Y. Tony Yang

Y. Tony Yang is an American health policy scholar and academic. He serves as the Endowed Professor of Health Policy and Associate Dean for Health Policy and Population Science at George Washington University (GW), with joint appointments in the School of Nursing and the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Milken Institute School of Public Health. He is also the Program Lead for Cancer Control and Health Equity at the George Washington University Cancer Center.^[1][2][3]

Y. Tony Yang
Nationality	American
Education	National Taiwan University (LLB) University of Pennsylvania (LLM, LLCM) Harvard University (MPH, ScD)
Occupation(s)	Health policy scholar, professor
Employer	George Washington University
Known for	Research on health policy, law, and public health

Yang’s scholarship examines how law and policy influence health care delivery and population health. He has authored more than 200 peer-reviewed publications, including first-author papers in journals such as The Lancet, The New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA, Health Affairs, American Journal of Bioethics, and the American Journal of Public Health.^[4]

Education

Yang was born in Taipei, Taiwan. He earned a Bachelor of Laws degree from National Taiwan University, followed by a Master of Laws and a Master of Comparative Law from the University of Pennsylvania. He later received a Master of Public Health and a Doctor of Science in Health Policy and Management from Harvard University.^[2]

He completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and later served as an FDA Regulatory Science Fellow, a joint program of the National Academy of Medicine (United States), and as a CDC Health Policy Fellow, a joint program of AcademyHealth.^[5]

Career

At George Washington University (GW), Yang previously served as Executive Director of the Center for Health Policy and Media Engagement and as a member of the Innovation Committee for Strategic Framework.^[1]

His research and commentary have been cited in major media outlets, including CNN, Fox News, NPR, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and USA Today.^[2]

Yang is a member of the World Health Organization (WHO) Technical Advisory Group on clinical and policy considerations for new tuberculosis vaccines.^[6] He serves as Co-Editor-in-Chief of the journal Health Policy and Technology (published by Elsevier).^[7]

He is also a member of the AcademyHealth Education Council, serves as Treasurer and Board member of the American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics, and as a Trustee of the Fellowship of Postgraduate Medicine.^[8][9]

Research

Yang's research examines how legal and policy frameworks influence health outcomes and health disparities. He has served as principal investigator on federal research projects with combined funding exceeding US$7 million.^[1]

He has also led studies supported by major U.S. foundations, including the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Policy for Action, Interdisciplinary Research Leaders, and Public Health Law Research programs.^[2][10]

Selected research grants

Yang has served as principal investigator on several major federally funded projects, including:

• National Cancer Institute (NCI/NIH) R01 (~US$2 million; 2023–2027): Effects of State Preemption of Local Tobacco Control Legislation on Disparities in Tobacco Use, Exposure and Retail. This research examines how state preemption of local tobacco control legislation affects health outcomes and disparities across multiple policy domains, building on prior work to inform state and local tobacco control policy.^[11]

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and D.C. Health (~US$2 million; 2023–2025): Expanding COVID-19 vaccination in hard-to-reach Washington, D.C. communities. This phased, community-partnered research uses mobile/pop-up clinics and culturally tailored materials, tracking progress by race and ethnicity to reduce inequities. Milestones include reaching 25,000 individuals and fully vaccinating at least 2,500 hard-to-reach residents.^[12]

• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Minority Health (HHS/OMH) (~US$1.5 million; 2019–2022): Reducing hepatitis B–associated liver disease in Washington, D.C. and Baltimore. This research tests comprehensive, culturally competent screening, vaccination, and follow-up models in disadvantaged and minority communities, focusing on populations at elevated risk. It aims to identify best practices that agencies and community organizations can adopt to help end hepatitis B virus transmission.^[13]

Publications

Books

• Yang, Y. T. (2023). Vaccine Law and Policy. Springer. ISBN 978-3-031-36988-9. This book examines the legal and policy dimensions of vaccines in the United States—covering regulatory oversight, mandates, exemptions, intellectual property, and vaccine injury compensation programs.^[14]
• Yang, Y. T. (2024). Achieving Health Equity: The Role of Law and Policy. Wiley-Blackwell. ISBN 978-1394263752. The work discusses how laws and policies interact with social, economic, and environmental factors to influence health equity across populations.^[15]
• Yang, Y. T. (2026). The Art of War for Health & Longevity: The Warrior’s Way to Wellness (Tuttle, 2026). Applies Sun Tzu’s five pillars to personal wellness, turning strategies into actionable “battle plans” for nutrition, exercise, recovery, work–life balance, and prevention. Includes chapter charts, assessments, and case-study regimens to operationalize goals such as better sleep and stress resilience.^[16]

Selected first-author publications

• Yang, Y. T., Mello, M. M., Subramanian, S. V., & Studdert, D. M. (2009). Relationship between malpractice litigation pressure and rates of cesarean section and vaginal birth after cesarean section. Medical Care 47(2):234–242. https://doi.org/10.1097/MLR.0b013e31818475de
• Yang, Y. T., & Silverman, R. D. (2014). Mobile health applications: the patchwork of legal and liability issues suggests strategies to improve oversight. Health Affairs (Project Hope), 33(2), 222–227. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2013.0958
• Yang, Y. T., & Silverman, R. D. (2015). Legislative prescriptions for controlling nonmedical vaccine exemptions. JAMA, 313(3), 247–248. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2014.16286
• Yang, Y. T., Delamater, P. L., Leslie, T. F., & Mello, M. M. (2016). Sociodemographic Predictors of Vaccination Exemptions on the Basis of Personal Belief in California. American journal of public health, 106(1), 172–177. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2015.302926
• Yang, Y. T., Nagai, S., Chen, B. K., Qureshi, Z. P., Lebby, A. A., Kessler, S., Georgantopoulos, P., Raisch, D. W., Sartor, O., Hermanson, T., Kane, R. C., Hrushesky, W. J., Riente, J. J., Norris, L. B., Bobolts, L. R., Armitage, J. O., & Bennett, C. L. (2016). Generic oncology drugs: are they all safe?. The Lancet. Oncology, 17(11), e493–e501. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1470-2045(16)30384-9

^[17]

Honors and recognition

Yang has received multiple professional honors, including the 2025 Helen Rodríguez-Trías Social Justice Award from the American Public Health Association for his leadership in advancing health equity and vaccine access.^[18]

He is also a recipient of the Trachtenberg Prize for Scholarship and Research at the George Washington University.^[19]

Yang is a Distinguished Fellow of the National Academies of Practice.^[20]

In 2023, he was identified as a future research leader in climate and health by the UK Academy of Medical Sciences and the U.S. National Academy of Medicine.^[21]