Y. Tony Yang

D.Sc., LL.M., M.P.H.

Professor

School: Milken Institute School of Public Health

Department: Health Policy and Management

Contact:

Email: Y. Tony Yang

Office Phone: 202-994-0879

Fax: 202-296-1229

1919 Pennsylvania Ave NW #500 Washington, D.C. 20006

Y. Tony Yang, ScD, LLM, MPH is an endowed professor (with tenure) in Health Policy and the Associate Dean for Health Policy and Population Science at the George Washington University School of Nursing. He also holds a joint appointment at the Milken Institute School of Public Health in the Department of Health Policy and Management. In addition, he serves as a Program Lead for Cancer Control and Health Equity at the GW Cancer Center and is an affiliated faculty member with the District of Columbia Center for AIDS Research (DC CFAR), Jacobs Institute of Women’s Health, Global Food Institute, GW Trustworthy AI Initiative, and the Institute for Data, Democracy & Politics.

Dr. Yang’s scholarship focuses on the impact of law and policy on healthcare delivery and population health outcomes. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was an FDA Regulatory Science Fellow (jointly organized by the National Academy of Medicine), and an AcademyHealth Health Policy Fellow (jointly organized by the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics). His academic contributions include over 200 peer-reviewed articles, with first-authored work featured in leading journals across multiple disciplines such as New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA, The Lancet, Lancet Oncology, Journal of Clinical Oncology, JAMA Pediatrics, Pediatrics, Health Affairs, Milbank Quarterly, Medical Care, American Journal of Public Health, Public Health Reports, Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics, and Food and Drug Law Journal.

Dr. Yang is the lead author of Vaccine Law and Policy (Springer, 2023) and the sole author of Achieving Health Equity: The Role of Law and Policy (Wiley, 2024). His work has garnered significant media coverage in outlets such as CNN, Fox News, NPR, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, LA Times, and USA Today.

Dr. Yang has received numerous accolades, including the Early Career Award for Excellence from the American Public Health Association, the Trachtenberg Prize for Scholarship/Research, and recognition as a Distinguished Fellow of the National Academies of Practice. He was also selected as a next generation research leader exploring climate and health by the UK Academy of Medical Sciences and US National Academy of Medicine. He has been awarded over $7 million in federal research grants as principal investigator, including an active 4-year R01 grant from the NIH National Cancer Institute. He has also led projects funded by prestigious foundations such as the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Policy for Action, Interdisciplinary Research Leaders, and Public Health Law Research programs.

Dr. Yang is actively engaged in public health and policy. He is a member of the World Health Organization’s Technical Advisory Group on clinical and policy considerations for new tuberculosis (TB) vaccines and serves as Co-Editor in Chief of Health Policy and Technology, a peer-reviewed healthcare journal published by Elsevier on behalf of the Fellowship of Postgraduate Medicine. He also serves on the AcademyHealth Education Council and the Board of Directors for the American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics. Dr. Yang holds graduate degrees in Public Health (Harvard), Health Policy and Management (Harvard), and Law (University of Pennsylvania).

Expertise

Federal and State Legislation, Laws and Policies

Food and Drug Safety

Health Information Technology

Health Law

Health Policy

Health Services Research

Immunization Law and Policy

Infectious Disease

Maternal and Child Health

Population Health

Regulatory Science

Substance Abuse Prevention & Cessation

Education

Doctor of Science Degree in Health Policy & Management, Harvard University

Master of Public Health Degree, Harvard University

Master of Laws Degree, University of Pennsylvania Law School

Teaching

Health Law and Policy (HSML 6280)

Community Service

Associate Editor/Editorial Board, BMC Health Services Research. Ad hoc reviewer for National Institute of Health, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, AcademyHealth Annual Research Meeting, American Public Health Association (APHA) Annual Research Meeting, Science, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA Pediatrics, Pediatrics, Health Affairs, American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Health Services Research, American Journal of Public Health, Vaccine, Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, The Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics.

Research

Dr. Yang's main scholarly interest is in policy issues at the intersection of the legal and health systems, especially in the following areas: vaccination law and policy, pharmaceuticals and FDA-regulated products, medical malpractice and maternity care. He takes an empirical approach to most of his research, blending methods from the econometrical and statistical sciences with more traditional legal research methods. He seeks to work on some of the most pressing health policy issues of the day to provide new and valuable information for policymakers.

