Get to Know Yeng Yang

In his current role as a research program coordinator at the Johns Hopkins University Center for Adolescent and Young Adult Health Harriet Lane Clinic, Bloomberg Fellow Yeng Yang works to provide young people in Baltimore, primarily members of the LGBTQIA+ community, with access to HIV testing and linkage to primary care providers. This role has also allowed Yang to do hands-on work in his community as he assesses and develops effective strategies to connect, engage, and help young people in need of sexual health services.

Prior to this role, Yang was a researcher at the University of Wisconsin Madison Campus where he analyzed the role of genetics in disease prevention and control. This research piqued his interest in virtual patient navigation, a process that helps people find the right care, including virtual care, at the right time and with the right level of support. Yang found that virtual navigation positively impacted young populations and improved access to care for a wide variety of services. 

This realization led to further research and the publication of  “Improving Access to Care Through Youth-Focused Virtual Health Navigation.” The findings, published in the Journal of Adolescent Health, highlighted the role of virtual healthcare in engaging underserved populations and providing them with access to services like HIV testing without the fear of stigma or being denied care.

Now, as a full-time Bloomberg Fellow, Yang is working closely with members of his cohort to develop multidisciplinary approaches to public health issues facing both the LGBTQIA+ and the Hmong communities. 

“Working with, and learning from, the Bloomberg Fellows I have gained a deep breadth of knowledge about effective public health solutions that can be enacted at the individual, community, and federal level,” Yang notes.

In the coming months Yang hopes to expand virtual navigation options to Baltimore, and the Hmong community to ensure a safe, stigma free space to receive the care they need.