Wei-Ju Chen

Dr. Wei-Ju Chen is an Assistant Professor of Psychology and the Program Head for the Psychology Master's Program. She has a great passion for interdisciplinary research with an emphasis on minority health disparities, stress and coping, emotion, genomics, autism spectrum disorders, and cancer prevention.

Education and Training

• Postdoc, Texas A&M University, 2017–2019
• Ph.D. in Psychology with Health Psychology Concentration (Minors: Quantitative Methods; Cognition and Perception), University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2017
• M.A. in Psychology, San José State University, 2012
• B.S. (summa cum laude) in Psychology, San José State University, 2010

Certifications

• Community Health Worker Instructor, Certificate #505, TX, since 2017
• Community Health Worker, Certificate #9384, TX, since 2019

Recent Publications

• Chen, W., Nelson, A. M., Johnson, H. B., & Fleming, R. (in press). Effects of self-affirmation on emotion and cardiovascular responses. Stress and Health. https://doi.org/10.1002/smi.2986
• Chen, W., Zhao, S., Huang T., Kwok, O., & Chen, L. (2020). Autism spectrum disorders: Prenatal genetic testing and abortion decision-making among Taiwanese mothers of affected children. (Special Issue: Genomic Applications to Promote Public Health in the Context of Health Disparities). International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17, 476. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17020476
• Zhao, S., Chen, W., Dhar, S. U., Eble, T. N., Kwok, O., & Chen, L. (2019). Genetic testing experiences among parents of children with autism spectrum disorders in the United States. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 49(12), 4821-4833. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-019-04200-z
• Talwar, D., Chen, W., Yeh, Y., Foster, M., Al-Shagrawi, S., & Chen, L. (2019). Characteristics and evaluation outcomes of genomics curricula for health professional students: A systematic literature review. Genetics in Medicine, 21(8), 1675-1682. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41436-018-0386-9
• Zhao, S., Chen, W., Dhar, S. U., Eble, T., Kwok, O., & Chen, L. (2019). Needs assessment in genetic testing education: A survey of parents of children with autism spectrum disorder in the United States. Autism Research, 12(8), 1162-1170. https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.2152

Research Interests

Psychophysiological Research on Well-being

My research in psychological and physiological well-being involves:

1. studying the complex links among physiological arousal, emotion, and perceived emotional experience
2. examining the effects of coping on physiological responses during and subsequent to induction of stress or emotion, as well as its long-term impacts
3. assessing the connections between value affirmation and positive psychology

Health Disparities among Underserved and Marginalized Populations

I am interested in conducting innovative and timely research on minority health disparities, including:

1. exploring new technologies and methods that can contribute to cancer prevention education and health disparities research
2. further specifying predictors of physical and psychological health among different underserved or marginalized populations to develop culturally appropriate models for health disparities research
3. assessing as well as disseminating education and interventions to address cancer disparities among underserved populations

Courses

• PSYC 4307 Health Psychology
• PSYC 3304 Experimental Psychology
• PSYC 6302 Research Methodology
• PSYC 6314 Advanced Statistics: Regression
• Accepting:
  • Senior Honors Thesis Students
  • Master’s Thesis Students
  • Graduate Research Assistants
  • Undergraduate Research Assistants
  • Independent Study or Undergraduate Research Program Students