy production for enhanced feed sufficiency and lower N and C footprints. Nature Food. http://authors.springernature.com/share. 2021. (2021)
- Chen, T., C. Wang, Z. Cui,X. Liu, J. Jiang, J. Yin, H. Feng, and Z. Dou. COVID-19 affected the food behavior of different age groups in Chinese households. PLOS ONE. http://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0260244. (2021)
Penn State University, Department of Agronomy (1993 to 1994)
Post-Doctoral Fellow
University of Pennsylvania, School of Veterinary Medicine (1994 to 1996)
Research Associate
Livestock farming is at a crossroads, its sustainable future challenged by competing interests for limited resources and urgent need to mitigate environmental and climate footprints, amid a rapidly growing global demand for animal protein.
One overlooked, yet viable solution is to leverage the innate ability of animals as nature’s most effective recyclers, able to utilize a wide variety of plant biomass materials as feed resources in producing meats, milk, and eggs.
This project will deploy an innovative sequential fermentation approach to create novel feeds for dairy cows using food waste of fruit and vegetable discards and post-harvest crop residues such as wheat straw and spent mushroom substrates, abundantly available but currently wasted or landfilled.
First, treatment of crop residue biomass will proceed with selected fungal strains able to alter lignin-cellulose complexes through aerobic fermentation to enhance nutrient availability, then combining fruit and vegetable wastes for bacteria-driven anaerobic fermentation to create safe nutritionally enhanced novel feeds (Objective 1). Fermented novel feeds will be incorporated into cow diets; milk production, rumen microbiota and enteric methane emissions determined (Objective 2). Broader impacts resulting from novel feeds partially substituting conventional feed ingredients, in terms of resources spared and greenhouse gas emissions avoided, will be quantitatively assessed (Objective 3). Interwoven with interdisciplinary research are educational activities with classroom learning, research immersion, and hands-on problem-solving and opportunity-finding on selected dairy farms (Objective 4).
This project will generate groundbreaking scientific information to advance technological innovation, and provide evidence-based practical solutions for reducing farming costs and improving agri-food system efficiency. This proposal addresses the priority topics of “environmental synergies of animal production” for reduced “emissions to the atmosphere and hydrosphere” under Program Area Priority A1261 “Inter-Disciplinary Engagement in Animal Systems (IDEAS)”.
Education:
PhD Penn State University, 1993
MS Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1985
BS Yan'an University, China, 1982
Contact:
University of Pennsylvania
School of Veterinary Medicine
New Bolton Center
382 West Street Road
Kennett Square, PA 19348