Nengjun Yi

Nengjun Yi is a Professor of Public Health and Biostatistics at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). He holds affiliations in multiple departments, including the School of Public Health's Biostatistics Department, the Nutrition Obesity Research Center (NORC), and the O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center. His academic career began at UAB in 2002, starting as an Assistant Professor and advancing to full Professor. Yi earned a PhD in Genetics from Other Foreign University, an MS in Biostatistics, and a BS in Mathematics.

His research focuses on biostatistical methodologies applied to genetics, oncology, and public health challenges. Key areas include epigenomics, cancer prevention, and the interplay between microbiome studies and chronic diseases. He collaborates extensively on NIH-funded projects, such as spatial transcriptomics for kidney transplants and AI-driven interventions for dementia caregivers.

Yi has led or co-led 42 grants, including major initiatives like the UAB Nutrition Obesity Research Center and studies on sex-dependent Alzheimer's mechanisms. He mentors doctoral students, serving as primary advisor to Zhenying Ding and co-chair to Kevin Okotchi Owuor. His teaching spans advanced Bayesian analysis and dissertation guidance.

Yi's professional activities include peer review for journals like BMC Genetics and International Journal of Plant Genomics. He maintains active roles in interdisciplinary teams addressing diabetes, cancer, and spinal cord injury outcomes through statistical and computational approaches.