Dr. Yan Tong is an applied statistician and researcher in cancer prevention. She has a unique academic and professional background. She received a Ph.D. in Biostatistics from Indiana University and a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Wisconsin. Before joining the Department of Biostatistics and Health Data Science as a faculty member, she was a biostatistician at Indiana University School of Medicine. She is also a member of the Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Dr. Tong has broad interests in health research. With respect to biostatistical methodology, her research focuses on modeling the multidimensional impact of medications and/or environmental exposures on health outcomes. As for cancer prevention research, she focuses on the global epidemiology of human papillomavirus infection and strategies to enhance health equity in cervical cancer prevention among women living in underserved U.S. communities and low-and middle-income countries. Dr. Tong also leads the biostatics analytical cores serving the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the Department of Urology prostate cancer research.

Dr. Yong is an early career faculty member and the support of AnalytiXIN has allowed her to devote part of her time to building her research program. This has involved drafting and submitting proposals and research articles, as well as traveling to national and international conferences where she has been invited to give presentations on her research. Dr. Tong met with her collaborators and other team members at Moi University and AMPATH in Kenya and conducted field research in a rural village in the Webuye which provided valuable insights about needs of rural Kenyan families in cervical cancer prevention.