Jenny Mai

I am a Ph.D. student studying Health Communication in the School of Communication and Information at Rutgers University. My research examines how cultural determinants influence health decision-making processes in communicating mental and chronic illnesses and their effects on health outcomes. At Rutgers, I am a lab member of CommUnity Health Action Lab (CUHAL), focusing on how health is impacted throughout the lifespan. I aspire to apply these areas of research into downstream (i.e., individual) and midstream (i.e., community) health behavior change interventions, employing a patient-centered and culture-centered approach to reduce mental health-related disparities. In the community, I am the Chinese American Mental Health Outreach Program Coordinator at the National Alliance on Mental Illness – New Jersey, helping the Chinese population get equitable and culturally appropriate mental health care.