Prof John S. Ji

Prof John S. Ji

Associate Professor of Environmental Health

Position: Associate Professor, Vanke School of Public Health

Specialization: Environmental Health, Climate Health Adaptation, Planetary Health, Cohort Studies

Affiliation: Tsinghua University

Biography

John S. Ji is an Associate Professor at Tsinghua University's Vanke School of Public Health. He received his B.A. in Neuroscience from Johns Hopkins University in 2008, his Sc.M. in Epidemiology, and his Sc.D. in Environmental Health from the Harvard School of Public Health in 2013.

John joined Tsinghua University Vanke School of Public Health in 2021 as a tenure-track associate professor and was promoted to tenured associate professor in 2025. During his sabbatical (2025), John worked as a Senior Technical Officer at the World Health Organization (WHO) Asia-Pacific Centre for Environment and Health (ACE).

Key Research Areas

  • Environmental risk factors identification
  • Climate health adaptation strategies
  • Health resilience to environmental changes
  • Large-scale cohort studies
  • Planetary health
  • Environmental epidemiology

Research Focus

Professor Ji's research uses large-scale cohort studies to identify environmental risk factors, climate health adaptation, and resilience. His work bridges environmental health sciences with public health policy, providing evidence-based solutions for climate-related health challenges.

Notable Publications

John's research has been published in interdisciplinary journals, including Nature Medicine and The Lancet Planetary Health, as well as epidemiology journals, such as the International Journal of Epidemiology and Environmental Health Perspectives.

He organized The Lancet Series on Climate change and health adaptation in the Western Pacific region, contributing significantly to the global discourse on climate health.

Academic Achievements

  • Ranked in the Stanford/Elsevier Top 2% Scientists List for consecutive years
  • Publications in top-tier interdisciplinary journals
  • Leadership in climate health research initiatives
  • Recognition for contributions to environmental epidemiology

Teaching

At Tsinghua University, John teaches Planetary Health to undergraduate students and Public Health Research Methods and Cohort Studies to graduate students, sharing his expertise with the next generation of public health professionals.

Editorial and Professional Roles

John served as an Associate Editor handling The BMJ Collection on Enhancing cohort studies in China and internationally. He was a former Senior Editor for The Lancet and is on the editorial or advisory boards of The Lancet Regional Health Western Pacific, Social Science & Medicine, and the Journals of Gerontology Series A.

Leadership & Advisory Roles

  • Co-chair of the WHO Technical Advisory Group for Climate Health Ethics
  • Asia Chapter Councilor for the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology (ISEE)
  • Senior Technical Officer at WHO Asia-Pacific Centre for Environment and Health (ACE) during sabbatical
  • Former Senior Editor for The Lancet

Educational Background

  • Sc.D. in Environmental Health, Harvard School of Public Health (2013)
  • Sc.M. in Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health
  • B.A. in Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University (2008)