Kun TANG M.B., M.S., D.Phil.

Associate Professor and Assistant Dean

Kun Tang is a Tenured Associate Professor, Doctoral Supervisor, and Assistant Dean at VSPH. He serves as the Deputy Director and Secretary-General of the Tsinghua University China-Africa Leadership Development Center, as well as a Co-chair on the World Health Organization's Global Action for Measurement of Adolescent Health (GAMA) Advisory Group. Prof. Tang is dedicated to global health research and practice, with a focus on Africa and developing countries. He is committed to cultivating the next generation of global health leaders and maintains strong collaborations with top-tier academic institutions, including Harvard University, the University of Toronto, the University of Oxford, and the National University of Singapore.

Education

2009-2013, D.Phil. in Epidemiology: Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford

2007-2009, M.S. in Global Health and Population: T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University

2001-2007, M.B. (Bachelor of Medicine): Health Science Center, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University

Experience

2025/05–Present: Assistant Dean, Vanke School of Public Health, Tsinghua University

2024/10–Present: Deputy Director and Secretary-General, China-Africa Leadership Development Center, Tsinghua University

2020/7–Present: Associate Professor, Vanke School of Public Health, Tsinghua University

2023/07–2024/07: Deputy Director (Secondment), Office of International Cooperation and Exchange, Tsinghua University

2019/01–2020/06: Assistant Professor, Center for Public Health Research, School of Medicine, Tsinghua University

2014/1–2018/12: Lecturer, Department of Global Health, School of Public Health, Peking University

2005/1-2005/12: Consultant, United Nations Population Fund, New York Headquarters and China Office

Research Areas

Global health and governance (e.g. China-Africa health cooperation, global health organizations, development aid for health)

Contextualized innovation and application of medical products and technologies in developing countries

Developing models of community-based public health interventions in resource-constrained regions (e.g. maternal and child health, and infectious diseases)

Health systems research and field practice in the Global South

Tsinghua Global Health Intelligence and Innovation Lab (Tsinghua GHI² Lab)

Our Vision & Mission

The Tsinghua Global Health Intelligence and Innovation Lab is dedicated to addressing the long-neglected needs and vulnerabilities in global health. We focus our efforts on the Global South, particularly in Africa, driving change and innovation in health systems through research, education, and implementation. Our goal is to catalyze profound and lasting transformation in global health.

Our Core Work & Practice

We have conceptualized a new model for China-Africa health cooperation: a dual-engine approach of technological innovation and health governance reform. This model moves beyond traditional aid and guides our partnerships toward a new phase that is more demand-driven, adaptive, and sustainable.

We are rooted in communities most affected by disease. In the malaria-endemic regions in Western Africa, we don't just deliver aid; we empower. By distributing essential medical supplies, training health volunteers, mobilizing communities, utilizing social marketing and promoting lasting behavioral change, we build resilient health systems from the ground up. We are committed to a philosophy of "teaching a person to fish" to create strong, sustainable health defenses for the communities we serve.

We also operate on the cutting edge of technological innovation. In Central Africa, we integrate biomedical engineering, deep learning, and big data technologies to deploy new diagnostic models and devices in resource-limited settings. In East Africa, our introduction of AI-driven handheld ultrasound devices brings critical prenatal care to remote villages, helping to save the lives of mothers and their babies. Beyond intervention, we leverage our expertise in big data analysis to provide crucial decision support to governments in the Global South, ensuring that innovative technologies are embedded where they are needed most.

We are building a diverse network of global collaborators. In research, we partner with the National University of Singapore, National Ministries of Health and local institutions in Cambodia, Laos, Uganda, and Ethiopia to conduct multi-center studies on a community-based TB diagnostic model. For R&D and field interventions, we team up with leading institutions like the Chinese Academic of Sciences and private enterprises to bring innovative products and scientific solutions to the field.

We also actively engage in global health policy and governance. From contributing to World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines and hosting side events at the World Health Assembly to shaping global health education and talent development, we are committed to building a more equitable and inclusive global health governance system.

Our Team

Our team is comprised of post-doctoral, doctoral, and post-graduate fellows from diverse fields, including global health, epidemiology, biomedical engineering, data science, economics, sociology and international relations, who are actively engaged in the frontlines of global health research and practice. We foster interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation and are dedicated to nurturing the next generation of global health leaders for China and the world. We create valuable fellowship opportunities for students to work in the field in Africa and Asia, by partnering with leading international organizations like the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, and UNFPA, as well as top universities like Harvard.

We firmly believe that when technological innovation and governance reform empower each other, and when global collaboration and local implementation support one another, we can infuse the global health landscape with a lasting vitality.

Research Projects

1) 2025/07–Present: Multi-sources Funding Support, Malaria Control and Elimination Project in the Continental Region of Equatorial Guinea.

2) 2025/09-2027/08: Tsinghua University Vanke School of Public Health – National University of Singapore Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health Joint Research Fund: An Innovative Tuberculosis Screening Model for Resource-Limited Settings: A Quasi-Experimental Community Study of a Portable Point-of-Care Testing Solution in Cambodia and Laos

3) 2024/09–Present: Tsinghua University BRIGHT Project, A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial of AI-powered Handheld Ultrasound Devices to Improve Maternal and Neonatal Health Outcomes in Rural Ethiopia.

4) 2022/10-2025/12: Gates Foundation, Global Health Innovation Hub.

5) 2022/10-2022/12: Harvard University, Evaluation of the Impact and Cost-Effectiveness of the China-Tanzania Malaria Demonstration Project.

6) 2021/01–2024/12: National Natural Science Foundation of China, Research on the Health Impact Trends and Mechanisms of Regional Integration under the Belt and Road Initiative: A Multi-Channel Big Data Analysis.

7) 2020/03-2020/12: UNICEF/China South-South Cooperation Fund, Independent Evaluation of the Maternal and Child Health System Project in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

8) 2019/12–2020/06: UNICEF, Analysis of the Health Status of Children and Adolescents in Kyrgyzstan.

9) 2019/12–2022/01: China Medical Board, Construction of a Pre-Deployment Training System for Chinese Medical Teams.

Selected publications:

1) Tang K*, Li Z, Li W, Chen L. China's Silk Road and global health. Lancet. 2017;390(10112):2595-2601.

2) Jiang L*, Tang K*, Levin M, et al. COVID-19 and multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children and adolescents. Lancet Infectious Disease. 2020;20(11):e276-e288.

3) Wang Z, Tang K*. Combating COVID-19: health equity matters. Nature Medicine. 2020; 26:458.

4) Huang, A., Cao, C., Xiao, A. Y., Karemere, H., Christian, M. E., Nicolas, K. K., ... & Tang, K*. (2023). Opportunities and challenges of trilateral South‒South cooperation for transforming development assistance for health: evidence from a DRC–UNICEF–China maternal, newborn, and child health project. Globalization and Health, 19(1), 37.

5) Zhang T, He Q, Richardson S, Tang K*. Does armed conflict lead to lower prevalence of maternal health-seeking behaviours: theoretical and empirical research based on 55 683 women in armed conflict settings. BMJ Global Health. 2023 Aug;8(8):e012023.

6) Li, X., Dessie, Y., Mwanyika-Sando, M., Assefa, N., Millogo, O., Manu, A., ... & Tang, K*. (2024). Co-occurrence of and factors associated with health risk behaviors among adolescents: a multi-center study in sub-Saharan Africa, China, and India. EClinicalMedicine, 70.

For a full list of publications, please refer to Google Scholar：

https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=zh-CN&user=N8oaIx0AAAAJ