People

William Tsai, Ph.D. 
Lab Director

Email: will.tsai@nyu.edu
Phone: (212)998-5552
Office: 246 Greene St., Room 706W, New York, NY 10011
Download: CV

Dr. Tsai is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Applied Psychology at NYU. He received his B.S. in Psychology from the University of Michigan and his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from UCLA. He completed his clinical internship at the West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs  Medical Center. Prior to joining the NYU faculty, he was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at the California State University San Marcos (2016-2018). His research examines the health of ethnic minority cancer survivors from a cultural and biopsychosocial lens with the overarching goal of improving cancer survivorship outcomes and reducing cancer health disparities. More broadly, he has published research on emotion regulation, negative self-reflection processes, and cultural-clinical psychology among culturally diverse groups. 

Victoria Monte
Second Year Doctoral Student
Email: victoriamonte@nyu.edu

Victoria Monte is a second-year PhD candidate under the mentorship of Dr. William Tsai. Her desire to enroll as a doctoral student at NYU developed naturally as a result of a fellowship at the National Institutes of Health, her role as a researcher at several academic institutions, and her experience as a caretaker for adults and children with serious disabilities. She obtained her bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Binghamton University. She later received her master’s degree in Clinical Psychology from Columbia University’s Teachers College, where she concentrated in Global Mental Health and Research Methods, and conducted a study on the perception of emotion in China and the United States.  As a result of these endeavors, she has developed a passion to help individuals across cultures who suffer from health conditions through psychological research. Her research interests include writing interventions that assess preferences of support giving across cultures as well as the perception of health according to one’s cultural orientation, and how these perceptions create, bolster, or minimize obstacles to treatment. Additionally, she is interested in the cultural and psychological factors that maximize resilience in response to disability and chronic illness, and the implications for treatment protocols based on these diagnostic criteria. She is hopeful that her current research at NYU will help develop novel treatments and interventions that increase resilience, health, and wellness in those facing disability and illness across cultures.

Jen Ying-Zhen Ang
First Year Doctoral Student
Email: ya2051@nyu.edu

Jen Ying-Zhen Ang is a 1st-year PhD candidate under the mentorship of Dr. Tsai. She did her undergraduate degree at Stanford University, graduating with a BA (Hons) in psychology, minor in Economics and an MA in Public Policy. She worked as a policy officer thereafter at the Singapore government and Interpol, dealing with varied portfolios ranging from youth crime and drugs to arts and heritage. She then took up a position as a psychologist in the Singapore Prison Service, conducting group and individual interventions with offenders to help them desist from crime upon release. The experience of growing up in a multicultural society, working with people of different nationalities and strata and living across 3 continents has attuned Jen to the differences and nuances between cultures, especially in the realm of mental health. Specifically, she is interested in the role of culture in emotion regulation techniques, and how the wider norms/beliefs of each culture shapes the mental health interventions implemented in the community.

Catherine Fan
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Email: catherine.fan@nyu.edu

Catherine is a first year undergraduate Computer Science major with a minor in Psychology at NYU’s College of Arts and Science. She currently spends her time as a Crisis Counselor for the Crisis Text Line. Her research interests include the impact of culture on Asian-American family functionality, especially its children’s’ mental wellbeing, and its members

experiences and perceptions of society. She enjoys swimming and catching up on shows in her free time.

Vicky Ho
Graduate Research Assistant
Email: vch2124@tc.columbia.edu

Vicky is a second-year master’s student in the Psychological Counseling program at Teachers College, Columbia University. Her research interests include understanding how identity and culture impacts access to and effectiveness of mental health services, as well as the development of culturally-informed interventions for ethnic minority populations. Prior to beginning her master’s program, Vicky earned her bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Northwestern University and spent 2 years working in social policy research focused on social services for low-income youth and families. In her free time, Vicky enjoys reading, exploring New York City’s parks, and spending time with family.

Sophia Hon
Research Assistant
Email:  ssh403@nyu.edu

Sophia is currently a therapist working with youth and families. She received her Master of Social Work degree from NYU in 2020 and her B.A. in Psychology from Boston University in 2018. Her research interests include ethnic minority mental health and the development of culturally informed treatments and interventions.

Catherine Hu
Graduate Research Assistant
Email: czh206@nyu.edu

Catherine is a first-year MA Psychology candidate at NYU’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Her research interests include identity construction & conflict in socio-cultural context, societal perception and well-being of ethnic-racial minorities with disabilities, and effective approaches to mental health in the face of cultural stigma. Prior to starting her master’s, she received her bachelor’s from the University of Pennsylvania and spent several years working as a private educational consultant.

Sumaiya Nusrath
Research Assistant
Email: snusrath@nyu.edu

Sumaiya graduated from the Counseling for Mental Health and Wellness program at NYU in 2020. She received her undergraduate degree in Psychology from Temple University. She currently works as a therapist at a non-profit in Brooklyn. Her research interests lie in multicultural counseling, identity development, immigrant issues, and health disparities. 

Lucy Quezada
Research Assistant
Email: lq2200@tc.columbia.edu

Lucy is a second-year MA student in the Clinical Psychology program at Teachers College, Columbia University. She received her undergraduate degree in Psychology at Southern Methodist University. Her research interests lie in understanding the role of culture and minority status in mental health

Charlotte Teng
Research Assistant
Email: ct2639@tc.columbia.edu

Charlotte Teng is currently a part-time counselor and advocate for immigrant survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence. She received her B.S. in Biology from National Taiwan University and M.A. in Clinical Psychology from Teachers College, Columbia University. Teng’s research interests include trauma survivors, developing innovative and culturally competent mental health services and biosocial model of mental illness.

Angela Wang
Research Assistant
Email: ajw533@nyu.edu

Angela Wang is a second year masters student in NYU’s General Psychology Program. Her interests include understanding how family conflict between parent and children among Asian-Americans impact mental health outcomes, specifically how parent-child dyads function on a multicultural level, and an interest in understanding children and adolescents’ social and mental well-being through forensic and cultural perspectives. Other interests include snowboarding, running, watching Terrace House, and drawing.

Liwei Zhang, PhD
Research Affiliate
Email: lz1292@nyu.edu

Liwei received her Ph.D. from NYU Silver School of Social Work. Liwei‘s research focuses on the mental health of immigrant families with children. She is particularly interested in how intersections of cultural and economic experiences shape mental health outcomes. Liwei‘s research aim is to develop targeted and culturally-competent interventions for children and families with specific economic, social, and cultural experiences.

Nicole Zhou
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Email: nz835@nyu.edu

Nicole is an undergraduate Applied Psychology student with a minor in Chemistry at NYU Steinhardt. Her primary research interests are in multicultural psychology and LGBTQ+ mental health. She hopes to learn more about research and is also curious about industrial organizational psychology.