Guoyan (Emily) Yang

Guoyan (Emily) Yang

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PhD, MMed, BA
Research Support Program Fellow - Healthy Ageing: Chinese Medicine Prevention in Chronic Diseases, NICM Health Research Institute


Dr Guoyan (Emily) Yang joined NICM Health Research Institute (NICM HRI) in 2019 as Postdoctoral Research Fellow for clinical research and clinical translation. In 2021, she was appointed in her current role as a Research Support Program Fellow in healthy aging.

In 2020, under the supervision of Professor Dennis Chang, Professor Alan Bensoussan, Professor Jianping Liu, Professor Hosen Kiat, and Dr Nerida Klupp, Dr Yang completed her PhD at NICM HRI, running an international multicenter randomised controlled trial to exam the effect of Tai Chi for hypertension and coronary heart disease.

Dr Yang’s research focusses on Chinese herbal medicine, acupuncture, and Tai Chi in the prevention, management and rehabilitation in people with chronic diseases, particularly cardiovascular disease, cerebrovascular disease, mental health, cancer, and cognitive impairment. Dr Yang is also a Tai Chi instructor with over 17 years of experience and the co-founder of Boyuan Tai Chi for Health Association. Her expertise includes clinical trials, systematic reviews, qualitative research, mixed-method research, and reporting guideline. Her research has a strong base of consumer involvement and community engagement, to facilitate the translation of research findings into practice.

Dr Yang’s research outcomes have been widely published in impactful peer-reviewed journals, cited by leading researchers from different countries, and presented at national and international conferences.


Research focus

  • Traditional Chinese medicine
  • Acupuncture
  • Tai Chi
  • Cardiovascular health
  • Mild cognitive impairment
  • Alzheimer’s disease
  • Cancer survivorship
  • Mental health, including stress, anxiety, and depression
  • Culturally and linguistically diverse population

Awards and recognitions

  • 2022 Early Career Researcher Fellowship, Western Sydney University
  • 2022 Best Poster Award, ACRA 2022 (Australian Cardiovascular Health and Rehabilitation Association 2022 Annual Meeting), Gold Coast, Australia
  • 2021 Research Support Program Fellowship, Western Sydney University
  • 2018 Young Investigator Award, ICIMH 2018 (13th International Congress on Complementary Medicine and Health sponsored by the International Society for Complementary Medicine Research), Baltimore, USA
  • 2018 Student Seminar Best Poster Award, NICM Health Research Institute, Australia
  • 2018 Student Seminar Best Presentation Award, NICM Health Research Institute, Australia
  • 2017 Higher Degree Research Scholarship, Graduate Research School, Western Sydney University, Australia
  • 2017 Winner of 3-Minute Thesis (3MT) Competition, School of Health and Sciences, Western Sydney University, Australia
  • 2015-2018 International Postgraduate research Scholarship, Australian Federal Government
  • 2015-2018 Australian Postgraduate Award, Australian Federal Government
  • 2011 Postgraduate Scholarship, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, China
  • 2008 Endeavor Scholarship, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, China

Affiliations

  • 2023-present Editorial Board Member, European Journal of Integrative Medicine
  • 2023-present Editorial Board Member, Journal of Traditional Chinese Medical Sciences
  • 2016-present Member, International Society for Complementary Medicine
  • 2022-present Member, Australian Cardiovascular Health and Rehabilitation Association
  • 2022-present Member, NSW Cardiovascular Research Network
  • 2022-present Member, Age and Ageing Clinical Group – Maridulu Budyari Gumal
  • 2022-present Member, Australian & New Zealand Mental Health Association
  • 2022-present Member, NSW Agency for Clinical Innovation Rehabilitation Network
  • 2021-present Reviewer, BMC Complementary Therapies in Medicine
  • 2021-present Reviewer, Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice
  • 2021-present Reviewer, PLoS ONE
  • 2020-present Reviewer, European Journal of Integrative Medicine2020-present Reviewer, World Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine
  • 2015-present Reviewer, Complementary Therapies in Medicine
  • 2018-2019 Member, Australian Health Promotion Association
  • 2007-present Member, Huacheng Martial Arts Association

Education

  • 2020 PhD (Health Science), Western Sydney University, Australia
  • 2014 Master of Medicine (Evidence-Based Medicine), Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, China
  • 2011 Bachelor of Arts (Medical English), Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, China

Publications

For a full listing of publications please see: