He received his MPH and PhD in Community Health Sciences (with a minor in Sociology) from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Public Health. He was most recently a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California, San Francisco Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy where his research focuses on international health and tobacco control, including the strategies used by transnational tobacco companies to promote smoking in developing countries such as Pakistan. He has published two book chapters and four peer-reviewed publications in journals such as the American Journal of Public Health. Dr. Yang has worked closely with local and international organizations, including the Los Angeles Unified School District, the Sustainable Development Research Foundation, the 10 North Global Health Initiative, and the World Health Organization.