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 personalized intervention to enhance caregiving mastery and psychosocial wellbeing among high-deman dementia caregivers, or caregivers who meet one of the following criteria: age 65 or older, provide 10 or more hours of direct care per week, work 20 or more hours per week in addition to caregiving, also care for another family member, or experience difficulty covering basic living expenses.
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.