Lauren Yan

Lauren Yan is doctoral candidate in the Department of Mental Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, where she studies how global migration policies and systems affect refugees’ wellbeing. Her research intersects social psychiatric epidemiology, migration demography, and political economy; she aims for her work to illustrate the nature of God’s kingdom by bearing witness to the broad societal consequences of how we treat the marginalized and dispossessed. 

Lauren’s dissertation research explores the importance of education, employment, and resource access on the mental health of Syrian refugees in Jordan. She also contributes to studies of global humanitarian systems, psychometric tool development and validation, economic evaluation of mental health interventions, and community-centered system dynamic models.

Lauren previously earned degrees in psychology and social work from Washington University in St. Louis. She comes from a nonprofit background, having served as Assistant Director of Hope Renewed International in Guatemala; as a social worker in St. Louis, USA; and as a consultant researcher adapting “Graduation Approach” livelihood programs for humanitarian settings in Rwanda, Zambia, and Somalia. Lauren hopes to continue partnering with researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to address urgent questions about the root causes of conflict and long-term refugee support in contemporary global crises.