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 170 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 and recognition as a Distinguished Fellow of the National Academies of Practice. 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. 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).