Dr. Hwai-I Yang is an Associate Research Fellow at the Genomics Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taiwan, and the current Director of the Taiwan Biobank. With over 25 years of research experience, Dr. Yang is internationally recognized for his contributions to the epidemiology of viral hepatitis, particularly chronic hepatitis B (CHB) and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). He has led and collaborated on numerous influential studies, including the REVEAL-HBV cohort, which provided critical insights into the natural history and risk stratification of HBV infection. His work has been published in top-tier journals such as The New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA, Lancet Oncology, and Journal of Clinical Oncology. Dr. Yang has also co-developed widely adopted HCC risk prediction models (REACH-B and REAL-B) and has served as mentor to graduate students and postdoctoral fellows across disciplines. His mentorship emphasizes rigorous scientific thinking, interdisciplinary collaboration, and translational research with public health impact.

Our research lab at the Genomics Research Center, Academia Sinica, focuses on the epidemiology and natural history of chronic viral hepatitis, particularly hepatitis B and C. We conduct long-term, community-based cohort studies to investigate the incidence and determinants—viral, host, and environmental—of key disease milestones, including HBeAg and HBsAg seroclearance, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Recent projects have incorporated full-length deep sequencing of hepatitis B virus to explore quasispecies dynamics and their interactions with host genetics and immune profiles.

We also develop and validate clinically applicable risk prediction models, such as REACH-B and REAL-B, to estimate the probability of adverse outcomes in chronic hepatitis B and C. These tools are widely used in both research and clinical settings.

Expanding beyond viral hepatitis, our lab investigates health outcomes among individuals with fatty liver and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), with an emphasis on identifying high-risk subgroups.

In parallel, we are actively exploring pre-diagnostic biomarkers through multi-omics approaches—genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and epigenomics—to enable early detection of major cancers. Our lab integrates epidemiological study design, biostatistics, and bioinformatics to generate insights with translational value in public health and precision medicine.