Xiao Yu, PhD

Biography

Xiao Yu is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology and a member of the Maternal Health Lab at Michigan State University. She received a PhD in sociology from Johns Hopkins University. Her areas of interest include social determinants of health, maternal and infant health, health disparities, and quantitative methodology with a focus on causal inference in quasi-experimental studies..

Research

Dr. Yu’s research broadly focuses on social determinants such as the labor market, work, education, neighborhood/community and the impacts on health and health disparities. She is particularly interested in understanding how community-engaged interventions can mitigate the impact of the structural and social drivers on perinatal health and health disparities. Her current projects include neighborhood determinants of severe maternal morbidity, the effectiveness of community health worker home visiting on maternal and infant health, and program engagement among birthing population with maternal complex care needs. Utilizing data from Medicaid claims, vital records, administrative program data, and census data, she seeks to provide evidence-based solutions to improving the care and health of underserved (Medicaid) pregnant and postpartum birthing individuals.