Ya-Wen (Yama) Chang

I’m a first-year PhD student in Quantitative Biomedical Sciences (QBS) at Dartmouth College, mentored by Dr. Nicholas Jacobson in the Artificial Intelligence and Mental Health: Innovation in Technology Guided Healthcare (AIM HIGH) Lab at the Center for Technology and Behavioral Health.

My research focuses on leveraging passive sensing, wearable devices, large language models (LLMs), and just-in-time adaptive interventions (JITAIs) to deliver scalable, personalized support for improving mental health. I’m particularly interested in integrating multimodal data with LLMs, optimizing the timing of interventions, and ensuring clinical safety in AI-driven systems. I’m also deeply interested in the therapeutic potential of psychedelics for treating mental illness and in supporting sustainable well-being after treatment.

Before starting my PhD, I earned a master’s in clinical psychology from Columbia University and worked as a data scientist at the Lab for Scalable Mental Health. My work focused on using digital, single-session interventions to expand access to care for marginalized populations, including LGBTQ+ and BIPOC individuals.

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