Research Interests
- - Developing and evaluating personalized behavioral interventions for chronic disease self-care and caregiving.
- - Improving the delivery, adoption, and sustained use of evidence-based health programs across diverse populations and settings.
- - Enhancing clinical decision-making, resource allocation, and patient-provider communication through AI and integration of multimodal data sources (EHR, patient-generated data).
Active Projects
NIH R01AG090610 · WECARE 3.0: A Personalized Intervention for High-demand Dementia Caregivers. 2025–2030 · $3,088,427 · Role: PI
A randomized controlled trial (RCT) of a culturally tailored, AI-enabled social media intervention to enhance caregiving mastery and psychosocial wellbeing among Chinese American dementia
caregivers.
NSF (Award #251736) · Enhancing AI Literacy among Older Adults through Intergenerational Digital Storytelling Intergenerational AI Literacy through Digital Story telling. 2025–2028 · $661,478 · Role: Co-PI (Lead PI: Janice Zhang, William & Mary)
Develops and evaluates an interactive platform that allows older adults and youth to co-design digital storytelling experiences, strengthening AI literacy, social connectedness, and resilience.
Virginia Geriatrics Training Institute· DERA: Dementia Education Resources for Action· 2025–2026 · $24,954 · Role: PI
An online training program developed using generative AI and user-centered design to strengthen community health workers’ ADRD-related skills in serving underserved minority populations; currently in RCT evaluation.
Featured Completed Projects
NIA Roybal Center (P30AG064200) · WECARE 2.0: Wellness Enhancement for Caregivers. 2023–2024 · $119,000 · Role: PI
Pilot of an improved WeChat-based personalized intervention for Chinese American dementia caregivers, focused on process evaluation and user engagement.
DHHS Office of Minority Health· Stronger2: Stronger Partnership, Stronger Community. 2021–2024 · $3,850,000 · Role: Subcontract PI for evaluation (Lead PI: Anthony Mingo, Fairfax County Health Department)
A community-academic partnership program improving health literacy, access to services, and
resilience in underserved minority communities of the Greater Washington DC area.
Virginia Center for Aging Alzheimer’s Research Award Fund · ARICAA /WECARE 1.0: Alzheimer’s Research Inquiry and Care for Asian Americans · 2021–2022 · $45,000 · Role: PI
Protocol development for a culturally tailored social media-based program to promote awareness of and participation in Alzheimer’s research among Asian Americans; foundational stage of the WECARE program.
HRSA (U1CRH30040) · Southwest Rural Health Research Center: Digital Divide and Rural-Urban Health Disparities · 2016–2019 · $2,800,000 (center total) · Role: Co-Investigator and Project-PI (Lead PI: Jane Bolin, Texas A&M)
Examined eHealth behaviors, the digital divide, and rural-urban health disparities, and explored
strategies for scaling evidence-based eHealth programs in underserved rural areas.
China NSFC + Rockefeller Foundation China Medical Boards · Run4Love: mHealth Intervention for People Living with HIV · 2016–2020 · $180,000 (combined) · Role: Co-PI (Lead PI: Yan Guo, Sun Yatsen University)
A WeChat-based mHealth intervention shown in a multi-site randomized controlled trial to reduce depressive symptoms among people living with HIV in China, with effects sustained at long-term follow-up.
Baylor Scott & White Foundation· National Library of Medicine· iCanFit: Personalized Intervention for Older Cancer Survivors · 2011–2017 · $150,000 combined · Role: PI
A mobile-enabled web application developed using community-based participatory methods to promote physical activity and access to health information among older cancer survivors
Selected Earlier Funded Projects
- EMBRACE: Empowering and Building Resilience through Active Coalition and Education — Mason Institute of Sustainable Earth · 2023–2024 · PI
- EARBUD: Wearable Sensor System for Dietary Monitoring — GMU CPH Seed Grant · 2021– 2022 · PI
- eHealth Behaviors and Digital Divide in the U.S.: A Longitudinal Analysis — Informatics Education Fund · 2020–2021 · $10,000 · PI
- KakaoTalk-based HBV Screening Intervention for Korean Americans — Potomac Health Foundation · 2020–2022 · mPI (Lead PI: Soo Yee, Korean American Outreach Group)
- Patient-Provider Communication in the Digital Era — TAMU T3 + PESCA grants · 2017–2019 · · PI
- Central Texas Cancer Prevention Center Research Network — CDC · 2009–2014 · $1,600,000 · CoInvestigator (Lead PI: Marcia Ory, Texas A&M)
Full CV available upon request.