Dr. Yu is an Associate Professor in Health Psychology at the Institute of Applied Psychology, Tianjin University. His research focuses on health psychology and physiological psychology, with a particular focus on the impacts of social isolation and loneliness on physical and mental health.

His team has conducted a series of studies investigating the effects of social isolation and loneliness on cognitive function, mental health, physical health, sleep quality, and mortality within Chinese populations. These findings have garnered significant international attention and recognition. Their research employs diverse methodologies, including population studies and laboratory experiments.

As the first or corresponding author, he has published over 30 scientific papers in leading journals such as Trends in Cognitive Sciences, Psychological Medicine, Depression and Anxiety, Biological Psychology, Psychosomatic Medicine, Age and Ageing, and the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. His work has been cited more than 1,700 times, and his Google Scholar H-index is 23. He also serves as an editorial board member for BMC Geriatrics and as a peer reviewer for renowned journals, including Nature Human Behaviour, Nature Communications, The Lancet Healthy Longevity, Psychological Medicine, and Health Psychology.

To address the global impact of social isolation and loneliness, the World Health Organization (WHO) established the Technical Advisory Group on Social Connection (TAG-SC) in 2024, and he is honored to be the only expert selected from mainland China for this group. (Details: WHO TAG-SC Members.)