Dr. Wai Sze CHAN

EDUCATION

• BSocSc City University of Hong Kong
• MPhil City University of Hong Kong
• PhD. Indiana University Bloomington

RESEARCH INTERESTS

• Sleep and Self-Regulation
• Behavioral Sleep Medicine
• Obesity and Eating Disorders
  

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

1. 1. Chan, W.S., McCrae, C.S., & ^†Ng, A. S-Y. (In press). Is cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia effective for improving sleep duration in individuals with insomnia? A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Annals of Behavioral Medicine.
   2. ^†Ng, A. S-Y. & *Chan, W.S. (In press). Psychometric evaluation of the Hong Kong Chinese version of the dissociative experiences measure, Oxford (HKC-DEMO). Journal of Trauma and Dissociation.
   3. ^†Ng, A. S-Y. & *Chan, W.S. (In press). Sleep quality, sleep-related experiences, and dissociation in adult survivors of childhood trauma. Behavioral Sleep Medicine.
   4. Chan, W. S., ^†Lam, S., ^†Ng, A S-T, & ^†Lobo, S. (2022). Daily associations of sleep quality and sleep duration with anxiety in young adults: The moderating effect of alexithymia. Behavioral Sleep Medicine, 20(6):787-797. doi: 10.1080/15402002.2021.2016406.
   5. Chan, W. S., & Cheng, C. (2022). Elevated prevalence of probable insomnia among young men during social unrest in Hong Kong: A population-based study. Behavioral Sleep Medicine, 20(2):204-211. doi: 10.1080/15402002.2021.1902813.
   6. Chan, W. S., Dautovich, N. D., McNamara, J. P. H., Stripling, A., Dzierzewski , J.M., McCoy, K., & McCrae, C.S. (2020). Sleep Discrepancy in a Randomized Controlled Trial of Brief Behavioral Therapy for Chronic Insomnia in Older Adults. Behavioral Sleep Medicine,10, 1-11. doi: 10.1080/15402002.2020.1726750.
   7. Chan, W.S., Levsen, J., Svyatoslav, P., Robinson, M.E., Staud, R., Berry, R.B., & McCrae, C.S. (2018). Sleep Discrepancy in Patients with Comorbid Fibromyalgia and Insomnia: Demographic, Behavioral, and Clinical Correlates. Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, 14(11),1911-1919. PMID: 30373685.
   8. Chan, W.S. (2018). Daily Associations between Objective Sleep and Consumption of Highly Palatable Food in Free-Living Conditions. Obesity Science & Practice, 4(4),379–386. PMID: 30151232.
   9. Chan, W.S., Levsen, M.P., & McCrae, C.S. (2018). A Meta-Analysis of Associations of Insomnia Diagnosis and Insomnia Symptoms with Obesity. Sleep Medicine Reviews,40, 170-182. doi: 10.1016/j.smrv.2017.12.004. PMID: 29366543.
   10. Chan, W.S.,Williams, J., Dautovich, N. D., McNamara, J. P. H., Stripling, A., Berry, R. B., McCoy, K., & McCrae, C.S. (2017). Night-to-Night Sleep Variability in Older Adults with Chronic Insomnia: Mediators and Moderators in a Randomized Controlled Trial of Brief Behavioral Therapy (BBT-I). Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, 13(11), 1243-125. pii: jc-17-00159. PMID: 28992829.
   11. Chan, W.S. (2016). Delay Discounting and Response Disinhibition Moderate Associations between Actigraphically-Measured Sleep Parameters and Body Mass Index. Journal of Sleep Research, 26 (1), 21-29. doi: 10.1111/jsr.12437. PMID: 27426078.
   12. Chan, T.W.S., Ahn, W.-Y., Bates, J.E., Busemeyer, J.R., Guillaume, S., Redgrave, G.R., Danner, U., & Courtet, P. (2014). Differential Impairments Underlying Decision Making in Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa: A Cognitive Modeling Analysis. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 47(2), 157-67. doi: 10.1002/eat.22223. PMID: 24243480.
   13. Chan, T.W.S., Bates, J.E., Lansford, J.E., Dodge, K.A., Pettit, G.S., Dick, D.M., & Latendresse, S.J. (2014). Impulsivity and Genetic Variants in DRD2and ANKK1 Moderate Longitudinal Associations between Sleep Problems and Overweight from Ages 5 to 11. International Journal of Obesity, 38(3), 404-10. doi: 10.1038/ijo.2013.123. PMCID: PMC3875830.

RESEARCH LABORATORY

Dr. Wai Sze Chan directs the Sleep, Self-regulation and Health (SLASH) Research Laboratory. The mission of the SLASH lab is to enhance the understanding of the processes underlying health behaviour changes and to translate this knowledge into effective and scalable interventions. Our research is externally funded by the General Research Fund and Health and Medical and Research Fund.

The current studies in the SLASH lab focus on understanding how disordered eating is maintained and how they can be treated. We conduct randomized controlled trials of interventions targeting disordered eating. Another line of studies includes sleep restriction experiments that investigate how sleep deprivation impacts the regulation of eating behavior and other cue-elicited behaviors. We also develop and evaluate local and digital adaptations of evidence-based psychological interventions for insomnia and weight management.

RESEARCH INTERNSHIP (2022-2023)

We are looking for highly motivated students to join the SLASH lab as research interns.

Interns will work closely with other members of the lab on different aspects of one or more ongoing research projects including:

– conduct literature review

– prepare experimental materials

– administer experimental procedures

– assist clinical psychologists in conducting assessments and scorings of questionnaires in community and university settings

Intern selection:

– Strong academic competence is a must

– Effective communication and interpersonal skills are necessary

– Strong organization skills and attention to detail are required

– Fluency in written and spoken Chinese (Cantonese) and English is required

– Prior lab experience is an advantage

Interns are required to work for approximately 12 hours/week.

Highly motivated and capable individuals will have the opportunity to contribute to data analysis and manuscript writing and earn authorship credits.

Credit-bearing research internship courses, PSYC2072, and PSYC2073 are available when the autumn semester starts.

If you are interested in getting involved in the lab, please email Dr. Wai Sze Chan (slashlab@hku.hk) with your CV and academic transcript.