Education
PhD, Epidemiology, University of Memphis, TN, USA
MS, Epidemiology, Tulane University, LA, USA
MS, Community Health, Taipei Medical University, Taiwan
BS, Public Health, Fu-Jen Catholic University, Taiwan
Professional Appointments
Assistant Professor, School of Integrated Sciences, Sustainability, and Public Health, College of Health, Science, and Technology, University of Illinois at Springfield, IL, USA
Adjunct Assistant Professor, School of Public Health, University if Memphis, TN, USA
Postdoctoral Fellow, Division of Epidemiology, Biostatistics & Environmental Health, School of Public Health, University of Memphis, TN, USA
Graduate Assistant, Prevention Research Center, Tulane University, LA, USA
Research Assistant, National Health Research Institutes, Taiwan
Selected Publications (*=Corresponding author; **=Co-corresponding Author)
Lee Y-S, Stetson RC, Hollender H, Sprong ME*, Huang X, Kumar K, Joshi UN. Evaluating the Role of Youth-Onset Diabetes Mellitus in the Context of Food Insecurity and Preventive Care: A Repeated Cross-Sectional Study Using Propensity Score Weighted Machine Learning Analysis. BMJ Paediatr Open. 2026;10(1):e003792. doi.10.1136/bmjpo-2025-003792. PMID: 42419911; PMCID: PMC13347907
Lee Y-S, Stetson RC, Madrigal JM, Orandi AB, Hollender H, Gor K, George RE, Sprong ME*. Association Between Asthma and Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis in Children in the United States: A Propensity Score Weighted Cross-Sectional Study. Pediatr Rheumatol. 2026; 24(1):26. doi.org/10.1186/s12969-026-01202-x. PMID: 41821029; PMCID: PMC13094194
Sprong ME*, Lee Y-S, Lee C-L, Austin BS, Olinger S, Hollender H. A Machine Learning Model of Vocational Rehabilitation Employment Outcomes for Veterans with Psychiatric and/or Substance Use Disorders. Rehabil Couns Bull. First published online March 17, 2026. doi.org/10.1177/00343552261416859.
Sprong ME*, Hollender H, Lee Y-S, Pytel-Forziat K, Dooley T, Buono FD. Effects of COVID-19 on Enrollment and Discharge for Veterans (with substance and alcohol use disorders) Referred to Vocational Rehabilitation within the VA Healthcare System. Rehabil Couns Bull. 2026; 69(2):98-108. doi.org/10.1177/00343552251320950.
Lee Y-S, Gor K, Sprong ME*, Shrestha J, Huang X, Hollender H. Development of a Machine Learning-Based Predictive Nomogram for Screening Children with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis: A Pseudo-Longitudinal Study of 223,195 Children in the United States. Front Public Health. 2025;13:1531764. doi:10.3389/fpubh.2025.1531764. PMID: 40510579; PMCID: PMC12158982.
Gor K, Lee Y-S*, Sprong ME, Hollender H, Shrestha J, Huang X. Effect Modifications of Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) on Anxiety and Depression in Children and Adolescents: A Pseudo-Longitudinal Study of 192,019 Children in the United States. Clin Pract Epidemiol Ment Health. 2025;21:e17450179372640. doi:10.2174/0117450179372640250324051404. PMID: 41035709; PMCID: PMC12481595.
Lee Y-S, Shrestha J*, Sprong ME, Huang X, Tuladhar S, Chuang MY. Machine Learning Analysis of Factors Influencing Pediatric Telehealth Visits During COVID-19: A State-Level Comparison Using 2021-22 National Survey of Children's Health Data. Healthcare (Basel). 2024;12(21):2170. doi.org/10.3390/healthcare12212170. PMID: 39517382; PMCID: PMC11545724.
Lee Y-S, Sprong ME*, Shrestha J, Smeltzer MP, Hollender H. Trajectory Analysis for Identifying Classes of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) of Children in the United States. Clin Pract Epidemiol Ment Health. 2024;20:e17450179298863. doi:10.2174/0117450179298863240516070510. PMID: 39130191; PMCID: PMC11311732.
Sprong ME*, Hollender H, Blankenberger B, Rumrill S, Lee Y-S, Bland T, Kriz K, Bailey J, Weber K, Gilbert J, Buono FD. The Road to Reintegration: Evaluating the Effectiveness of VA Healthcare in Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Retention for Veterans with Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders. Subst Abuse Rehabil. 2024;15:107-123. doi:10.2147/SAR.S462882. PMID: 39081876; PMCID: PMC11287469.
Chuang MY*, Lee Y-S. Exploring Technology Domains for Diabetes Care and Management under Pandemic: A Preliminary Scoping Review. Asia Pac J Health Manag. 2023;18(3):i2817. doi:10.24083/apjhm.v18i3.2817.
Sprong ME*, Hollender H, Lee Y-S, Rawlins Williams LA, Sneed Z, Garakani A, Buono FD. Disparities in Program Enrollment and Employment Outcomes for Veterans with Psychiatric Disorders and Co-Occurring Substance Use Disorders Referred or Enrolled for VHA Vocational Rehabilitation. Front Psychol. 2023;14:1200450. doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1200450. PMID: 37520235; PMCID: PMC10382058.
Lee Y-S, Zhang H*, Jiang Y, Kadalayil L, Karmaus W, Ewart S, Arshad S, Holloway J. Epigenome-Scale Wide Comparison of DNA Methylation between Blood Leukocytes and Bronchial Epithelial Cells. Epigenomics. 2021;13(7):485-498. doi:10.2217/epi-2020-0384. PMID: 33736458; PMCID: PMC8033431.
