Irene Yang is an Associate Professor, tenured. She received her MSN in Nursing Education and PhD in Nursing Research from the University of Louisville in 2014. She continued her research training with a T32 postdoctoral fellowship at Emory's Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing and was privileged to join the faculty in 2016.

• Brannon, K., Brasher, S., Close, S., Rodriguez, J., & Yang, I. (2026). Mixed-methods study exploring motivation to vape and perceptions of vaping risk. Nursing Research, 75(2), 160-164. https://doi.org/10.1097/NNR.0000000000000875
• Shahzad, M., Ahmad, H.A., Ambadi, S., Peterson, S., & Yang, I. (2026). Traditional oral hygiene practices and their effectiveness: A systematic review of the evidence. Oral Health and Preventive Dentistry, 24, 107-118. https://doi.org/10.3290/j.ohpd.c_2475
• Yang, I., He, X., Jeon, J., Claussen, H., Arthur, R., Cushenan, P., Weaver, S.R., Luo, R., Black, M., Shannahan, J., & Wright, C. (2025). The impact of vaping behavior on functional changes within the subgingival microbiome. Scientific Reports, 34374. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-17121-y
• Bussenius, H., Moore, C., Kombara, G., Endeshaw, Y., Hendler, K., & Yang, I. (2025). Medical-dental integration: Oral Health (OH-I-CAN®) Program. The Journal of Nurse Practitioners, 21(5): 105361.
• Brewster, G., Yang, I., Pelkmans, J., Higgins, M., Waldrop, D., Dunbar, S.B., & Yeager, K.A. (2024). Factors related to cognitive performance among Black caregivers of persons living with a chronic illness: An exploratory study. Geriatric Nursing, 59, 159-69. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gerinurse.2024.06.035.
• Yang, I., Alford, T., Brewster, G., Geurs, N., Wharton, W., Yeager, K., Houser, M. (2024). The Oral Microbiome and Cognition among Black Cancer Caregivers. Nursing Research, 74, 47-55.  doi: 10.1097/NNR.0000000000000785
• Richardson, B.N., Noh, H.I., Webster, C.I., Zhang, W., Kim, S., Yang, I., & Bai, J. (2023). Oral microbiome, mental health, and sleep outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic: An observational study in Chinese and Korean American immigrants. 
• Yang, I., Claussen, H., Arthur, R.A., Hertzberg, V.S., Geurs, N., Corwin, E.J., & Dunlop, A.L. (2022). Subgingival microbiome in pregnancy and a potential relationship to early term birth. Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology, 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcimb.2022.873683
• Yang, I., Rodriguez, J., Wright, Christa Young, & Hu, Yi-Juan. (2022). The oral microbiome of electronic cigarette users: A cross-sectional exploration. Oral Diseases, 29(4), 1875-1884. http://doi: 10.1111/odi.14186
• Park, J., Corwin, E.J.., Dunlop, A. L., & Yang, I. (2022). Initial psychometric testing of a maternal oral symptom survey. Journal of Midwifery & Women’s Health, 67(2), 258-263. http://doi.org/10.1111/jmwh.13343

Dr. Yang employs a relational teaching style, instructing and mentoring students across various nursing programs at the School of Nursing. She emphasizes the significance of research in nursing practice and provides students with guided opportunities to experience research firsthand.

Dr. Yang's program of research centers around two primary research foci: biobehavioral and translational. Her biobehavioral investigations focus on the oral microbiome and inflammation as an underlying mechanism to explain the relationship between poor oral health and extra-oral conditions. Specifically, she investigates the role of the oral microbiome and inflammation in birth outcomes and cognitive impairment. Additionally, she examines the biological and clinical repercussions of electronic cigarette use on oral health, the oral microbiome, and inflammatory pathways. In the translational arena, she engages in research projects that examine social determinants that impact oral health, with the ultimate purpose of developing clinical interventions and programs that enhance the oral health of individuals and communities.

• 2024 Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing
• 2021 Scialog Microbiome, Neurobiology, and Disease Fellow
• 2020 Butler-Williams Scholar
• 2016 AWHONN Novice Researcher Award