Stanford University

Straight Talk with Rahm Emanuel: A fireside chat with Michael McFaul

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Portrait of Rahm Emanuel.

EVENT UPDATE: Due to overwhelming interest, registration for this event is now on a first-come, first-served basis with no waitlist to ensure fairness and accommodate as many guests as possible. Seating is not guaranteed, so please arrive early. An overflow space will be available. Expect a confirmation email from our event team by January 22.

The Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies and the Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (APARC) are pleased to host Ambassador, Mayor, Congressman, and White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel for a fireside chat with Ambassador Michael McFaul, with welcome remarks by Kiyoteru Tsutsui, the director of APARC, and a Q&A session to follow. 

Ambassador Emanuel, most recently the Ambassador of the United States to Japan, is famous for straight talk, relentless drive, and game-changing results. He will share his unvarnished thoughts on America’s relationships with Japan and other key allies, and, more broadly, what it means to lead and the leadership we need at home and abroad at this moment in history. Ambassador Emanuel is a brilliant strategist and an engaging speaker who will hold us accountable. Get ready for a fast-paced and wide-ranging discussion, including important insights from one of our generation’s brightest minds and greatest leaders.

 

Speaker

Colored photo of Rahm Emanuel sitting on a chair giving discussion at a 2017 Stanford Event

Rahm Emanuel has devoted his life to public service, with a remarkable number of impactful leadership positions across government.  Appointed the 31st United States Ambassador to Japan by President Joe Biden, he most recently served in Tokyo from 2021 – 2025 during a period of expanding Chinese aggression and massive investment in our Asia Pacific Alliances.  As Mayor of the City of Chicago from 2011-2019, he invested in education, providing universal public pre-kindergarten and full-day kindergarten for every Chicago child, and free community college.  Chicago led the U.S. in corporate relocations and foreign direct investment for seven consecutive years during his administration, and he prioritized investment in infrastructure, public transportation, open space, and cultural attractions.

From 2008-2010, Ambassador Emanuel was President Barack Obama’s Chief of Staff and top advisor, helping secure the passage of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act and the landmark Affordable Care Act.  Emanuel was elected four times as a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois’s 5th Congressional District (2002-2008). As Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, Emanuel helped pass legislation to raise the minimum wage and authored the Great Lakes Restoration Act.  From 1993 to 1998, Ambassador Emanuel rose to serve as Senior Advisor to the President for Policy and Politics in the Clinton Administration, spearheading efforts to pass the President’s signature achievements, including the Federal Assault Weapons Ban, the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, and the historic Balanced Budget Act, which created the Children’s Health Insurance Program expanding health care coverage to 10 million children.

 

Moderator

Photo of Michael McFaul

Michael McFaul is a senior fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI) and former director of FSI, the Ken Olivier and Angela Nomellini Professor of International Studies in the Department of Political Science, and the Peter and Helen Bing Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, all at Stanford University. He joined the Stanford faculty in 1995. Dr. McFaul is also an international affairs analyst for NBC News. He served for five years in the Obama administration, first as special assistant to the president and senior director for Russian and Eurasian Affairs at the National Security Council at the White House (2009-2012), and then as U.S. Ambassador to the Russian Federation (2012-2014).

He has authored several books, most recently Autocrats versus Democrats: China, Russia, America, and the New Global Disorder. Earlier books include the New York Times bestseller From Cold War to Hot Peace: An American Ambassador in Putin’s Russia, Advancing Democracy Abroad: Why We Should, How We Can; Transitions To Democracy: A Comparative Perspective (eds. with Kathryn Stoner); Power and Purpose: American Policy toward Russia after the Cold War (with James Goldgeier); and Russia’s Unfinished Revolution: Political Change from Gorbachev to Putin.

He teaches courses on great power relations, democratization, comparative foreign policy decision-making, and revolutions.