Smeltzer MP, Lee Y-S, Faris NR, Fehnel C, Akinbobola O, Meadows-Taylor M, Spencer D, Sales E, Fullenwider JP, Okun S, Giampapa C, Anga A, Pacheco A, Ray MA, Osarogiagbon RU*. Trends in Accuracy and Comprehensiveness of Pathology Reports for Resected Non-small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) in a High Mortality Area of the United States. J Thorac Oncol. 2021;16(10):1663-1671. doi:10.1016/j.jtho.2021.06.027. PMID: 34280563; PMCID: PMC9039869.
Osarogiagbon RU*, Faris NR, Stevens W, Fehnel C, Houston-Harris C, Ojeabulu P, Akinbobola O, Lee Y-S, Ray MA, Smeltzer MP. Beyond Margin Status: Population-Based Validation of the Proposed IASLC Residual Tumor Classification Re-categorization. J Thorac Oncol. 2020;15(3):371-382. doi:10.1016/j.jtho.2019.11.009. PMID: 31783180; PMCID: PMC7044063.
Osarogiagbon RU*, Lee Y-S, Faris NR, Ray MA, Ojeabulu PO, Smeltzer MP. Invasive Mediastinal Staging for Resected Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer in A Population-Based Cohort. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 2019;158(4):1220-1229. doi:10.1016/j.jtcvs.2019.04.068. PMID: 31147169; PMCID: PMC6754300.
Smeltzer MP, Faris NR, Ray MA, Fehnel C, Houston-Harris C, Ojeabulu P, Akinbobola O, Lee Y-S, Meadows M, Signore S, Wiggins L, Talton D, Owen E, Deese LE, Eubanks R, Wolf BA, Levy P, Robbins ET, Osarogiagbon RU*. Survival Before and After Direct Surgical Quality Feedback in a Population-Based Lung Cancer Cohort. Ann Thorac Surg. 2019; 107(5):1487-1493. doi:10.1016/j.athoracsur.2018.11.058. PMID: 30594579; PMCID: PMC6478525.
Gustat J*, Lee Y-S, O'Malley K, Luckett B, Myers L, Terrell L, Amoss L, Fitzgerald E, Stevenson PT, Johnson CC. Personal Characteristics, Cooking at Home and Shopping Frequency Influence Consumption. Prev Med Rep. 2017;6:104-110. doi:10.1016/j.pmedr.2017.02.007. PMID: 28280684; PMCID: PMC5342997.
Under review
Hollender H, Lee Y-S, Sprong ME*. ARIMA-Based Forecasting of Adolescent Substance Use: Informing Policy, Prevention, and Intervention. Healthcare(Basel).
Sprong ME*, Lee Y-S, Chowdhury D, Stetson RC, Burley N, Watt C, Lee C-L, Day J, Ragsdale K, Duffrin C, Wimer D, Hollender H**. Stress, Emotion Regulation, Pain, and Functional Well-Being Among Individuals Diagnosed with Tick-Borne Illnesses. Disabil Health J.
Sprong ME*, Buono FD, Lee Y-S. Relative Contributions of Psychological Well-Being and Structural Readiness in Predicting Employment Outcomes of People Diagnosed with Neurofibromatosis (NF1). Orphanet J Rare Dis.
List of publications in PubMed
List of publications in Google Scholar
Funded and Externally Supported Research Grant
Active projects
Title: Exposure to mixtures of environmental chemicals and ADHD prevalence among children and adolescents: a repeated cross-sectional study in the United States
PI: Yu-Sheng Lee
Role: PI (25% on average per month)
Funding source: UIS 2026 Competitive Scholarly Research Grant
Amount funded: $5,000
Duration: 5/16/2026 – 5/15/2027
Title: Surveillance of Radon Awareness in Central Illinois
Lead Researcher: Jessica M. Madrigal
Role: Assistant Researcher
Support source: Illinois Department of Public Health, the Illinois Emergency Management Agency, and the Regional Cancer Partnership of Illinois
Duration: 3/12/2026 – 12/31/2028
Inactive projects
Title: Causal relationships between DNA methylation and childhood eczema by a two‑step Mendelian randomization test
PI: Yu-Sheng Lee
Role: PI (25% on average per month)
Funding source: UIS 2024 Competitive Scholarly Research Grant
Amount funded: $4,700
Duration: 5/16/2024 – 5/15/2025
Courses
MPH501: Introduction to Public Health
MPH503: Biostatistics
MPH511: Epidemiology (EPI I)
MPH512: Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases
MPH513: Epidemiology of Chronic Diseases
MPH514: Analytical Epidemiology (EPI II)
PAD656: Quantitative Research Methods
Student Research Advising See all studies >
Committee/Team Involvement
UIS Faculty Mentor and Ambassador, One Health Illinois Pilot Program, jointly led by Discovery Partners Institute at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and the Illinois Department of Public Health
Faculty Advisor of UIS Biostatistics & Epidemiology Society (a student chapter of the American Statistical Association)
Member of UIS Academic Integrity Policy Hearing Panel (2026 - )
Member of UIS Committee on Parking Appealing (2025/2027)
Member of UIS Committee on Assurance of Student Learning (2024/2027)
Member at large of College of Health, Science, and Technology (CHST) Executive Committee (2024/2027)
CHST Learning Technology & Innovations Team
ver. July 2026