SUMMARY
Epidemiologist Ping Yang, M.D., Ph.D., researches the epidemiology of complex diseases. Dr. Yang's work encompasses causes, risk factors, natural history, clinical course, treatment outcomes and quality of life. Dr. Yang, who has special training and experience in genetic epidemiology, aims to reduce cancer occurrence, diagnose cancer at a treatable stage, and design the best treatment plans to improve quantity and quality of life.
Dr. Yang has conducted extensive research on lung cancer.
She has been a principal investigator or co-investigator for more than three decades on many lung cancer research studies funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other organizations. These studies focused on people with lung cancer who have or have not used tobacco products. The studies emphasized outcomes research, particularly patient-reported outcomes, and bridging the gap in data about the transition from serious illness to healthy survivorship.
In addition, Dr. Yang built a prospective lung cancer cohort of about 30,000 patients from Mayo Clinic. This cohort included annotated biospecimens and detailed clinical follow-up data on treatments, disease progression, recurrence, comorbid conditions and patient-reported outcomes.
In addition to her lung cancer work, Dr. Yang also co-led three NIH-funded research studies on glioma. One of these was through the former Mayo Clinic Brain Cancer SPORE and two were through the Genetic Epidemiology of Glioma International Consortium (Gliogene).
In recent years, Dr. Yang has expanded her research to include:
- Health differences in disease burden by race, ethnicity, sex and geographic location. This includes social determinants of health and patient-reported outcomes and survivorship, focusing on modifiable risk factors.
- Use of big data in electronic health records and genomic information. This will help enhance population-level patient-specific outcomes and help identify who is at high risk of conditions such as lung cancer by examining factors beyond age and tobacco and smoking history.
- Application of spatial biology-based technology to explore and develop biomarkers to predict risk of recurrent tumors versus second primary tumors.
To support her wide scope of research, Dr. Yang has collaborated with more than 100 colleagues and allied heath staff from more than 30 departments, divisions and shared facilities at Mayo Clinic.
Focus areas
- General epidemiology. This research includes designing and conducting epidemiologic studies of the etiology and prognosis of chronic diseases. It includes studies to prevent, minimize and control potential biases and the proper interpretation and practical implications of study results in clinical and population settings.
- Clinical epidemiology. Dr. Yang's main efforts have been on lung cancer, brain tumors and gall bladder cancer. Dr. Yang and her colleagues focus on genetic and nongenetic factors that need to be evaluated to better understand etiology and clinical outcomes.
- Multi-omics, pharmacoepidemiology and spatial biology. Dr. Yang is identifying genomic and epigenomic components, immune response biomarkers and genomic-environmental interactions in disease predisposition, clinical features, treatment modalities and outcomes.
- Sex and racial differences. Dr. Yang conducts research on the differences in gallbladder cancer between Native American populations and non-Hispanic white populations.
To support these research initiatives and applications, Dr. Yang started the Epidemiology and Genetics of Lung Cancer Research Program. The program is designed to identify genomic, environmental and other host factors related to disease risk, development, progression, prognosis and quality of life.
Significance to patient care
Much of Dr. Yang's research focuses on outcomes, especially patient-reported outcomes. Her goal is to bridge the gap in the transition from patient to survivor by understanding concerns with physical and mental functions, defining needs, and developing care models for people with lung cancer after treatment.
Dr. Yang's work also addresses health needs and quality of life among cancer survivors. Her work helps identify factors that lead to either a worse quality of life or a better quality of life to ultimately improve cancer survivorship.
In addition, Dr. Yang works with the Rochester Epidemiology Project to research lung cancer. She monitors trends in lung cancer, provides new leads about possible causes, and evaluates the effectiveness of screening and early detection efforts.
Professional highlights
- Editorial board, Precision Clinical Medicine, 2020-present.
- Associate editor, Journal of Thoracic Oncology, 2012-present.
- Editorial board, Carcinogenesis, 2010-2020.
- Editorial board, Journal of Clinical Oncology, 2010-2015.
- Member, steering committee, International Lung Cancer Consortium (ILCCO), 2008-2010.
- Article in Year Book of Oncology, Elsevier, 2007.
- Article in Year Book of Pulmonary Disease, Elsevier, 2007.