Dr. Shuqiao Yao Memorial Scholarship

My interest in psychology and psychiatry has developed through a combination of academic experiences, research involvement, and direct work with individuals navigating mental health challenges. As an Asian American student, I have also become increasingly aware of how mental health is often under-discussed in many communities, shaped by cultural stigma and expectations. This awareness has influenced my desire to pursue a field that not only advances scientific understanding, but also improves access to compassionate and culturally informed care. I am currently a student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, studying psychology with minors in chemistry and medical anthropology. Through this interdisciplinary background, I have become interested in how biological, developmental, and social factors interact to shape mental health. My research experience in the Cohen Lab has played a significant role in shaping this interest. As a research assistant on the BrainMAP study, I have worked with data examining how brain development relates to ADHD symptoms and academic outcomes over time. This experience has shown me how complex developmental changes are and how important it is to study them longitudinally. In addition, my previous work on the CogMAP study, which focused on cognitive changes in breast cancer patients, introduced me to the relationship between physical health and cognitive functioning. These experiences have strengthened my interest in research that has clear clinical relevance. Alongside research, my clinical and service experiences have deeply influenced my decision to pursue this field. As a Crisis Text Line counselor, I have supported individuals during moments of acute emotional distress, which made me more aware of how widespread and often invisible mental health struggles can be. I learned the importance of listening with intention and meeting people where they are. My time volunteering in the adolescent psychiatric unit at UNC Hospitals further exposed me to the ways in which developmental stage shapes how individuals experience and express mental health challenges. I became especially interested in working with children and adolescents, as well as in understanding how early experiences influence long-term outcomes. Working with neurodivergent children at Friends Camp reinforced this interest. I learned to adapt my communication style, pay attention to nonverbal cues, and approach each child with patience and flexibility. These experiences taught me that effective care requires not only knowledge, but also empathy, cultural awareness, and adaptability. They also deepened my interest in the intersection of development, environment, and mental health. My background has led me to pursue psychology and consider a future in psychiatry because I am drawn to work that bridges research and clinical care. I am particularly interested in understanding how brain development and environmental factors contribute to mental health outcomes, and how this knowledge can be used to improve treatment. I hope to contribute to research that advances our understanding of mental health while also working directly with individuals, especially those from communities where mental health is often overlooked. I do not have any publications at this time, but I am actively involved in research and hope to contribute to publications in the future.

Currently, I am a doctoral student in the Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program at Boston University, where my research centers on understanding the daily emotional and contextual dynamics that give rise to suicidal ideation. As an international student from China, a person of color, and a first-generation college student, my background has deeply shaped this commitment, not only by influencing the questions I hope to address, but by shaping my broader mission to develop personalized treatment that is culturally informed, inclusive, and grounded in real-world experience. My ongoing projects integrate ecological momentary assessment, situational taxonomy, and multilevel modeling to examine how emotion regulation strategies fluctuate across time and context to influence suicidal ideation. One line of my work uses dynamic structural models to study how emotion regulation strategies shift across the day and week. A parallel line of my research examines how cultural dimensions, such as tightness–looseness and collectivism, shape emotional processes and suicide risk across both U.S. states and countries. This work reflects my growing commitment to integrating cultural psychology with computational methods. As an international student who has experienced multiple cultural transitions, I have seen firsthand how cultural norms, social expectations, and shifting environments shape emotional expression, coping, and well-being. These experiences motivate my interest in the “contextual layer” of suicide risk, how culture, environment, and situational demands can shape emotional experience and regulation. My future work seeks to bridge these lines of inquiry by developing real-time, culturally responsive models of suicidal ideation, with the long-term goal of informing just-in-time adaptive interventions. I aim to use idiographic modeling to identify moment-to-moment transitions in emotional–suicidal states. Integrating cultural frameworks, I hope to determine how these transitions differ across individuals of diverse backgrounds, including Asian and Asian American communities. This direction is motivated by the belief that suicide risk is not only a psychological process but also a culturally contextualized one and that effective prevention requires understanding both. Clinically, I am receiving advanced training in cognitive-behavioral therapy and acceptance-based interventions at my institution. Working with individuals experiencing anxiety, trauma, and mood-related difficulties has further strengthened my conviction that research and practice must be deeply interconnected. My experiences as an Asian international trainee, navigating stigma and cultural barriers, inform my clinical skills. I have learned that approaching clients with cultural humility, respect for their lived experiences, and an appreciation for the complex ways identity and context shape mental health. My background has therefore influenced my path in two important ways. First, it has shaped my scientific questions: how cultural and contextual factors shape emotion regulation and suicide risk. Second, it motivates my broader career goal: to develop psychological research and interventions that are empirically rigorous, culturally grounded, and accessible to diverse communities. Ultimately, I hope to become a clinical scientist who advances our understanding of suicide through a combination of computational modeling, real-time assessment, and cultural psychology, work that aligns closely with Dr. Shuqiao Yao’s mission of improving mental health through integrative, culturally informed science. Thank you for your consideration! Li, S.M., Irani, K. & Liu, Q. (In press). Beyond depression severity: Symptom-specific associations of suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Journal of Adolescent Health. Li, S.M., Kobrinsky, V., Irani, K., Sangani, A. & Liu, Q. (2025). Neural correlates involved in behavioral metrics of emotion regulation, suicidal thoughts, and behaviors. Archives of Suicide Research: official journal of the International Academy for Suicide Research, 1–21. Advance online publication. Li, S.M., Kobrinsky, V., Bi, K. & Chen, M.S. (2025). An initial exploration of mechanisms contributing to higher suicidal ideation in bisexual+ compared to lesbian/gay individuals. Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity. Advance online publication.

I grew up in a typical Chinese family where emotions were rarely discussed, let alone mental illness. It was not until I was 16 years old that I realised what had plagued me since childhood was social anxiety. It came as such a relief -- all this time, I had come to believe that I was just not as strong or as capable as other people, and it was such a relief to know there was a name, a tangible explanation for myself. It was then that I knew I wanted to be a psychologist, and I wanted to help other young people who were silently struggling to get connected to care. I wanted young people to know that they are not morally flawed, and that there were skills and coping strategies they could learn to overcome their distress -- and most importantly, that they did not have to do this alone. I went on to train as a clinical psychologist (and on the way, becoming the first person in my family to attend university, and the first woman to be financially independent) and I founded The Brightly Project, a mental health organisation working with high schools in Hong Kong, Singapore, and China, where me and my team developed a mental health app that provides mental health education to adolescents and helps connect them with caring adults at their school. More than 10,000 students have used our program. I am continually focused on learning and bringing evidence-based tools back into East Asia. For example, I am currently receiving training in Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), which is a treatment that has shown efficacy for young people struggling with emotion dysregulation (resorting to self-harm and suicidal behaviours to cope). As of now, there are no DBT centres led by doctoral clinicians in Hong Kong or Singapore -- and it is my goal to bring DBT back into East Asia, where suicide and self-harm rates are very high among young people. Aside from being a passionate and effective clinician (I love seeing my adolescent patients overcome and thrive, changing their trajectories and uncovering their potential), I am also actively engaged in psychiatric research. I am currently pursing a PhD in psychology and neuroscience -- using machine learning and AI to uncover mechanisms of depression and anxiety, and to understand how individuals learn and change during psychotherapy interventions. By better understanding how interventions work, we can design and tailor more effective treatments for individuals. Receiving this scholarship would be an honour and an acknowledgement that my dedicated efforts are in the right direction. Thank you for considering my application.