Lab Director
Prof. Chan Wai Sze
Prof. Chan obtained a PhD in Clinical Psychology from the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Indiana University Bloomington. She was licensed in the state of New Hampshire, USA and began her career as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Dartmouth College. She joined the Department of Psychology at HKU in 2019. She is a registered Clinical Psychologist in Hong Kong.
Prof. Chan’s research program investigates the relationship between eating and sleeping, two fundamental behaviors whose dysregulation can cause distress and impairment. Her work examines how sleep disruption affects the regulation of eating behaviors and how theory-driven interventions for disordered eating and insomnia can be delivered effectively to the public. The main objectives of her research are to identify the motivational, emotional, and cognitive mechanisms underlying the connection between sleep and eating, and to improve the implementation and dissemination of evidence-based treatments for these conditions.
To support these aims, Prof. Chan has secured external grants from the General Research Fund (GRF) and the Health and Medical Research Fund (HMRF), funding studies that range from laboratory investigations of sleep disruption’s effects on eating behaviors to clinical research on treatment strategies for disordered eating and insomnia. She has also served as a co-investigator on projects funded by the GRF, HMRF, and the Jockey Club, with total funding exceeding 34 million Hong Kong dollars.
Outside of work, Prof. Chan enjoys outdoor activities such as running and golf, and she is a dog lover. Her favorite dog's name is Kuma, a French bulldog who likes blueberries.
