Qian DI, Associate Professor

Dr. Di, Qian is currently an associate professor at Vanke School of Public Health, Tsinghua University, specializing in epidemiology and public health. His first-author papers have been published in top journals such as The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) and The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). His research findings were cited as scientific evidence for the World Health Organization to revise its air quality guidelines in 2021, and Environmental Protection Agency, United States, to revise its National Air Quality Standards. Dr. Di has also led a National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) general project. For more publications, please refer to his Google Scholar profile.

Dr. Di is also focused on the application of artificial intelligence in public health. He leads a project to develop large language models specializing in public health at Tsinghua University. This model integrates and uses real-world multi-source heterogeneous health data, predicts chronic disease risk, and gives intervention recommendations, providing data-driven and AI-powered solutions.

Dr. Di currently teaches three courses to undergraduates, master's, doctoral students, and international students. These courses emphasize the use of AI tools and critical thinking, with a focus on environmental health. His undergraduate course, Earth, Environment, Human Society, and Human Health, the course for international students, Environmental Health Issues from a Global Perspective, and the graduate course, Environmental Health Issue at Global Scale, have all ranked in the top 5% in course evaluations university-wide. Dr. Di was awarded second place in the Young Faculty Teaching Competition at Tsinghua University.

In his spare time, Dr. Di is passionate about science communication and promotion, having published several articles in media outlets. He is also the author of the popular science book Learning Public Health with Mi Xiaoni.

Educational Background

• 2007-2011: Bachelor in Earth and Space Sciences, Peking University

• 2008-2011: Bachelor's (Double Degree) at National School of Development, Peking University

• 2011-2013: Master in Geography, The Pennsylvania State University, USA

• 2013-2015: Master in Epidemiology, Harvard University, USA

• 2015-2018: Doctor of Science in Environmental Health, Harvard University, USA

• 2015-2018: Doctor of Science in Epidemiology, Harvard University, USA

Team members

Dr. Di is currently supervising 7 doctoral students, 2 master students, and 2 postdoctoral research fellows.

Alumni:

• Dr. Liu, Jianxiu, former postdoctoral fellow, received funding from the National Postdoctoral Fund during her tenure and is now an assistant professor at the School of Social Sciences, Tsinghua University.

• Miss Zhang, Yao, former master student, published a paper that were consecutively recognized as highly cited by Web of Science over five issues, and is now a young faculty member at Soochow University.

• Dr. Wang, Yaqi, research assistant from 2019 to 2020, is currently pursuing a Ph.D. at Tsinghua University’s PBC School of Finance.

• Miss Liao, Huipeng, served as a research assistant from 2022 to 2023, is now a Ph.D. student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Research Projects

• National Natural Science Foundation of China General Project: Short-term exposure to PM2.5 and cognitive function: impact and Mechanism (2023-2026)

• Tsinghua University Interdisciplinary Project: A Large Language Model Specialized in Public Health Based on Real-World Data

Contact Information

• qiandi@tsinghua.edu.cn

• https://www.ai4healthcare.cn/en/