Miss Luo Jingyi (MPhil graduate) awarded the prestigious Li Ka Shing Prize 2024/25

Summary of Jingyi’s thesis of the Prize

Jingyi’s thesis investigated the mechanisms through which loneliness contributes to depression, with a focus on the self-referential processes. Drawing on a systematic review and meta-analysis, the thesis identified overlapping neural correlates of loneliness and rumination in the medial frontal regions involved in self-referential processing, providing a neurobiological basis for their role in the loneliness–depression association. Using network analysis in a large community sample, it further demonstrated that ruminating about one’s own loneliness may be a critical cognitive process linking loneliness to depressive symptoms. This work contributes to a more nuanced understanding of the loneliness–depression association by highlighting self-focused thoughts as a potential psychological mechanism through which loneliness becomes maladaptive. The work also offers a theoretically grounded framework for identifying more targeted mechanisms and intervention strategies underlying the link between loneliness and depression.

About the Prizes

The Li Ka Shing Prizes are established by using part of a generous donation from Dr. Li Ka Shing. The Prizes are awarded annually to two MPhil and four PhD graduates who have produced excellent theses from within the two faculty groups, viz, Humanities, Social Sciences and Business Studies (HSSBS) Faculty Group and Science, Medicine, Engineering and Technology (SMET)Faculty Group.