Dr. Huijun Li left Harvard University earlier this year to take a position as an assistant professor in the psychology department at Florida A&M University. After arriving at FAMU, she was awarded a $250,000 research grant from the National Institute of Mental Health.
At Harvard, Li served as director of multicultural research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, a teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School. A native of China, Li received a master’s degree in applied linguistics from Kunming University of Science and Technology. She has a Ph.D. in school psychology from the University of Arizona and is a nationally certified school psychologist. She remains a visiting assistant professor at the Harvard Medical School.
Li discusses the reasons for her recent move and her expansive research project that includes scientists and scholars at three universities on two continents.
DI: Why did you decide to leave Harvard for Florida A&M?
HL: The major reason is that the research interests of faculty members in the psychology department here match mine — they are studying mental health disparities in minority populations.
Also, as a researcher I would see very few people from minority backgrounds on the research team. So, I take it as my professional responsibility to train as many potential researchers from minority backgrounds to actively conduct and be involved in research. Otherwise, the research results might be biased.
DI: What is the focus of your research?