Publications

Yang YT, Pendo E, Reiss DR. The Americans with disabilities act and healthcare employer-mandated vaccinations. Vaccine. 2020;38(16):3184-3186.
Bennett CL, Schoen MW, Hoque S, Witherspoon BJ, Aboulafia DM, Hwang CS, Ray P, Yarnold PR, Chen BK, Schooley B, Taylor MA, Wyatt MD, Hrushesky WJ, Yang YT. Improving oncology biosimilar launches in the EU, the USA, and Japan: an updated Policy Review. Lancet Oncology 2020;21(12):e575-e588.
Yang YT, Broniatowski DA, Reiss DR. Government Role in Regulating Vaccine Misinformation on Social Media Platforms. JAMA Pediatrics. 2019;173(11):1011-1012.
Delamater PL, Street EJ, Leslie TF, Yang YT, Jacobsen KH. Complexity of the Basic Reproduction Number (R0). Emerging Infectious Diseases. 2019;25(1):1-4.
Yang YT. Shaw J. Sudden infant death syndrome, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and vaccines: Longitudinal population analyses. Vaccine 2018;36(5):595-598.
Delamater P, Leslie T, Yang YT. Change in medical exemptions from immunization in California after elimination of personal belief exemptions. JAMA 2017;318(9):863-864.
Yang YT, Sumimasa N, Chen B et al. Generic oncology drugs in developed and developing countries: are they all safe? Lancet Oncology 2016;17(11):e493-e501.
Yang YT, Larochelle M, Haffajee RL. Managing Increasing Liability Risks Related to Opioid Prescribing. American Journal of Medicine 2016;130(3):249-250.
Delamater P, Leslie T, Yang YT. A spatiotemporal analysis of non-medical exemptions from vaccination: California schools before and after SB277. Social Science & Medicine 2016;168:230-238.
Chen B, Yang YT, Bian Q, Cheng X, Bennett CL Petitioning the FDA to Improve Pharmaceutical, Device and Public Health Safety by Ordinary Citizens: A Descriptive Analysis. PLoS One 2016;11(5):e0155259.
Yang YT, Attanasio L, Kozhimannil KB. State Scope of Practice Laws, Nurse-Midwifery Workforce, and Childbirth Procedures and Outcomes. Women's Health Issues 2016 pii: S1049-3867(16)00025-6.
Delamater P, Leslie T, Yang YT. SB277's "Grandfather Clause" and Nonmedical Vaccine Exemptions in California, 2015-2022. JAMA Pediatrics 2016;170(6):619-20.
Yang YT, Delamater P, Leslie T, Mello MM. Sociodemographic Predictors of Vaccination Exemptions Based on Personal Belief in California. Am J Public Health 2016;106(1):172-7.
Yang YT, Silverman RD. Social Distancing and the Unvaccinated. New England Journal of Medicine 2015;372(16):1481-1483.
Yang YT, Silverman RD. Legislative Prescriptions for Controlling Non-medical Vaccine Exemptions. JAMA 2015;313(3):247-248.
Yang YT, Pomeranz JL. States Variations in the Provision of Bariatric Surgery under Affordable Care Act Exchanges. Surgery for Obesity and Related Diseases 2015;11(3):715-720.
Pomeranz JL, Yang YT. The Affordable Care Act and State Coverage of Clinical Preventive Health Services for Working-age Adults. Journal of Public Health Management & Practice 2015;21(1):87-95.
Yang YT, Debold V. A Longitudinal Analysis of the Effect of Non-medical Exemption Law and Vaccine Uptake on Vaccine-Targeted Disease Rates. Am J Public Health 2014;104(2):371-377.
Yang YT, Silverman RD. Mobile Health Applications: The Patchwork Of Legal And Liability Issues Suggests Strategies To Improve Oversight. Health Affairs 2014;33(2):222-227.
Yang YT, Chen B. Legal Considerations for Social Media Marketing by Pharmaceutical Industry. Food and Drug Law Journal 2014;68(1):39-51.
Yang YT, Studdert DS, Subramanian SV, Mello MM. Does Tort Law Improve the Health of Newborns, or Miscarry? A Longitudinal Analysis of the Effect of Liability Pressure on Birth Outcomes. Journal of Empirical Legal Studies 2012;9(2):217–245
Yang YT, Mello MM, Subramanian SV, Studdert DS. Relationship between malpractice litigation pressure and rates of cesarean section and vaginal birth after cesarean section. Medical Care 2009;47(2):234-242.
Yang YT, Studdert DS, Subramanian SV, Mello MM. A Longitudinal Analysis of the Impact of Liability Pressure on the Supply of Obstetrician-Gynecologist, Journal of Empirical Legal Studies 2008;5(1):21–53.
Studdert DS, Yang YT, Mello MM. Are Damages Caps Regressive? A Study of Malpractice Jury Verdicts in California, Health Affairs 2004; 23:54-67.