Featured PhD Graduates
Dr. Henry Ho completed his PhD at the City University of Hong Kong in 2014 under the supervision of Prof. Dannii Yeung. Afterward, he worked as a post-doctoral fellow at the School of Public Health, University of Hong Kong. He subsequently joined the Department of Psychology at the Education University of Hong Kong, where he currently serves as an Assistant Professor. Dr. Ho’s research focuses on understanding how individuals can effectively navigate the demands of work while finding engagement, satisfaction, and thriving in the process.
He has secured funding from the Research Grants Council’s General Research Fund (GRF), the Equal Opportunities Commission’s (EOC) Funding Programme of Research Projects and Commissioned Research Projects to investigate workplace mistreatment, workplace discrimination, and work-family conflict. His work has been published in esteemed journals such as Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being, Health Psychology, Journal of Happiness Studies, and Journal of Positive Psychology. Dr. Ho has received several prestigious awards, including the APS Rising Star designation by the Association for Psychological Science, Dean’s Research Award and Faculty Teaching Award at the Education University of Hong Kong, and Young Investigator Award at the University of Hong Kong.
Dr. Ho’s profile can be accessed at this link:
https://www.eduhk.hk/pswellbeing/view.php?m=53474&secid=53485
Dr. Jiasheng Huang completed her PhD in 2020 under the supervision of Prof. Nancy Xiaonan Yu. Currently, she serves as an associate professor in the Department of Psychology at Sun Yat-sen University. Her major research areas include the promotion of physical and mental health among at-risk populations. Dr. Huang focuses on the intervenable determinants of mental health, particularly through mindfulness constructs such as mindful parenting and self-compassion. She also studies the reciprocal influence between lifestyle behaviors and psychological well-being, employing advanced methodologies like psychological networks and machine learning.
Dr. Huang has secured several prestigious research grants, including the National Science Foundation Grant and the Ministry of Education Project of Humanities and Social Science of China. Her work is well-published and recognized in the academic community, with publications in prominent journals including Applied Psychology: Well-being and Health, Midwifery, Mindfulness, and Structural Equation Modeling. Additionally, she contributes to the field as a reviewer for numerous esteemed journals.
For more information on Dr. Huang's research and contributions, please visit her professional page:
https://psy.sysu.edu.cn/teacher/892.
Dr. Xiang LI received her PhD in Social Work in 2013 under the supervision of Professor Annis FUNG Lai Chu. Subsequently, she was awarded a postdoctoral fellowship at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) and worked as a research fellow at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, where she continued to expand on her research interests in child development, antisocial behavior, and mental health. Dr. LI is currently an Assistant Professor at the Department of Applied Social Sciences, PolyU.
To date, she has published more than 30 research articles in SSCI journals within her fields (e.g., Psychological Assessment, Journal of Youth and Adolescence, and Development and Psychopathology) and secured a total of around 3 million as a Principal Investigator from multiple research grants (e.g., Early Career Scheme and General Research Fund). As an expert in her field, Dr. Li serves as an Editorial Board member of Child Psychiatry & Human Development and a reviewer for many leading journals (e.g., Computers in Human Behavior and Trauma, Violence, & Abuse). In recognition of her outstanding teaching quality, Dr. LI received the Gold Award (Nurturing Wellbeing & Purpose) in the Wharton-QS Stars Reimagine Education Awards 2021 (as a team member).
For more information about Dr. Li, please visit:
https://www.polyu.edu.hk/apss/people/academic-staff/dr-li-xiang/
Dr. Mac Ma completed his PhD in Psychology in 2021 under the supervision of Prof. Sam Ye at City University of Hong Kong. Following his graduation, he held a postdoctoral fellowship studying the effects of disease threats on psychological and behavioral changes. In 2023, Dr. Ma joined The Hong Kong Polytechnic University as a Research Assistant Professor. He leverages his extensive experience in health and social psychology and applied social sciences, focusing on the innovative use of big data and technological applications. His work also explores the impact of societal changes on cultural influences, public health, and social behaviors.
Dr. Ma's research has been published in top-tier journals, including Social Psychological and Personality Science, Applied Psychology: Health and Wellbeing, Computers in Human Behavior, SSM-Population Health, and BMC Public Health. His work provides deep insights into the psychological and behavioral responses to public health challenges and the role of digital behavior in health and social psychology. It has attracted significant funding, including a notable $500,000 grant from the MHRC 3rd Mini-seed Fund Scheme of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Actively engaged academically, he reviews for several scientific journals. Dr. Ma's numerous accolades highlight his impactful contributions to advancing public health and social sciences.
For more information, please visit:
https://www.polyu.edu.hk/apss/people/academic-staff/dr-mac-ma/
Prof. Ting Kin Ng completed his PhD in Psychology in 2013 under the supervision of Prof. Sik Hung Ng and Prof. Sam Ye. Following his graduation, he held postdoctoral fellowships at City University of Hong Kong and The University of Hong Kong, and served as a Research Assistant Professor at Lingnan University. He is currently an Assistant Professor at Lingnan University.
His research interests encompass cross-cultural psychology, social psychology, mental health, and psychometrics. He has published over 50 journal articles indexed in Web of Science and served as an Associate Editor of Current Psychology.
For more in-depth information about his research, please visit:
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=0kH2d3sAAAAJ&hl
Dr. Diyang QU completed her PhD in Psychology in 2023 under the supervision of Prof. Nancy YU Xiaonan. Following her graduation, she pursued a postdoctoral fellowship at Tsinghua University, where her research focused on implementing mental health programs in low-resource areas. She has actively conducted research and made significant contributions to the field of health psychology. Dr. QU's research has been supported by prestigious grants, including the 73rd China Postdoctoral Science Foundation Funded Project.
Her research findings have been recognized through publication in renowned journals, such as Nature Mental Health, JAMA Network Open, and The Lancet Regional Health–Western Pacific. Dr. QU has also served as a reviewer for scholarly publications, showcasing her expertise. In recognition of her exceptional contributions, Dr. QU has received the prestigious Shuimu Tsinghua Scholar and Vanke Scholar awards from Tsinghua University.
For more detailed information about Dr. QU's research, please visit:
https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=zh-CN&user=2-0zaaUAAAAJ
Xiaoyu Zhou completed her PhD degree in 2019 from the Department of Social and Behavioural Sciences at City University of Hong Kong. She was supervised by Prof. Dannii Yeung. During her studies, she was awarded the Fulbright Visiting Student Award, which sponsored her overseas exchange at Ball State University in the United States.
After graduation, she worked as a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Department of Psychology, School of Social Sciences at Tsinghua University, and then took up a Visiting Fellow post in the Department of Social and Behavioural Sciences at City University of Hong Kong. Currently, she is a Lecturer (equivalent to an assistant professor) at the Center for Computational Communication Research at Beijing Normal University Zhuhai campus.
Her research focuses on the impact of emotions on cognition and behavior in interpersonal or social communication. She has published several articles in top-tier SSCI journals as the first author, including Emotion and The Journal of Positive Psychology. She also serves as a reviewer for international journals, such as the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Motivation and Emotion, and Social and Personality Psychology Compass.
Her professional profile can be accessed at the following link:
https://rsgyy.bnu.edu.cn/yjjg/jszbxyjzx/rcdw6/bab39a7dfdee42009252a8ea5ef542d1.html
