Wei-Ti Chen, RN, CNM, PhD, FAAN, is Professor and Lulu Wolf Hassenplug Chair at UCLA School of Nursing. As a nurse scientist and certified nurse-midwife, her research portfolio is directed toward the development and dissemination of tools to improve HIV care and maternity health. The participants in her U.S.-based studies include predominantly underrepresented minority groups with a particular emphasis on quality of life and stigma reduction in people living with HIV and other chronic diseases (e.g., Tourette Syndrome), and in other minorized groups (e.g., immigrants, migrants, sexual minorities). A major focus of her research has been on culturally adapting self- and family-management interventions to enhance quality of life of people living with HIV who identify as Asian or Pacific Islander. Dr. Chen has published more than 130 empirical papers on stigma reduction and HIV care. She is a principal investigator of several NIH-funded grants which include: a project to understand how Buddhism impacts stigma reduction in people living with HIV in Thailand; a study to understand self- and family-management in HV-infected Asian and Pacific Americans; and research on how self-management impacts Chinese women living with HIV in Shanghai and Beijing. In the past, Dr. Chen has worked as a Co-I to design and test an intervention for parents who are infected with HIV to disclose their serostatus to their child(ren). Her research efforts are devoted to understanding how to enhance adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART), to decrease disease-related stigmas, and to manage mental stressors to improve quality of life of underserved populations around the world. In recognition of her contributions, Dr. Chen was inducted into the Sigma Theta Tau International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame in July 2023. She was also honored with the Equity-Minded Nurse Leadership Award in September 2024, presented by the American Organization of Nursing Leadership, AARP Foundation, AARP, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Contact: wchen@sonnet.ucla.edu

FEATURED PUBLICATIONS:

1. Bond, K. T., Chen, W. T., Crespo-Fierro, M., Randolph, S., & Ramos, S. R. (2024). Ending the HIV Epidemic: Disrupting Inequities Through HIV Research Centered on Women and Girls. The Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care : JANAC, 35(3), 173–174.

2. Huang, J., Lin, Y., Fu, Y., Xu, Z., Hong, H., Arbing, R., Chen, W. T., Wang, A., & Huang, F. (2024). A longitudinal network analysis of interaction factors among Chinese women at high risk for perinatal depression. Midwifery, 139, 104187.

3. Chen, W. T., Huang, F., Shiu, C. S., Lin, S. H., Tun, M. S., Nwe, T. W., Oo, Y. T. N., & Oo, H. N. (2024). Can social support mediate stigma and perceived stress in people live with human immunodeficiency virus?. AIDS care, 36(2), 255–262.

Last updated: 1/15/2025