Dr Xuechen XIONG joined the Department of Applied Social Sciences at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University in 2025. She holds a PhD in Public Health from Fudan University, Shanghai, China. Dr XIONG’s research interests focus on health economics and health policy, with particular emphasis on the cost-effectiveness of health interventions (such as vaccines, cancer screening, and primary healthcare management) and the burden of modifiable risk factors (including alcohol use, smoking, and dietary habits). Her recent studies have examined the economic burden of modifiable risk factors in China, the long-term effects of national drug policies, and spatial inequalities in primary healthcare access.

Dr XIONG is actively engaged in policy-relevant research. Her cost-effectiveness analysis of the Vaccine Allergy Safety Track programme has informed public health strategies to improve vaccine uptake in Hong Kong. Her spatial equity analysis of health resources contributed to planning decisions by the Shanghai Health Commission for the 2015–2020 primary healthcare strategy. She is currently collaborating with the China Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC) to model the health and economic impact of alcohol control policies in China.

• PhD in Public Health, Fudan University