Dr. Anna Lau is a Clinical Psychologist and Professor of Psychology and Asian American Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). She received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from UCLA in 2000.
Dr. Lau’s translational research on risk and protective factors for youth in immigrant families and her identification of racial disparities in youth mental health services have informed her efforts to study the implementation of evidence-based practices in community settings. Her research has been supported by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). Dr. Lau has received a NIMH Method to Extend Research in Time (MERIT) Award which provides long-term grant support to ‘investigators whose research competence and productivity are distinctly superior’. In 2024, Dr. Lau was selected as the winner of the NIMH James S. Jackson Memorial Award in recognition of her research, mentoring, and leadership in minority mental health. She served as the President of the Society for Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology in 2022, and she is a Fellow of the Asian American Psychological Association, from which she received the Distinguished Contributions to Research Award in 2017.
Dr. Lau trains doctoral students in delivery of evidence-based psychotherapy for youth, and teaches graduate and undergraduate courses related to Asian American Mental Health and the Psychology of Diversity. Dr. Lau is dedicated to advancing equity and access in higher education. She is the Associate Dean for Inclusive Excellence in the Life Sciences at UCLA, she has Chaired the Academic Senate Committee on Undergraduate Admissions and Relations with Schools, and is a member of the Asian American Studies Center Faculty Advisory Committee .
You can find Dr. Lau’s CV here.