Biography

I am an Experimental Psychologist by training. 

My undergraduate degree (Bachelor of Science in Psychology ) is from East China Normal University (ECNU) in Shanghai, China, and I have a Master's Degree in Developmental Psychology from ECNU. I have a PhD in Experimental Psychology from Texas Christian University (TCU) in Fort Worth, TX, U.S.A. 

It took me some time to find my research interests and career goals. As an undergraduate student, I was super interested in the French language and economics. I minored in French and completed a French immersion program sponsored by the French Consulate in Shanghai. I also read multiple economics books and was fascinated by the predictive power of economic models. Meanwhile, I interned at a municipal psychiatric hospital and was able to shadow psychiatrists who work with patients with various psychiatric symptoms.  

In my junior year, I participated in a research lab, mentored by Dr. Ciping Deng, and started to grow an interest in developmental psychopathology. After obtaining a bachelor's degree, I continued working with my research mentor in a master's program at ECNU. During this period, I found my interest in studying psychological functioning related to substance use. After graduation, I came to the United States to pursue a Ph.D. degree at Texas Christian University (TCU), where I worked with a wonderful research team at TCU's Institute of Behavioral Research and studied topics pertinent to substance use and related behaviors. Here, I also found my passion in statistics. 

Upon receiving my Ph.D. in experimental psychology at Texas Christian University (TCU) in 2014, I obtained a tenure-track assistant professor position in psychology at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, where I taught both undergraduate and graduate classes while continuing my research in health-risk behaviors. During my tenure at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, I collaborated with community stakeholders to examine factors associated with psychosocial functioning and substance treatment process and outcome variables among justice-involved individuals. In addition, my lab developed and pilot-tested a hope-based intervention for women from a jail setting.  The intervention was based on Jane Goodall's The Book of Hope: A Survival Guide for Trying Times. Although I enjoyed teaching and mentoring college students, a heavy teaching load prevents me from making as much effort in research as I would have desired. In Fall 2019, I was extended an opportunity to be part of TCU's Institute of Behavioral Research team and work on a NIDA-funded project focusing on justice-involved youth. I decided to leave the tenure-track position and (re-)joined the research institute (Institute of Behavioral Research) where I called my research home.