Michael A. McFaul

Bechtel Conference Center
Encina Hall, First floor, Central, S150
616 Jane Stanford Way, Stanford, CA 94305

Rahm Emanuel
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A Window into Japanese Education: The Making of a Japanese – Film Screening and Director Discussion

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Poster of the dodumentary The Making of a Japanese, and a portrait of filmmaker Ema Ryan Yamazaki.
Official film poster for The Making of a Japanese, directed by Ema Ryan Yamazaki. Poster features a stylized illustration of a young Japanese boy looming over a Japanese Elementary school


This documentary film chronicles life at a large Japanese elementary school in suburban Tokyo, where filmmaker Ema Ryan Yamazaki has distilled over 700 hours of footage into a compelling examination of how Japanese educational institutions cultivate culturally distinct characteristics in young students. While Japanese approaches to teaching discipline and responsibility in elementary education have historically been viewed with both curiosity and skepticism through a Western lens, these methodologies have garnered increasing recognition in recent years and are now considered exportable models of educational excellence. The film explores the transformative processes that shape unsuspecting six-year-olds into disciplined twelve-year-olds, while thoughtfully examining both the advantages and potential drawbacks of this educational philosophy.

Acclaimed documentary filmmaker Ema Ryan Yamazaki, recognized for her previous works Monkey Business: The Adventures of Curious George's Creators and Koshien: Japan's Field of Dreams, will be present for this exclusive screening of her latest documentary. This event will feature the complete documentary screening of The Making of a Japanese, prior to its official public release in the United States. Following the film presentation, Ms. Yamazaki will join in conversation with Katherine (Kemy) Monahan.

Join us for this lunchtime documentary screening and talk. Lunch will be served on a first-come, first-served basis.

Speaker

Photo headshot of Ema Yamazaki

Raised in Osaka by a Japanese mother and British father, Ema Ryan Yamazaki grew up navigating between Japanese and Western cultures. Having studied filmmaking at New York University, she uses her unique storytelling perspective as an insider and outsider in Japan. In 2017, Ema’s first feature documentary, MONKEY BUSINESS: THE ADVENTURES OF CURIOUS GEORGE’S CREATORS was released worldwide after raising over $186,000 on Kickstarter. In 2019, Ema’s second feature documentary about the phenomenon of high school baseball in Japan, KOSHIEN: JAPAN’S FIELD OF DREAMS, premiered at DOC NYC. In 2020, the film aired on ESPN, and was released theatrically in Japan. It was a New York Times recommendation for international streaming and featured on the Criterion Channel. Ema's latest documentary feature, THE MAKING OF A JAPANESE, follows one year in a Japanese public school. The film premiered at the Tokyo International Film Festival in 2023 and is currently playing festivals around the world, with a release set in Japan for December 2024. 

Moderator

Headshot photo of Katherine (Kemy) Monahan

Katherine (Kemy) Monahan joins the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (APARC) as a visiting scholar, Japan Program Fellow, for the 2025-2026 academic year. She has served 30 years as a Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. Department of State, across 16 assignments on four continents.  She most recently served as Deputy Chief of Mission of the U.S. Embassy in Japan, following an assignment as Charge d’affaires for Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu, and an assignment as Deputy Chief of Mission to New Zealand, Samoa, Cook Islands, and Niue.  Ms. Monahan established and led UNICEF’s Washington D.C.-based International Financial Institutions liaison office, where she negotiated over $1 billion in funding for children in need. Ms. Monahan also served in the U.S. Embassy Mexico as Advisor in the World Bank’s Africa Office, as Deputy Executive Director of the Secretary of State’s Global Health Initiative, and as Senior Development Counselor at the U.S. Mission to the European Union in Brussels. Earlier in her career, she worked in Warsaw, Poland, to privatize the energy and telecommunications sectors and led the team to ratify the Hague Intercountry Adoption Convention.

Questions?

Contact Kana Igarashi Limpanukorn
Katherine Monahan
Katherine Monahan
Ema Yamazaki Filmmaker
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Sushi Hackathon

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Sushi Hackathon October 3rd event digital flyer, featuring headshots of Audrey Tang, Gita Wirjawan, and Kiyoteru Tsutsui

 

**NOTE: Registration is for attending the keynote session and student presentations. Food will not be served at this event**

 

Agenda


Check-in opens: 12:30 p.m.

Welcome remarks by Kiyoteru Tsutsui: 1:00 p.m.

Keynote by Audrey Tang: 1:05-1:25 p.m.

Fireside Chat with Audrey Tang and Gita Wirjawan: 1:25-2:00 p.m.

