Ka-Yuet Liu

Ka-Yuet Liu serves as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), based in 272 Haines Hall. Her research fundamentally challenges biological determinism in epidemiology by demonstrating how social networks and knowledge diffusion generate macro-level disease patterns, with significant implications for understanding autism prevalence, suicide rates, and fertility decisions.

Her core research areas include Social Diffusion, Social Networks, Medical Sociology, Micro-Macro Links, and Geographical Information System, with specialized focus on Public Health, Epidemiology, China Studies, and Asian Studies. She employs innovative methodologies such as agent-based modeling and large-scale spatial/administrative datasets to bridge social theory and system science, advancing diffusion theories in social epidemiology.

Liu's work reveals how social factors—rather than purely biological mechanisms—shape epidemiological outcomes, particularly through the spatial diffusion of autism knowledge and suicide contagion effects. Her contact email is ka@soc.ucla.edu, and she operates within UCLA's sociological research framework while addressing cross-national health patterns in Asia-focused contexts.