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, 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]
After receiving his doctorate, Yang completed research as a postdoctoral fellow 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.[6]
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]
Yang's research examines how legal and policy frameworks influence health outcomes and health disparities. 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, The BMJ, Health Affairs, American Journal of Bioethics, and the American Journal of Public Health.[1] He has served as principal investigator on federal research projects with combined funding exceeding US$7 million, including a 4-year (2023-2027) research grant (R01) from the NIH National Cancer Institute.[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][11]
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.[12]
Excellence in Climate Leadership Award (2025) – Awarded by the American Public Health Association in recognition of leadership advancing climate change as a public health priority, with an emphasis on innovation and equity.[13]
He is also a recipient of the Trachtenberg Prize for Scholarship and Research at the George Washington University.[14]
Yang is a Distinguished Fellow of the National Academies of Practice.[15]
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, [16] leading to his 2025 Excellence in Climate Leadership Award. [17]
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.[18]
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.[19]
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.[20]
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
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