Student Presentations: 2:00-6:20 p.m.

Award Ceremony: 6:40 p.m.

Closing Remarks: 6:55 p.m.

 

The Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (APARC) Japan Program hosts an interdisciplinary event highlighting the transformative potential of technology for societal benefit. Designed to pair immersive cultural engagement with advanced problem-solving, the program convenes university students who apply computer science and programming skills to urgent social and organizational challenges.

This year’s program explores the intersection of generative artificial intelligence and Japan’s fisheries sector, encouraging innovative solutions that address real-world industry needs while fostering a deeper appreciation of Japanese culture.

The event will feature a keynote address by Audrey Tang, Taiwan’s former Minister of Digital Affairs (2022–2024), on Ethical AI for Societal Good, followed by a fireside conversation with Gita Wirjawan, former Minister of Trade of the Republic of Indonesia. Subsequent sessions will showcase presentations from university student teams unveiling generative AI projects developed specifically to enhance sustainability and efficiency in Japan’s fisheries industry.

This event is hosted by the Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center Japan Program and co-sponsored by GDX Co., Ltd. and SMBC

 

 

Speaker:

Headshot photo of Audrey Tang

Audrey Tang, Taiwan’s Cyber Ambassador-at-large and 1st Digital Minister (2016-2024), is celebrated for her pioneering efforts in digital freedom. Named one of TIME’s “100 Most Influential People in AI” in 2023, Tang was instrumental in shaping Taiwan’s internationally acclaimed COVID-19 response and in safeguarding the 2024 presidential and legislative elections from foreign cyber interference.
Tang is now focused on broadening her vision of Plurality — technology for collaborative diversity — to inspire global audiences.

 

Discussant:

Gita Wirjawan

Gita Wirjawan is a visiting scholar at Stanford's Precourt Institute for Energy and formerly a visiting scholar at Shorenstein APARC (2022-24). Wirjawan is the chairman and founder of Ancora Group and Ancora Foundation, as well as the host of the podcast "Endgame." While at APARC, he researched the directionality of nation-building in Southeast Asia and sustainability and sustainable development in the U.S. and Southeast Asia.

 

Moderator:

Square portrait photo of Kiyoteru Tsutsui

Kiyoteru Tsutsui is the Henri H. and Tomoye Takahashi Professor, Professor of Sociology, Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, and Director of the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center, where he is also Director of the Japan Program and Co-Director of the Southeast Asia Program. Tsutsui’s research interests lie in political/comparative sociology, social movements, globalization, human rights, and Japanese society. His most recent publication, Human Rights and the State: The Power of Ideas and the Realities of International Politics (Iwanami Shinsho, 2022), was awarded the 2022 Ishibashi Tanzan Award and the 44th Suntory Prize for Arts and Sciences.

Questions?

Contact Kana Igarashi Limpanukorn
Kiyoteru Tsutsui

Arrillaga Alumni Center - McCaw Hall
326 Galvez St, Stanford, CA 94305

Gita Wirjawan
Audrey Tang
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Where Medicine Meets Society: Richard Liang’s Quest to Advance Trans-Pacific Collaboration in Medical and Public Health Research

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Stanford medical student researcher Richard Liang likes recalling how one summer project became a turning point in his academic career. What began as a study on disparities in South Korean patients’ access to diabetes care sparked a passion for collaboration in medical and public health research across East Asia and beyond.

Liang’s work with Stanford health economist Karen Eggleston, the director of the Asia Health Policy Program (AHPP) at the Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (APARC) and his co-advisor for the Medical Scholars Research Program at the School of Medicine, helped deepen his global outlook. To bridge medicine, health policy, and his interest in East Asia, he embarked on one of the most ambitious paths at Stanford.

Selected into the rigorous and intensive Medical Scientist Training Program, he has been working toward his MD degree, with a scholarly concentration in health services and policy research in global health, while pursuing a doctorate in epidemiology and clinical research. This past June, he obtained his PhD from the Department of Epidemiology and Population Health. He is also completing a master’s degree in East Asian studies at Stanford’s Center for East Asian Studies, focusing on health and society in East Asia as well as the role of technology and academic partnerships in expanding access to care across the region.

