People

Our academic staff members are top-level scholars and educators who are dedicated to our social mission of providing world-class education and cultivating the next generation of academic leaders. Many of our members are graduates of renowned international universities and leading authorities in their fields and publish in prestigious high-impact journals. You can find further information about our staff research interests and recent publications by visiting their profiles. As for our students, they actively participate in research activities independently or in collaboration with academic staff members and other graduate students; as a result, many of them have secured careers in academia and industry at the national, regional, and international levels.

MEMBERS OF THE SOCIAL WORK TEAM

Prof. TAM, Hau Lin Cherry譚巧蓮
Associate Professor / Associate Head
Overview

Research Interests/Areas

  • Youth related concerns and issues
  • Social work development in China
  • Life of young migrant workers in China
  • Significance of fieldwork practice
  • Qualitative research methods

Learn More

Office
LI 5666
Tel. no.
3442-7748
Prof. KWOK LAI, Yuk Ching Sylvia 郭黎玉晶
Professor / Associate Dean, SGS
Overview

Professor Sylvia Kwok is Professor in the Department of Social and Behavioural Sciences (SS) at the City University of Hong Kong. Sylvia is currently Associate Dean in the Chow Yei Ching School of Graduate Studies. She has served as Associate Head (Postgraduate Education and Research) in SS from 2022 to 2023. She is listed among the top 2% of the most highly cited scientists in Social Work in the world in 2022, according to metrics compiled by Stanford University. Her research mainly focuses on the family ecological and positive psychological factors that are related to anxiety, depression, suicide, and wellbeing of children and adolescents. She has published over 70 papers related to children and adolescent mental health issues, parenting and positive education in high-impact international refereed journals. As she is an expert in positive education and parenting, she has been invited as guest speaker and keynote speaker in different local and international conferences and symposiums. She has got over $70M research grants from UGC and non-UGC funding sources. As the convenor of the Positive Education Laboratory, she has collaborated with over 300 local schools (from pre-primary schools to universities), social welfare agencies, and corporates to promote positive education for the students, teachers, parents, employees, and the community. She has published over 10 manuals on positive education that have been uploaded to the positive education laboratory website http://www6.cityu.edu.hk/ss_posed.

Sylvia was granted the Second Class National Teaching Achievement Award in the 2022 Higher Education (Undergraduate) Award by the Ministry of Education in China, the Teaching Award (Team) by the University Grants Committee in 2021, Teaching Excellence Award Finalist (Individual) in 2021, Teaching Innovation Award (Team) in 2019 and Excellence in Knowledge Transfer Award in 2013 by the City University of Hong Kong. She also got the Distinguished Alumni Award (Social Sciences) from the University of Hong Kong in 2020. Locally, Sylvia is Fellow of the Hong Kong Academy of Social Work. She has been the assessment panel member of RGC Competitive Research Funding Schemes for the Local Self-financing Degree Sector (Humanities and Social Sciences) since 2021. She is also the assessment panel member of the Social Workers Registration Board for qualification recognition review of social work programmes in Hong Kong. Internationally, she is the regional representative lead in the Positive Education Division of the International Positive Psychology Association.

Learn More

Office
LI 5648
Tel. no.
3442-8976
Prof. WONG, Sing Wing Dennis黃成榮
Professor / Discipline Leader
Overview

Prof. Dennis S.W. WONG, Ph.D., is currently Professor of Criminology & Social Work at Department of Social and Behavioural Sciences. He served as an associate dean at the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences from 2012-2019 and the Acting University Librarian from 2019-2020. His areas of teaching and research are criminology, youth studies, parents-child relationships, conflict management, and restorative justice. Prof Wong is honorary consultant on youth drugs abuse, school bullying, and offenders’ rehabilitation for governmental organizations in Hong Kong, Macau, and Singapore. He is one of the founding members of Asian Criminological Society, an active member of Asia Pacific Forum of Restorative Justice, and chairman / board member for a number of non-governmental organizations. Apart from publishing articles in local and international journals, he has published six books related to youth delinquency, school bullying, alternative to prosecution, mediation, and restorative justice. His areas of teaching and research are criminology, youth studies, parent-child relationships, conflict management, and restorative justice.

Learn More

Office
LI 5650
Tel. no.
3442-8831
Prof. CHAN, Siu Ming 陳紹銘
Assistant Professor
Overview

Prof. Siu Ming CHAN worked as a frontline social worker in community settings for eight years before embarking on his academic journey. He served the underprivileged, including homeless people, low-income families living in cubicles and subdivided flats, poor children, and the elderly, through direct service, group work, and community organizing. He also conducted policy research and surveys related to vulnerable groups facing poverty, housing problems, and other community issues.

