Yang Claire Yang

Yang Claire Yang is the Alan Shapiro Distinguished Professor in the Department of Sociology at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC), with affiliations at the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Carolina Population Center. Her work bridges demography, medical sociology, and quantitative methodology, focusing on aging, health disparities, and life course processes. She holds a BA in Chinese Language and Literature from Beijing University (1998), followed by advanced degrees in Sociology and Statistics from Ohio State University (MA, 2000) and Duke University (MS/PhD, 2004/2005). Her research employs advanced statistical techniques to analyze population-level health trends, cohort effects, and social determinants of aging.

Key research interests include Alzheimer’s risk factors, biological age acceleration, and the interplay between socioeconomic status and health outcomes. Her methodological contributions include advancements in age-period-cohort analysis, as seen in her book Age-Period-Cohort Analysis: New Models, Methods, and Empirical Applications. Recent work examines disparities in cognitive aging, cardiometabolic risks, and the impacts of social isolation on functional disability. Yang’s interdisciplinary approach integrates epidemiological, sociological, and demographic perspectives to address pressing public health challenges.

Her articles highlight trends in early-onset cognitive decline, wealth disparities in health access, and cohort-specific health trajectories. Collaborative projects at UNC’s Carolina Population Center and Lineberger Center amplify her impact on aging research and cancer epidemiology. Despite her prolific output, no explicit scientific awards are listed in the provided texts, though her distinguished professorship underscores her academic stature.