“I aspire to become a leading physician-scientist who bridges that gap across borders and brings together researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to promote health and well-being in East Asia and around the world,” he says.


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Regional collaborations in medical and public health research have been scarce, and rarer still between the biomedical and social sciences.

Addressing Inequalities in Health Care


Liang’s summer medical school project examined the prevalence of receiving annual eye screenings among South Korean adult patients with type 2 diabetes and how access to that care differed across demographic and socioeconomic groups over time. The goal was to investigate why screening rates for diabetic retinopathy, a complication of type 2 diabetes, remain low in South Korea, despite the country having universal health insurance coverage and guidelines that recommend annual eye screenings to prevent this leading cause of blindness.

He worked on this project with co-advisors Eggleston and Young Kyung Do, a professor in Seoul National University’s Department of Health Policy and Management and AHPP’s inaugural postdoctoral fellow. They found that lower-income patients with diabetes experienced barriers to quality diabetes care and had lower access to annual diabetes-related eye screenings.

For Liang, these results underscored a deeper lesson: even strong health systems with universal health insurance coverage have structural socioeconomic inequities that leave vulnerable groups behind. The findings helped solidify his conviction that improving health care requires more than clinical training alone. 

The project culminated in Liang’s presentation of the findings at the 2021 AcademyHealth Annual Research Meeting and spurred a new sense of purpose. ”It grew into a life-changing journey at Stanford,” Liang says.

That journey has led him to collaborate with researchers from around the world, particularly in Japan, Korea, and China, utilizing large-scale data to advance population health and applying population health methods to research topics ranging from maternal and child health to mental health, aging, and inflammatory skin diseases.

Richard Liang outdoors in South Korea.

Liang in South Korea. Photo courtesy of Richard Liang.

From Research to Health Policy Impact


Over the years, Liang evolved from a mentee of Eggleston into a collaborator on projects in Korea and elsewhere. As COVID-19 disrupted health services worldwide, he joined Eggleston and a team of researchers in studying the impact of the pandemic on chronic disease care in India, China, Hong Kong, Korea, and Vietnam. Their findings showed that marginalized and rural communities in those countries were hit especially hard, with negative consequences for population health that reached far beyond those directly infected with the virus.

He and Eggleston also co-authored a study on preferences for telemedicine services among patients with diabetes and hypertension in South Korea during the early COVID-19 pandemic. The research drew the attention of the Prime Minister’s Office in Korea, which used it to guide national policy on telemedicine, a field still lacking a formal legal framework in the country.

For Liang, it was proof of the available opportunities to make tangible improvements in population health by combining rigorous research with policy engagement and drawing on insights across medicine, public health, and the social sciences.

“As a medical student researcher with experiences across different East Asian countries, I witnessed firsthand many pressing challenges in health and society, from rapidly aging populations to rising rates of chronic diseases,” he says. “To tackle these issues holistically, there is a growing need to bring together diverse perspectives, but regional collaborations in medical and public health research have been scarce, and rarer still between the biomedical and social sciences.”

The various classes and seminars I’ve attended through APARC, and subsequently as an East Asian Studies master’s student, have helped me think more critically about how the science and practice of medicine impact policy and society, and vice versa.
Richard Liang on a field visit in China.

Liang in China on a field visit during a 2025 summer seminar co-taught by Professors Eggleston and Williams. Photo courtesy of Richard Liang.

A Second Academic Home


Eggleston describes Liang as a model of interdisciplinary scholarship. In addition to medical school and doctoral research, he has carved out space to pursue his passion for East Asian studies. He has taken classes with APARC and affiliated faculty on topics ranging from health and politics in modern China to historical and cultural perspectives on North Korea, science and literature in East Asia, and tech policy, innovation, and startup ecosystems in Silicon Valley and Japan.

“The various classes and seminars I’ve attended through APARC, and subsequently as an East Asian Studies master’s student, have helped me think more critically about how the science and practice of medicine impact policy and society, and vice versa,” Liang says. Thanks to these experiences, he also found “a second academic home away from the medical school — a community that shares the recognition of the need to strengthen dialogue and cooperation across the Pacific and that actively encourages the interdisciplinary environment necessary to make my aspirations a reality.”

