I conduct research on mental health disparities experienced by communities of color. My work aims to pursue justice and health equity for under-resourced intersectional populations using community-based participatory research and mixed methods. 

As an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of San Francisco, my current courses include: General Psychology, Health Psychology, and Advanced Research Topics: Evidence-based Therapies.

I earned my doctoral degree as a clinical scientist from the University of Washington, and completed my postdoctoral research fellowship in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University and the National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder at the Palo Alto VA Healthcare System. I received my undergraduate training in Psychology and Biology from Washington University in St. Louis. 

In terms of my background, I am Taiwanese-American and I grew up in rural Indonesia and China as a third-culture kid whose academic, family, and host country cultures each prescribed unique ways of living. In our formative education, we were taught at least three ways of doing everything, and I remember the fifteen students of my first grade class (at North Jakarta International School) came from eleven different countries. This heterogeneity meant that we needed to think in ways that encompass and celebrate differences, instilled from the beginning with humility to know that our personal perspective is simply one way of seeing. As a result, cultural humility is a central value guiding my approach to research, teaching, community engagement, and clinical work.

As a licensed clinical psychologist who researches intervention development, it is also important for me to stay connected to delivering mental health services. I am part of a group clinical practice where I primarily see clients who have experienced race-based stress and trauma.