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.

Having completed a professional doctorate in psychology in 2016 and with a total of 8 years of clinical experience, I am currently pursuing a PhD in Cognitive Psychology and Neuroscience at Princeton University and engaged in research to investigate the mechanisms of how cognition and decision making are disrupted in depression and to disentangle the processes through which psychotherapy leads to change. Psychotherapy, especially cognitive behavioral therapy, is widely recognized as an effective first-line treatment for major depressive disorder. However, its effectiveness varies among individuals, and not all patients benefit from it. In recent years, considerable effort has been devoted to the pursuit of precision psychotherapy – identifying predictors of treatment response with the aim of uncovering which interventions work for whom. My research interest lies in unraveling the bidirectional relationship between an individual’s cognitive and motivational state and the effectiveness of specific psychotherapy components and techniques. In particular, I am interested in formally quantifying the construct of change readiness: In psychotherapy, patients are asked to engage in new ways of thinking, practice alternative behaviors, and in many ways, "give up" existing behaviors that are familiar but are no longer useful – all of which requires a level of motivation for change. Such motivation in psychotherapy is referred to as change readiness, and is defined as the extent to which an individual is inclined to engage in a particular plan to purposefully alter the status quo. Indeed, while most patients want to experience positive change, not everyone is ready to take action. This is in part because engaging in existing behavior is familiar – which means it is less difficult to carry out and there is less uncertainty because it leads to a known outcome. A new behavior imposes greater costs and has uncertain rewards. Currently, I lead a research project investigating how computations of reward and cost in effort-based decision making are modulated by incidental emotions. I had the opportunity to present some preliminary findings at the Society for Neuroscience conference last year, which underscored the immense value of exchanging ideas and insights with peers and established researchers in the field. These experiences emphasized the importance of attending conferences, exchanging scholarly ideas, and expanding scientific networks beyond my home institution. In addition to my primary research and clinical pursuits, I am actively undertaking an additional certificate in advanced statistics and machine learning. This endeavor has expanded my thinking with regards to data collection, modeling approaches, and ethical considerations. One reason that I am applying for the Ethan To scholarship is because I will be attending an interdisciplinary summer school in machine learning in healthcare, which is happening in June 2024. This is a wonder opportunity for me to meet industry leaders as well as scientific collaborators, to move forward my passion and mission of improving mental health outcomes for individuals. The Ethan To scholarship will help cover the costs of registration, travel, and accommodation to make this summer school opportunity a reality for me. Thank you for your consideration!