After earning her medical degree in China, Dr. Lu realized she could help patients more by treating their mind, as well as their body, and decided to pursue a doctorate in psychology in the U.S. While studying health psychology at UCLA, Dr. Lu found that little research focused on the psychological needs of Asian-American breast cancer survivors. Asian-American breast cancer patients (many of whom are immigrants) face a host of challenges, including feelings of stigma and shame associated with a cancer diagnosis, cultural beliefs that lead patients to bear the burden of illness alone and suppress emotions, as well as a lack of trained mental health professionals with cultural and linguistic competency.

For the past 10 years, Dr. Lu has been committed to developing and evaluating interventions for improving quality of life among Asian cancer survivors. Although psychosocial interventions have been shown to be effective for the mainstream population of breast cancer survivors, few psychosocial interventions have been successfully designed specifically for Asian populations. Dr. Lu's current study, "Joy Luck Academy: A Culturally Sensitive Social Support Intervention," is a randomized controlled trial that analyzes the impact of a culturally based social support group for Chinese-American breast cancer survivors. The five-year study will follow 210 Chinese-American women recently diagnosed with breast cancer participating in an education and peer mentor support intervention called the “Joy Luck Academy” (JLA). Dr. Lu's team will assess (through self report as well as cortisol levels in salivary samples) whether social support improves quality of life, and reduces depressive symptoms, fatigue and stress among the women participating in the intervention.