Learn More

Office
LI 5631
Tel. no.
3442-7994
Mr. CHAN, Wai Man Raymond陳偉文
Instructor I
Overview

Learn More

Office
LI 5602
Tel. no.
3442-4744
Dr. CHAN, Yue Kuen Estella 陳裕娟
Instructor I
Overview

Learn More

Office
LI 5602
Tel. no.
3442-8967
Prof. FUNG, Lai Chu Annis 馮麗姝
Associate Professor
Overview

FUNG Lai-chu Annis is an Associate Professor in a Social Work and Counselling Discipline. Her research and teaching areas are children and youth in school bullying, aggressive behaviour, peer victimisation, and innovative counselling interventions. She established the Children and Adolescents at Risk Education Laboratory (C.A.R.E. Lab.), which focuses on developing and scientifically evaluating various original interventions to reduce face-to-face aggression and bullying. Approaches such as the cognitive-behavioural approach, the physio-moral approach (e.g., Chinese martial arts and ethics), the neurobiological approach (e.g., Omega-3 supplementation), the social information-processing approach (e.g., storytelling), and the social learning approach (e.g., parenting efficacy) have been adopted to tackle these issues. Over 150 elementary and middle schools have been involved. In responding to social changes and needs during the COVID-19 pandemic, Annis established a new development of Cyber-Joy Enjoy Laboratory under C.A.R.E. Lab. in 2020. Cyberbullying has been a significant concern as students mostly rely on social networks to stay connected to friends and communities; hence, she developed evidence-based intervention based on emotion-focused therapy on cyberbullying and online victimization for young people.

Learn More

Office
LI 5663
Tel. no.
3442-2923
Dr. IP, Chi Shun Dennis葉智淳
Instructor I
Overview

Learn More

Office
LI 5602
Tel. no.
3442-2697
Ms. KO, Kit Mui Samantha 高潔梅
Visiting Fellow
Office
LI 5621
Tel. no.
3442-4202
Prof. KWAN, Chi Kin 關志健
Assistant Professor
Overview

Learn More

Office
LI 5623
Tel. no.
3442-4532
Ms. KWAN Chuen Tak Kolla關荃德
Visiting Fellow
Office
LI 5602
Tel. no.
3442-8745
Dr. KWOK, Kim 郭儉
Assistant Professor
Overview

Learn More

Office
LI 5632
Tel. no.
3442-5798
Ms. LAM, Ying Hing Fly林英卿
Visiting Fellow
Office
LI 5621
Tel. no.
3442-8966
Prof. LIN, Shen Lamson林珅
Assistant Professor
Overview

Prof. Shen (Lamson) Lin received his Ph.D. degree from the University of Toronto's Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work (FIFSW). With interdisciplinary training in social work (FIFSW), gerontology (Institute for Life Course & Aging), and population health (Dalla Lana School of Public Health), Lamson's scholarship centers around social determinants of health, minority ageing, health and mental health equity.

More recently, Lamson's research has been using statistical and computational techniques to examine the mechanisms, risk and protective factors, through which the COVID-19 pandemic influences individuals' psychosocial wellbeing (e.g., anxiety disorders, loneliness, stigma, and vaccine hesitancy). As a first-generation college graduate from his family, Lamson recognizes social/structural vulnerability (e.g., racialized identity, migration status, job precairty) in shaping resource distribution, power dynamics and consequantial health inequalities across the human life course.

To date, Lamson has published 19 SCI/SSCI-indexed scholarly articles and his representative papers can be found in top-tier peer-reviewed journals across health and social sciences, including Journal of Affective Disorders, Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences (Oxford University Press), Ageing & Society (Cambridge University Press), Journal of Social Work, Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health. Prior to joining CityU, he was a course instructor teaching Social Work Practice in Health (MSW postgraduate course) at FIFSW since 2020.

Lamson has received multiple academic awards from professional organizations in North America, including the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) - 2018 Best Abstract Award (Gero-Ed Track), Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR)- 2019 Travel Grant, Society of Refugee Healthcare Providers (SRHP)- 2019 Best Original Research Award - and Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) - 2020 Travel grant for CPHA Conference.

Learn More

Office
LI 5624
Tel. no.
3442-8768
Prof. LU, Shiyu Tracy盧施羽
Assistant Professor
Overview

Prof. Lu's research focuses on social determinants of healthy ageing, with a special emphasis on how environmental (e.g., neighbourhood physical and social environment) and social-behavioural factors (e.g., civic participation and volunteering) shape well-being, physical and mental health in later life…

Learn More

Office
LI 5625
Tel. no.
3442-8839
Mrs. LUI LEUNG, Wai Hing Frances 雷梁慧卿
Instructor I
Overview

Learn More

Office
LI 5602
Tel. no.
3442-9722
Prof. YEUNG, Wai Keung Jerf 楊偉強
Associate Professor
Overview

Jerf Yeung joined the Department of Social and Behavioural Sciences at City University of Hong Kong in 2013. He is a registered social worker and obtained his PhD in social work from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Before teaching in university, he has engaged in social work services and related research since he graduated in social work from City University of Hong Kong and worked in the fields of youth, children and family, and elderly services. His research interests include family and children, religion and health, and adolescent health.

Learn More

Office
LI 5639
Tel. no.
3442-9989
Prof. Young, Kim Wan Daniel楊劍雲
Associate Professor
Office
LI 5618
Tel. no.
3442-8954
Dr. TAM, Wai Yiu Nelson譚偉耀
Visiting Fellow
Office
LI 5601
Tel. no.
3442-8116