University Times

Pitt researcher Evelyn Han-Li Wei died on Jan. 23, 2004, after being struck two days earlier by a minivan near her home in Regent Square. She was 33.

Wei earned her Ph.D. in psychiatric epidemiology in 1999 at Pitt’s Graduate School of Public Health (GSPH). She held a B.S. in psychology, also from Pitt, earned in 1993.

Since 2002, Wei had served as senior research principal at the Pittsburgh Youth Study, part of UPMC’s life history studies program at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic (WPIC).

According to program co-director Rolf Loeber, Wei was an integral part of the program throughout her graduate studies.
“She worked with us for over 10 years,” said Loeber, who also is a professor of psychiatry, psychology and epidemiology “She was a very analytical researcher, good to work with, who grew in her capabilities, and who was able to turn her mind to a number of projects simultaneously.” Some of these projects focused on neighborhood violence, child development, substance use and violence, and demographic factors in juvenile delinquency, among others.

“She had a keen mind and a public health orientation that allowed her to see which projects were worthwhile pursuing,” Loeber continued. “Because she maintained contact with a number of our collaborators from around the world, she served us very well as a kind of intermediary for disseminating our data. She was also an excellent mentor to junior staff. She will be sorely missed.”

Among her academic positions, Wei was a pre- and post doctoral fellow in psychiatric/alcohol epidemiology at WPIC from 1994 to 2002; senior data manager/analyst at the Pittsburgh Youth Study 1998-2000, and research assistant and research associate at the Center for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention, Department of Applied Research Family Health Council, Inc., 1996-1998.

She held professional membership in the American Society of Criminology (2001-2004 ) and the American Public Health Association (1995-1997). She earned the Student Merit Award from the Research Society on Alcoholism (1997) and her doctoral thesis, a study of predictors of teenage fatherhood, was selected for discussion at a student workshop by the Society for Epidemiologic Research (1996).

Wei’s thesis adviser, Nancy Day, professor of psychiatry and epidemiology, said, “She was a lovely person, a great scholar and capable of doing multi-faceted research. While she was a free spirit with a wonderful imagination, she took her friends very seriously. As her mentor for many years, I can say she was very well trained and was ready to take off with her career.”

Wei held active grants as co-investigator from the National Institute of Mental Health, studying mental health effects on young men’s violence; and from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Division of Violence Prevention, evaluating secondary data of the links between suicidal thoughts and serious violent behavior, part of the Pittsburgh Youth Study.

GSPH Dean Bernard Goldstein stated, “Dr. Wei was known as a wonderful colleague, an outstanding scientist and a kind and considerate friend. Our deepest sympathies go to the family and friends of this vibrant young woman on their tragic loss.”

Wei’s mother, Yuling L. Wei, is a senior research associate at GSPH’s Department of Epidemiology, who has been with the public health school since 1985, Goldstein noted.

In addition to her mother, Wei is survived by her husband, Michael J. Sukel III; her father, Donald, and her grandmother, Lily Li, both of Monroeville; her parents in-law, Michael and Claudia Sukel of North Hills; her brother in-law David Sukel and his daughter Julianna of Washington, D.C., and many aunts, uncles and cousins.

The family requests that contributions be made to the University of Pittsburgh — Evelyn H. Wei Memorial Fund, c/o Karen Crenshaw, GSPH, 130 DeSoto Street, Pittsburgh 15261. Gifts to this fund will support epidemiology students’ travel to conferences and meetings.

—Peter Hart