Wai Sze Chan, PhD
Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychology, HKU
Dr. 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 at the Hong Kong Institute of Clinical Psychology.
Dr. Chan directs the Eating, Sleep, and Self-regulation Health Research Laboratory (e-slash lab) at HKU. She maintains a private practice at HKU Psychological Services Unit and the Center for Brain and Psychological Health.
Research Interests
Both sleep problems and overeating are global public health threats. Dr. Chan’s research program systematically evaluates how the disruption of sleep influences the regulation of eating, and how theory-informed treatments for disordered eating and insomnia can be delivered to the public effectively and efficiently. Her research aims to (1) disentangle the mechanisms underlying the intertwined relationship between sleep and eating and (2) improve the implementation and dissemination of evidence-based treatments for the dysregulation in eating and sleep, specifically disordered eating and insomnia.
To these ends, Dr. Chan has obtained several competitive, external grants from General Research Fund (GRF) and Health and Medical Research Fund (HMRF) to support several lines of studies, ranging from mechanism-focused laboratory experiments examining how the disruption of sleep influences eating behaviors to clinical research aiming to understand how to better treat people with disordered eating and insomnia. She also served in co-investigator capacity for other projects funded by the GRF, HMRF, and the Jockey Club, totaling over 34 million Hong Kong dollars.
Clinical
Dr. Chan is a USA-trained clinical psychologist, and she received clinical psychology training at Indiana University Bloomington, accredited by the American Psychological Association and the Psychological Clinical Science Accreditation System. She obtained her clinical license in the state of New Hampshire in the United States. She is a registered Clinical Psychologist by the Hong Kong Institute of Clinical Psychologist.
Dr. Chan specializes in the assessment and treatment of insomnia, depression, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, and trauma. She has extensive experiences working with adults, older adults, parents, and individuals with medical illnesses such as cancer, chronic pain, and other chronic illnesses. She provides services for both English- and Cantonese-speaking clients at HKU Psychological Services Unit (https://www.psu.hku.hk/) and the Center for Brain and Psychological Health (https://www.brain-psychology.com/en/).