Peer Connection Links Program to SE Asia
Dr. Siyan Yi Provides Oversight for MPH Students on Field Studies in Cambodia
Dr. Siyan Yi is a Public Health professional with international credentials. He’s also a bona fide “Global Hero” in Touro's Public Health community.
Yi has deep connections to the Bay Area academic and Public Health communities. He serves in Cambodia as a part-time Adjunct Professor of Global Health for Touro University California. He maintains his connections stateside through various collaborative efforts and what he describes as academic travel.
His last trip to the U.S. was in 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. So when he decided to resume his academic travel, he planned for stops at Stanford University, UCLA, the Gates Foundation -- and Touro University California.
Yi is Director of the KHANA Center for Population Health Research in Cambodia and an Assistant Professor at the National University of Singapore, where he serves as Director of the UHS-SPH Integrated Research Program in the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health.
KHANA is a reference to a pilot project established in 1996, the Khmer HIV/AIDS NGO Alliance, which has since expanded its community-based approach to tackle tuberculosis in Cambodia, as well as to provide other health services. The UHS-SPH Integrated Research Program is a joint effort between the National University of Singapore and the University of Health Sciences in Cambodia.
Yi is a medical doctor who also holds a PhD in Community and Global Health.
Strong Touro University California Connection
The topic of Yi’s talk Oct. 11 at Touro University California was “Where Health Care is Scarce and TB Rates are High: Community-Based TB Programs in Cambodia.” Students in Touro’s Master’s in Public Health program were encouraged to attend the lecture to learn about Public Health field study opportunities in Cambodia.
Yi is a longtime partner with Touro’s Public Health program. He oversees the service and research projects of Touro MPH students during their field study experiences in Cambodia in collaboration with Touro MPH faculty member Dr. Carinne Brody, who serves as an Associate Professor of Public Health and as Associate Program Director of Public Health’s Global Health Concentration.
Yi has been a preceptor for the program in Cambodia for more than a dozen years.
Brody was at the University of California, Berkeley, when she met Yi, who was at Stanford University. Brody was doing research in Cambodia while both she and Yi were graduate students. The two began collaborating when Brody came to Touro University California.
Yi assesses Touro students in several areas while they are serving in Cambodia, all geared toward improving their interactions with the communities in which they serve.
A True ‘Public Health Global Hero’
Brody took the opportunity of the visit and lecture to present Yi with Touro University California’s 2022 Public Health Global Hero Award, presented through the College of Education and Health Sciences’ Public Health Program.
Presentation of the award was delayed by the COVID-19 global pandemic and related public health and travel restrictions worldwide.