Most recently, he participated in a summer seminar on AI-enabled global public health and population health management, co-taught by Eggleston and Michelle Williams, a professor of epidemiology and population health at Stanford’s School of Medicine. Offered via the Stanford Center at Peking University, this three-week seminar focused on advancing global health through cross-cultural collaboration and the application of cutting-edge technology in population health and health policy decision-making. 

“During this program, I not only got to share my experiences from conducting population health research across East Asia, but also learn from and alongside fellow students across different disciplines, spanning from international relations to computer science,” Liang notes. He especially enjoyed meeting local Chinese graduate students and providing feedback and near-peer mentorship as an upper-year graduate student.

The seminar also led to exploring additional opportunities for research collaborations to study the implications of long-term annual health screenings across China. Liang, Eggleston, and Williams plan to expand this collaborative work.

The cross-cultural experiences and fruitful academic exchanges I’ve learned through as a Stanford graduate student not only inform my research in different countries but also help prepare me to become a better care provider for my future patients.

Preparing to Become a Better Care Provider


Liang’s work across borders and disciplines not only advances research but also deepens the perspective of cultural humility he brings to his future role as a physician.

“The cross-cultural experiences and fruitful academic exchanges I’ve learned through as a Stanford graduate student not only inform my research in different countries, but also help prepare me to become a better care provider for my future patients,” he says.

For his achievements, Liang has earned multiple honors, including a Young Investigator Collegiality Award from the International and Japanese Societies for Investigative Dermatology, the Critical Language Scholarship in Korean from the U.S. Department of State, and the Stanford Center for Asian Health Research and Education Seed Grant.

He is looking forward to finishing medical school, attending a residency program, and continuing an interdisciplinary career that advances human health and well-being.

Reflecting on the fleeting nature of student life, his advice to fellow students is to remember that “Your time as a Stanford student can really fly by, so make sure to explore the opportunities that speak to you and offerings across the university, by organizations like APARC and the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies. The Bechtel International Center’s Office of Global Scholarships and the Hume Center for Writing and Speaking are also wonderful resources to get started.”

It is advice he has embodied himself, building a career at the intersection of medicine, public health, and East Asian studies, one project at a time.

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Richard Liang standing next to a poster presenting his research at a conference.
Liang collaborated with Dr. Karen Eggleston on research into the prevalence and treatment rates of atopic dermatitis (eczema) in South Korea. He presented this research at the 2025 Seoul International Congress of the Korean Academy of Asthma, Allergy and Clinical Immunology.
Photo courtesy of Richard Liang
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Spanning medicine, public health, and East Asian studies, Richard Liang’s rare academic path at Stanford has fueled collaborations that bridge research and policy across borders and disciplines.

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Katherine Monahan

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Visiting Scholar at APARC, Japan Program Fellow 2025-2026
kemy_monahan.jpg

Katherine (Kemy) joins the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (APARC) as a visiting scholar, Japan Program Fellow, for the 2025-2026 academic year. Ms. Monahan has completed 16 assignments on four continents in her 30 years as a Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. Department of State.  She recently returned from Tokyo, where she was Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Japan, following roles as Charge d’affaires for Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu, and Deputy Chief of Mission to New Zealand, Samoa, Cook Islands, and Niue.  She was Director for East Asia at the National Security Council from 2022 to 2023.  Previously, she worked for the U.S. Department of Treasury in Tokyo, as Economic, Trade and Labor Counselor in Mexico City, Privatization lead in Warsaw after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Advisor to the World Bank, and Deputy Executive Director of the Secretary of State’s Global Health Initiative, among other roles.  As lead of UNICEF’s International Financial Institutions office, Ms. Monahan negotiated over $1 billion in funding for children. A member of the Bar in California and DC, Ms. Monahan began as an attorney in Los Angeles. 

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Eunkyeong Lee

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Visiting Scholar at APARC, 2025-2026
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Eunkyeong Lee joins the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (APARC) as a visiting scholar for the 2025-2026 academic year. She currently serves as Research Fellow at the Korea Institute of Public Finance. While at APARC, she will be conducting research on healthcare systems and utilization among the elderly in South Korea.

