From clinical insight to intelligent intervention

Ya-Wen (Yama) Chang

PhD Student in Quantitative Biomedical Science

Center for Technology and Behavioral Health, Dartmouth College

Ya-Wen (Yama) Chang

Latest News

2025-12Presented a symposium talk about AI and mental health at TIPS 2025Watch

2025-06Officially matched and joined the AIM HIGH lab!

2025-02Published my first-authored manuscript about single-session interventions and structural stigma on SSM-Mental Health!Read more

2024-09Published a co-first-authored paper on structural stigma and suicide among LGBTQ+ youth in Stigma and Health!Read more

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Publications

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Research Projects

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Years of Research

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Disciplines

About

Yama Chang (she/her) is a PhD student in the Quantitative Biomedical Sciences (QBS) program 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.

Her 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 mental wellness. As part of the Evergreen AI initiative at Dartmouth, Yama is conducting research on the design and evaluation of a real-time, campus-wide intervention system that integrates multimodal data streams with LLM-based decision engines to deliver safe and adaptive support for undergraduate students. More broadly, she is interested in optimizing the timing of digital interventions and advancing clinical safety in AI-driven mental health systems.

Research Interests

Digital Mental Health InterventionsJust-in-Time Adaptive InterventionsAI-driven Mental HealthMultimodal SensingPsychedelics Research

Education

PhD in Quantitative Biomedical Science

Dartmouth College

MA in Clinical Psychology

Columbia University

BA in Economics

National Taiwan University

Research Journey

Pre-PhD Foundations

2018–2020

First Research at Columbia University

Began studying transgender identity development and minority stress experiences.

2020–2022

Suicide Prevention Research at University of Pittsburgh

Studied computational approaches to suicide risk prediction and digital single-session interventions.

2022–2024

Digital Interventions & LGBTQ+ Health Research

Investigated structural stigma, digital mental health interventions, and health disparities among LGBTQ+ populations.

I realized we need to make mental health interventions more scalable, personalized, and accessible.

PhD & Beyond

2024

Dartmouth College — PhD in Quantitative Biomedical Science

Trained at the intersection of computational methods and clinical science, bridging data-driven approaches with real-world mental health applications.

2025

AI and Mental Health Lab at the Center for Technology and Behavioral Health

Integrating passive sensing, wearable devices, and AI to develop just-in-time adaptive interventions (JITAIs) that deliver personalized, scalable support for mental health.

Present

Evergreen AI Campus Intervention System

Began designing a real-time, campus-wide intervention system integrating multimodal data with LLM-based decision engines.