About Yong Yang

Dr. Yang is motivated to examine how the human's health-related behaviors including physical activities are influenced by the built and social environments, to estimate the corresponding impacts on humans' health, and to provide implications for policy interventions. Dr. Yang's research is based on the integration of methodologies from epidemiology, systems science, and geography.

Education

• PhD, Geography, University of Southampton, United Kingdom, 2007
• MS, Geographical Information Science, Peking University, China, 2000
• BS, Physical Geography, Peking University, 1997

Research Interests

• Urban Environment and Health Behavior
• Active Travel and Physical Activity
• Aging and Mental Health
• Neighborhood and Childhood Obesity
• Application of agent-based modelling in public health
• Application of GIS and spatial analysis in public health

Selected Publications

1. Yang Y, Lindblom EN, Ward KD, et al. Should menthol e-cigarettes be banned? Reaction of adult smokers and users of e-cigarettes to hypothetical bans. Tobacco Control Published Online. First: 29 November 2022. doi: 10.1136/tc-2022-057439.
2. Yong Yang, PhD, Eric N Lindblom, JD, Kenneth D Ward, PhD, Ramzi G Salloum, PhD, How Smokers of Menthol Cigarettes and Flavored Cigars Might Respond to FDA’s Proposed Bans, Nicotine & Tobacco Research, Volume 24, Issue 10, October 2022, Pages 1645–1653, https://doi.org/10.1093/ntr/ntac078.
3. Yang Y. How the emergence of the omicron variant may change people's attitudes toward the COVID-19 pandemic. Front Psychol. 2022 Jul 29;13:922470. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.922470. PMID: 35967639; PMCID: PMC9372358.
4. 2017, Y. Yang, X. Hong, J. Gurney, Y. Wang, Active Travel to and from School Among School Age Children During 1997-2011 and Associated Factors in China, Journal of Physical Activity and Health.
5. 2016, Y. Yang, S. Ivey, M. Levy, M. Royne, L. Klesges, Active Travel to School: Findings from the Survey of US Health Behavior in School‐Aged Children, 2009‐2010, Journal of School Health 86 (6), 464-471.
6. 2016, Y. Yang, A dynamic framework on travel mode choice focusing on utilitarian walking based on the integration of current knowledge, Journal of Transport & Health 3 (3), 336-345.
7. 2016, Y. Yang, Walking to Work: Trends in the United States, 2005–2014,  Preventing Chronic Disease.
8. 2015, Y. Yang, Interactions between psychological and environmental characteristics and their impacts on walking, Journal of Transport and Health.
9. 2015, Y. Yang, A.H. Auchincloss, D.A. Rodriquez, D.G. Brown. R. Riolo, A.V. Diez Roux, al. Modeling spatial segregation and travel cost influences on utilitarian walking: Towards policy intervention, Computers, Environment and Urban Systems, 51(0), 59-69.
10. 2014, Y. Yang, A.V. Diez-Roux, K. Evenson, N. Colabianchi, Examining the program of walking school bus using an agent-based model, American Journal of Public Health.
11. 2012, Y. Yang and A.V. Diez-Roux, Walking Distance by Trip Purpose and Population Subgroups, American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 43(1), 11-9.
12. 2011, Y. Yang, A.V. Diez Roux, A.H. Auchincloss, D.A. Rodriquez, D.G. Brown, A spatial agent-based model for the simulation of adults' daily walking within a city, American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 40(3), 353-61.
13. 2008, Y. Yang, P.M. Atkinson and D. Ettema, Simulation of infectious disease transmission within a city: the application of ISTAM to Eemnes by Role-based AB simulation, Journal of the Royal Society Interface, 5(24), 759-72.