Dr. Wenhui Feng

Biography

Dr. Wenhui Feng is a public policy researcher focused on food and health policies. Her research employs policy analysis methods to examine various health policies. She primarily focuses on obesity-related policies, including menu labeling and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Her current work evaluates the role that dollar stores play in the food retail landscape, the household-level food acquisition and dietary quality, administrative burden of social safety-net programs, and regulatory policy making.

Dr. Feng is an associate editor of Frontiers in Nutrition, Food Policy and Economics.

Education

  • Ph.D., University at Albany, State University of New York
  • Master of Public Policy, Arizona State University 
  • Bachelor of Management Science, South China University of Technology

Selected Publications

  1. Feng, W., Page., E.; Sun, B.; Cash, S. B. The Healthfulness of Foods Purchased at Dollar Stores, 2008-2020, Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. In Press.
  2. Feng, W., Barry, N., Mazure, M., Page., E., Blumenthal, C., Cash, S. B. Dollar Stores as Food Retailers in the United States: A Scoping Review. Preventive Medicine, 196 (2025) 108295. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2025.108295
  3. Feng, W., Fromkin, H., Harney, J. B., Evans, R., Gerrity, C. M., & Cash, S. B. (2024). Perspective: Food Access at Dollar Stores and its Implications for Public Health: Report of a Workshop on Identifying Research Priorities. Advances in Nutrition, 100319. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.advnut.2024.100319
  4. Feng, W., Page, E. T., & Cash, S. B. (2023). Dollar Stores and Food Access for Rural Households in the United States, 2008‒2020. American Journal of Public Health, 113(3), 331–336. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2022.307193
  5. Feng, W., Lischko, A., Martin, E. G., Skeer, M., Kaplan, A., Wang, Y., & Stopka, T. J. (2022). Who Are the Local Policy Innovators? Cluster Analysis of Municipal Tobacco Control Policies in Massachusetts. Journal of Public Health Management and Practice: JPHMP. https://doi.org/10.1097/PHH.0000000000001649
  6. Acevedo, A., Feng, W., Corlin, L., Allen, J., Levine, P., Stopka, T. (2022) Experiences with and Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic in the United States Differences by Substance Use Disorder Status, 2020. PLOS One. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0271788
  7. Fox, A., Feng, W., Reynolds, M. (2022) The Effect of Administrative Burden on State Safety-Net Participation: Evidence from SNAP, TANF and Medicaid. Public Administration Review. 1– 18. https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.13497
  8. Stopka, T. J., Feng, W., Corlin, L., King, E., Mistry, J., Mansfield, W., Wang, Y., Levine, P., & Allen, J. D. (2022). Assessing equity in health, wealth, and civic engagement: a nationally representative survey, United States, 2020. International Journal for Equity in Health, 21(1), 12. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-021-01609-w
  9. Fox, A., Choi, Y., Feng, W. (2022) Is Ideology Bad for Our Health? Why Political Partisanship Should be Routinely Asked on Population Health Surveys. Health Affairs Forefront. https://doi.org/10.1377/forefront.20220118.990519
  10. Feng, W., & Fox, A. M. (2022). What’s the Hold Up? The FDA’s Delayed Implementation of Menu-Labeling Policy. Administration & Society, 54(6), 1045–1088. https://doi.org/10.1177/00953997211050308
  11. Allen, J. D., Feng, W., Corlin, L., Porteny, T., Acevedo, A., Schildkraut, D., King, E., Ladin, K., Fu, Q., & Stopka, T. J. (2021). Why are some people reluctant to be vaccinated for COVID-19? A cross-sectional survey among U.S. Adults in May-June 2020. Preventive Medicine Reports, 24, 101494. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmedr.2021.101494
  12. Feng, W. (2022). The Effects of Changing SNAP Work Requirement on the Health and Employment Outcomes of Able-Bodied Adults without Dependents. Journal of the American Nutrition Association, 41(3), 281–290. https://doi.org/10.1080/07315724.2021.1879692
  13. Dong, K. R., & Feng, W. (2021). SNAP Restrictions that Punish People Formerly and Currently Under Correctional Supervision. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 32(2), 654–663. https://doi.org/10.1353/hpu.2021.0094
  14. Fox, A. M., Feng, W., Zeitlin, J., & Howell, E. A. (2020). Trends In State Medicaid Eligibility, Enrollment Rules, And Benefits. Health Affairs, 39(11), 1909-1916. doi:10.1377/hlthaff.2019.01350
  15. Feng, W., & Martin, E. G. (2020). Fighting obesity at the local level? An analysis of predictors of local health departments’ policy involvement. Preventive Medicine, 133, 106006. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2020.106006
  16. Fox, A., Stazyk, E., Feng, W. (2020) Administrative Easing: Rule Reduction and Medicaid Enrollment. Public Administration Review, 80:1. doi.org/10.1111/puar.13131