Yuanjian is working on a policy experiment to study the impact of different pollution control policy configurations on firms' behavior and the level of industrial pollution in Gujarat, India. 

Yuanjian obtained her Bachelors in Earth and Planetary Sciences and Economics from Harvard University. While in school, she conducted research in behavior economics and on wind energy in China, co-founded a 400-person liberal arts conference in China (HSYLC), and led a safe water supply project in the Dominican Republic as a part of Engineers without Borders. Before joining J-PAL in 2010, Yuanjian worked for Morgan Stanley Asia as an investment banking analyst covering the Technology sector.