Xinyi Wang
xinyi.wang@asc.upenn.edu
Hi! I’m a Postdoctoral Fellow (NIH U01: Communication Messaging about the Continuum of Risk for Tobacco Products) at the Health Communication & Equity Lab at Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania. Previously, I completed my PhD at the Addiction, Health, & Adolescence (AHA!) Lab at the University of Pennsylvania. I’m also a fellow at the Leonard Davis Institute of Economics.
My research focuses on curiosity, information-seeking, and how do they impact our health behavior. My work explores internal processes (e.g., within-person fluctuations of emotions and cognitions), external influences (e.g., social influence, social relationships), and the dynamic interplay between them.
I leverage intensive-longitudinal, computational, and network-based methodologies to understand these questions.
Recent news:
Winner of the Annenberg Bake off 2026 by popular vote (with my Ube Tres Leches Cake!)
Received Health Equity Travel Award 2026 receipient from the Society of Research on Nicotine and Tobacco
Penn Today article on my dissertation: Sparking Curiosity for Better Learning and Better Lives
Education
Ph.D. Communication
Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania.
M.A. Statistics and Data Science
The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.
M.A. Journalism and Mass Communication
University of Wisconsin-Madison.
B.A. Journalism and Mass Communication
University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Interests
Curiosity
Health Information Seeking
Tobacco Control
Health Intervention
Experience Sampling