About MIchelle LiuMy name is Michelle Liu and I hold a Master of Public Health degree from the University of California, San Diego with a concentration in Public Mental Health. As my concentration implies, I am a huge advocate for wellness and mental health education across different demographics and backgrounds.
Growing up with traditional Asian parents, I was never taught the importance of taking care of my mental health. It was not until I entered college that I was truly allowed to express myself and get involved with mental health activism and education. I have been involved in Active Minds, a non-profit organization destigmatizing mental health, since 2018. With all I have learned from Active Minds, I decided that bringing that education and support system to the Greek community, specifically to Delta Epsilon Mu, a professional pre-health co-ed fraternity. Much of research and educational interests lies in the intersection of Public Health and Clinical Psychology. I am currently part of the Mental Health in Design Lab, under the mentorship of Dr. Elizabeth Eikey. We are conducting a College Mental Health Needs Assessment study to assess and understand the different internal and systematic barriers to receiving and access wellness care on a college campus. With Dr. Eikey's mentorship, I have been able to focus my specific research interests towards identifying and addressing mutable factors that contribute to documented mental healthcare disparities in care access, continuity, quality, and outcomes for vulnerable populations through assessing the implementation of technology-based mental health interventions meant to help reduce mental health disparities among vulnerable adolescent populations. Post-grad, I was fortunate enough to be offered the Health Promotion Manager with Mental Health America of San Diego County for their "Together Toward Health" Campaign with The Public Health Institute to create targeted health promotion campaigns directed towards our vulnerable communities in the County. My former employer, AM LLC, also promoted me into their Internal Operations Team to facilitate new user software for our contracted sites and their employees. I am currently working at UC Irvine for Dr. Stephen Schueller as a Digital Mental Health Specialist for the One Mind Psyberguide Project. This project perfectly aligns with my research interest: how can we use technology to improve mental health services through expanding access and improving accessibility to different groups of people. GOAL: 5 Year Plan I plan on pursuing a PhD in Clinical Psychology, focusing my work around underrepresented BIPOC adolescent communities and their access to digital resources and interventions. Health disparities are ever increasing, but the data surrounding these disparities are very limited, especially around the life-course development of minority children. GOAL: 10 Year Plan I would love to have a career in the higher education, appointed as a professor to educate students on the important of mental health and wellness, specifically on the health behaviors that impact one's well-being. |
>MPH, concentration in Public Mental Health @ UC San Diego
> B.S. in Biology, Neuroscience Minor @ UC Riverside |
Personal
Born and raised in Southern California stereotypically means surfing in the summer, surfing in the winter, and enjoying the multicultural food scene. While one of the three are true, I do take time hike and enjoy the beautiful scenic areas such as the hills in Southern California's chaparral biomes and the woodlands located more inland. I do love going to the beach, but I prefer wave jumping over surfing.
As a form of #selfcare, I love to challenge myself and examine recipes that may not be gluten free or dairy free and changing it up to make it so. I love bread and cheese, but my stomach does not, so I love to create foods that emulate my favorite flavors and textures that come from fluffy carbs and dairy. Something that may beat my love of cooking is my love of powerlifting. I love to challenge my body by pushing and pulling heavy weights. It is definitely a mind over matter type of activity. |