Yuyan Shi

Yuyan Shi is an Associate Professor at the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health & Human Longevity Science at UC San Diego. Her research focuses on health policy and economic analysis of drug use and abuse, including tobacco, cannabis, opioids, and other substances. She examines epidemiology and geographic patterns of drug use, policy evaluation, behavioral economics, and retail environment impacts. Dr. Shi specializes in econometrics, spatial analysis, and policy evaluation using population data.

Research Funding:

• NIH R01DA053294 (2022–2027): Impact of cannabis tax structures
• NIH R01DA049730 (2020–2025): Behavioral economics of cannabis preferences
• TRDRP 27IR-0014 (2018–2021): Marijuana dispensaries and青少年 use
• NIH R01DA042290 (2017–2020): Neighborhood environment and cannabis use

Research Interests: Dr. Shi investigates drug policy effects on vulnerable populations, including adolescents and marginalized groups. Her work explores policy interventions like taxation, packaging regulations, and decriminalization. She applies experimental methods (e.g., conjoint analysis) to assess preferences for drugs and policy responses. Notable topics include cannabis edibles' packaging, price elasticity of cannabis use, and secondhand smoke exposure impacts.

Key Findings: Recent studies highlight declines in youth smoking despite e-cigarette prevalence, associations between cannabis packaging appeal and youth exposure, and racial disparities in cannabis arrests post-decriminalization. Her work informs evidence-based policies on substance use regulation and public health.