PhD Students

Zihan is a third-year PhD student in Biostatistics. His research focus on developing advanced methods for genetic association data, including mediation analysis and Gene-Environment interactions on human complex traits.

Jiaqi Hu is a doctoral student at the Department of Chronic Disease Epidemiology, Yale School of Public Health. Having graduated from Peking University in 2021 with a Bachelor of Art degree, she continued to study and conduct research in genetic epidemiology. Her research interest is to identify genetic variants that increase risk for complicated diseases and combine genetic and environmental information to predict individual risk of disease.

Meet the Center for Perinatal, Pediatric and Environmental Epidemiology's (CPPEE) Esther Kang.

Yining Li is a doctoral student at the Department of Chronic Disease Epidemiology, Yale School of Public Health. She finished her undergraduate study at Peking University with a Bachelor of Medicine degree. She is currently interested in incorporating analytical methods to identify common variants related to different phenotypes, especially those in chronic non-communicable diseases.

Emma J. Mew is a PhD Candidate in the Department of Chronic Disease Epidemiology. Emma has worked in a variety of research and applied public health settings with focus on mental health and health equity research. Emma is interested in global mental health research with focus on youth and the intergenerational transmission of trauma. Emma holds a Bachelor of Science from Dalhousie University and a Master of Public Health from the University of Toronto Dalla Lana School of Public Health.

Katerina Santiago is a PhD student in the Department of Chronic Disease Epidemiology at Yale School of Public Health. She earned her Master of Public Health (MPH) from the University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine and her Bachelor of Science (BS) degree in Biology with Honors from the University of Miami. Prior to her doctoral studies, Katerina worked as a research associate at the University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine where her research focused on occupational exposures and their association with various health effects such as injuries and cancer and how such risks vary by race and ethnicity. Her current research interests are epidemiology of cancer, with a specific interest in gastrointestinal cancers, and how genetic risk interacts with environmental and occupational exposures.

Meet the Center for Methods in Implementation and Prevention Science's (CMIPS) and Meet the Center for Perinatal, Pediatric and Environmental Epidemiology's (CPPEE) Paulina Tolosa Tort.

Pengfei is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences. She earned a Bachelor's degree in Medicine (MBBS) with honors research distinction in public health at Sun Yat-Sen University. Her research interests include per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), early-life exposure, birth cohort, maternal and child health. She received Macmillan International Dissertation Research Fellowships, and currently is a European Studies Graduate Fellow at Yale Macmillan Center. She has served as a reviewer for peer-reviewed journals such as American Journal of Epidemiology and Current Pollution Reports.

Meet the Center for Perinatal, Pediatric and Environmental Epidemiology's (CPPEE) Xuejuan Ning.

Xiaoting Shi is a doctoral student in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences. Her research and training focus on synthesizing evidence, conducting meta-research (i.e., research on research) projects, and applying causal inference methods in environmental epidemiology. In particular, she has developed an interest in and currently works on various research projects that: 1) synthesize and assess the evidence from literature, including systematic reviews, and umbrella reviews. 2) evaluate current publication practices, including evaluation of preprints, investigation of retracted publications, and estimation of publication fees. 3) conduct research on regulatory science, including evaluating regulatory policies by the US FDA and developing tools to facilitate real-world data to inform regulatory decision-making. Specifically, Xiaoting is part of the 2021-2022 CERSI Scholars Program to support regulatory science research that addresses the mission of the FDA. 4) utilize causal inference methods, including quantitative bias analysis and Mendelian randomization methods. As a graduate teaching fellow at Yale, she has taught multiple courses and led various online workshops on research skills training for master students. She is also passionate about gaining more teaching experience in the future. Before coming to Yale, Xiaoting received her Bachelor's Degree in Preventive Medicine with a minor in Statistics in 2019.

Jingyuan is a fourth-year PhD student in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences. She holds a master's degree in Social and Behavioral Sciences from YSPH and completed her undergraduate studies in Psychology at UC, San Diego. Her current research interests center around the early origins of neuropsychiatric disorders and possible transmission of disease risks across multiple generations due to adverse intrauterine exposures.

Haoran is a doctoral student  in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences. Her research interests center around the understanding of how environmental exposures during critical periods of early life development may affect the risk of health conditions in pregnancy complications, neonatal outcomes, and childhood neurodevelopment. With backgrounds of environmental science and engineering in her undergraduate study, Haoran is also interested in exposure related research like chemical mixtures and geospatial analysis.