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Seok Jin Eom

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Visiting Scholar at APARC, 2025-2026
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Seok Jin Eom joins the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (APARC) at Stanford University as a visiting scholar for the 2025-2026 academic year. He is a professor of the Graduate School of Public Administration at Seoul National University, Republic of Korea, and received his Ph.D in public administration from Seoul National University. He has published numerous papers in academic journals, including Government Information Quarterly, Public Management Review, Administration & Society, Perspectives on Public Management and Governance, and The Korean Public Administration Review. He also published many books on the history of public administration and policy in Korea and Japan, as well as digital government and AI adoption in the public sector, including The Intellectual History of Korean Public Administration (2025, forthcoming), Enabling Data-Driven Innovation and AI Governance (2025), The Changes and Continuity of Japanese State Apparatus (2015), and others. Dr. Eom serves as the editor-in-chief of the Korean Public Administration Review, one of the most prestigious academic journals in Korea. His current research interests include the intellectual evolution of Korean public administration, public governance in the era of economic growth in Korea, and the evolution of governance in the AI era. (sjum21@stanford.edu; sjum21@snu.ac.kr).

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Soo Chan Choi

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Visiting Scholar at APARC, 2025-2026
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Soo Chan Choi joins the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (APARC) as a visiting scholar for the 2025-2026 academic year. He currently serves as Dean and Professor of the School of Social Welfare at Yonsei University. While at APARC, he will be conducting research on the adaptation of Korean workers to overseas environments, focusing on the Bay Area.

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Byongjin Ahn

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Visiting Scholar at APARC, Fall 2025
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Byongjin Ahn joined the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (APARC) as a visiting scholar for the 2025 fall quarter. He recently served at the State Affairs Planning Committee (equivalent to the transition team as President Lee had to assume his post immediately after his election in June).

He is currently a professor at Kyung Hee University's Global Academy for Future Civilizations. He has served as the Rector of the Global Academy for the Future of Civilizations at Kyung Hee University, Vice President of Kyung Hee Cyber University, Assistant Professor of International Relations at Changwon National University, and Lecturer at the City University of New York. Born in Daegu (1967), he earned a B.A. in sociology from Sogang University and an M.A. in political science from Seoul National University. He earned his Ph.D. in American politics from the New School for Social Research, founded by John Dewey. For his dissertation, he was awarded the Hannah Arendt Award.

His main specialty is the U.S. presidency and Korean politics, and he has appeared on numerous television programs and newspapers, including a panel on the U.S. presidential election specials on MBC and SBS and an interview with the New York Times. He has been a regular columnist for the JoongAng Ilbo, Kyunghyang Shinmun, and Hankyoreh, and a guest commentator for KBS. He is a co-author of South Korea's Democracy In Crisis: The Threats of Illiberalism, Populism, and Polarization (Gi-Wook Shin and Ho-Ki Kim Eds, Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center, 2022) and many other books and articles. 

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Yuli Xu

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Asia Health Policy Postdoctoral Fellow, 2025-2026
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Yuli Xu joins the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (APARC) as Asia Health Policy Postdoctoral Fellow for the 2025-2026 academic year. She recently obtained her Ph.D. in Economics at the University of California, San Diego. Her research focuses on Labor and Health Economics, with particular interests in how female labor force participation and fertility decisions are influenced by labor market institutions and past birth experiences.

In her thesis, "Gendered Impacts of Privatization: A Life Cycle Perspective from China," she demonstrates that the reduction in public sector employment has widened the gender gap in the labor market while narrowing the gender gap in educational attainment. She also finds that this structural shift has delayed marriage among younger generations.

In another line of research, Yuli examines the effects of maternity ward overcrowding. She finds that overcrowding reduces the use of medical procedures during childbirth without negatively impacting maternal or infant health. While it has no direct effect on subsequent fertility, she shows that mothers, especially those with a college degree, are more likely to switch to another hospital for subsequent births after experiencing overcrowding.

During her time at APARC, Yuli will further investigate patient-physician relationships in the Chinese healthcare system, where patients have considerable flexibility in choosing their doctors at each visit. She will explore the persistence of these relationships and examine how patients respond when their regular doctors are temporarily unavailable.

Yuli also holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of International Business and Economics in China.

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