PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Palo Alto University (PAU), a private non-profit higher education institution, announced today that Assistant Professor Joyce Chu, Ph.D., has earned the Asian American Psychological Association’s (AAPA) Early Career Award for Distinguished Contribution to Research.
Dr. Chu was selected for this award for demonstrating outstanding achievement in research and scholarship for someone so young in her career. To earn the AAPA Early Career Award, candidates must demonstrate achievement in the development or advancement of psychological theories in Asian American psychology and or have made noteworthy research contributions that further the knowledge base of Asian American psychology. Indiana University’s Dr. Y. Joel Wong earned this award in 2012.
“As a psychologist, my research aims to uncover information that will ultimately advance mental health services for underserved and Asian American communities,” said Dr. Chu. “I am thankful and honored to be recognized by the AAPA. I also want to thank PAU’s Dr. Stanley Sue and PAU’s president Dr. Allen Calvin for always supporting and encouraging my efforts.”
Dr. Chu runs PAU’s Ethnic Minority Mental Health Research Group and co-leads PAU’s Multicultural Suicide Research Center. Her research is focused around understanding and improving mental health services for ethnic minority individuals with depression, particularly among older adults and Asian Americans. Dr. Chu recently appeared on NPR in a story about Asian American women and suicide, and has published close to a dozen articles on Asian mental health and depression. She also directs an emphasis program on Diversity and Community Mental Health. Dr. Chu earned her B.A. and M.A. in psychology at Stanford University, her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Michigan, and did a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco.
“We are incredibly proud of Joyce and the research that has brought her this honor,” added PAU President Calvin, Ph.D. “Her tireless efforts to understand mental health for ethnic minorities is changing the way practitioners implement care to bring about more successful outcomes.”
The AAPA Early Career Award was formally announced at the AAPA Convention held in Honolulu July 30, 2013. For more information on PAU, please visit http://paloaltou.edu.
