Meet Yongyi Pan, N24

We caught up with Yongyi to ask her a few questions about her time at the Friedman School. Yongyi calls Northeast China home, and graduated in 2024 with an M.S.

Why was this the degree for you?

As a child, I was fascinated by the kitchen and food. Watching cooking TV shows, kneading a neat dough and observing it ferment brought me more fun than any other games. Eight years ago, my proficiency in math inspired me to choose statistics as my major. Engaging with numbers, equations and coding daily led me to contemplate the type of work and life I want.

I was dreaming of combining my passions and skills until I discovered Friedman during a general search for graduate schools. The NEDS program at Friedman resonated with me profoundly. It not only aligns with my interests and strengths, but also allows me to contribute to improving human health. Since joining Friedman, I’ve noticed positive changes in my family and friends’ habits, with more attention paid to reading nutrition labels and designing good diets. Additionally, I've observed increased media coverage on topics related to healthy diets following the publication of our work.

What’s the single most important thing you learned during your time at Friedman?

The value of self-discovery through communication and collaboration with more people. Prior to joining Friedman, I had assumed that my graduate school experience would revolve solely around attending classes and focusing on a specific research project. However, Friedman has offered me a collaborative environment where experts from various fields such as economics, medicine, and behavior change collaborate on a daily basis. I also had great opportunities to engage in projects with many of these experts!

While I may not specialize in every aspect of this work in the future, this broad research experience undoubtedly enhanced my understanding of the big picture of nutrition, spanning from metabolism to policy. From there, I know where I want to go and what I want to achieve.

What’s a good adjective to describe you?

Versatile ;) At school, I actively engaged in research projects covering a wide range of topics such as gene-cancer interaction, food-disease association, food purchase behaviors, and food policy. I learned various literature and research skills while collaborating in multiple teams.

Outside of academics, I enjoyed cooking and exploring recipes from diverse cultures around the world. I am also passionate about sharing traditional northeastern Chinese cuisine, which is relatively less known in the United States. Plus, I am a proud Aussie mom! I enjoy creating homemade, human-inspired meals for her and coordinating our outfits for a fun and stylish match using my new sewing machine.

Complete the following sentence: “In ten years, I will be…”

Working in food related industry, where I can help building bridges between research and market, to help people access healthy, affordable, and sustainable foods.