I am a practicing clinical psychologist and Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF). The mission of my research program is to promote health equity by developing accessible interventions to facilitate individuals' acquisition of skills and/or utilization of evidence-based treatment. These interventions aim to empower individuals to make informed health decisions and actions, such as being committed in tobacco abstinence or obtaining needed cancer screening, and taking an active role in caring for their own health. My current research program has two arms: 1) The primary arm focuses on nicotine dependence and smoking cessation treatment research in underserved populations, including Asian American smokers in community and primary care settings, currently funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the Tobacco Related Disease Research Program (TRDRP). 2) The secondary arm focuses on health promotion in Asian Americans using community-based participatory research approaches. These include promoting colorectal cancer screening, healthy nutrition and physical activity through peer and family outreach, and mobile interactive interventions.

Since 2000, I have been actively involved in research and clinical teaching providing both didactic training and supervision to predoctoral and postdoctoral trainees at UCSF. My teaching mission is to tailor the training experience and the scope of the projects to each individual’s stage of career development. Many of my trainees are from ethnic minority groups underrepresented in the field of tobacco control or other health disciplines. Most of the trainees are also interested in conducting research targeting minority groups addressing the needs of California’s and the Nation’s diverse population. Establishing the next generation of research mentors is my favorite mission as an educator.