With a background in social psychology and management, Dr. Wong has expertise in conducting community-engaged research targeting racial/ethnic and underserved populations with a history of or who are currently using alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs (ATOD) and engaging in HIV-related risk practices. His NIH-funded research focuses on the social epidemiology of ATOD, HIV, and other non-HIV sexually transmitted infections among these populations. Notably, Dr. Wong has extensive experience directing multi-site scientific and implementation science research programs involving academic, governmental, and non-governmental collaborators in the U.S., Panama, South Africa, China, Tajikistan, Vietnam, and Russia. Before returning to academia full-time in 2000, Dr. Wong spent almost 7 years directing health prevention programs targeting immigrants, refugees, and ex-offenders—half of this period he served in executive management positions. 

Dr. Wong’s research is guided by four principles: (1) community-driven and community-engaged; (2) team science; (3) high public health significance with tangible benefits to the participants involved; and (4) capacity building. Thus, he always involves community partners and a multidisciplinary team. 

Research Domains 

For more than 2 decades, Dr. Wong has been using an intersectionality lens to pursue three lines of research: (1) HIV and other non-HIV sexually transmitted diseases; (2) sexual health; and (3) lessons learned from the two aforementioned areas to build institutional capacity and human capital.  

HIV and Other non-HIV Sexually Transmitted Diseases      

Dr. Wong is one of the first Western investigators to examine substance use/misuse and HIV-related risks among men who have sex with men (MSM) and other sexual minorities in China. Notably, my research focuses on a sub-group of  MSM locally known as “money boys,” that is, MSM who engage in commercial sex. This body of work has informed others in the field on how to conduct research with this difficult-to-engage population, now having the highest incidence and prevalence of HIV. 

Today, HIV is considered a chronic disease. Dr. Wong’s research has moved beyond HIV risks to examine living with HIV and its comorbidities (e.g., hypertension). With support from NIH, he has established a cohort of people living with HIV in Hawaiʽi and Philadelphia. Notably, one area of research is focusing on cognitive decline and aging among people living with HIV.   

Sexual Health 

HIV risks and sex are intricately connected. The concept of sexuality (and sexual mores) is often “culturally dependent.” With the support from NIH, Dr. Wong has culturally adapted an American-conceptualized, individual-based sexual health intervention into a group-based format to reduce HIV and minority sexual status stigmas targeting gay and bisexual men in Việt Nam.  

Capacity Building 

Dr. Wong began his global research in 2000, first in China and South Africa. Since then, he has worked in Russia, Tajikistan, and Panamá and Việt Nam. His collaborators include scientists and educators from multiple disciplines (including epidemiology and medicine), governmental entities, and non-governmental organizations. Dr. Wong has extensive experience working with international healthcare partners to address many health and social issues.  

EDUCATION

• Ph.D., Social Psychology (major) and Management (minor), Texas A&M University
• B.A. (Honours), Psychology, University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada

HONORS/AWARDS

• Fellow, American Psychological Association
• Concurrent Professor (highest level of appointment for a non-Chinese national in recognition for contributions to the University), Fudan University, Shanghai, China

PUBLICATIONS

1. Wang L*, Hong C*, Simoni JM, He N, Hall CDX**, Wong FY. Depression as mediator between intimate partner violence (IPV) and CD4 cell count among men who have sex with men. AIDS Care, in press. 

2. Hall CDX**, Harris R*, Burns PA**, Girod C, Yount K, Wong FY. The impact of multiple forms of discrimination on perceived stress and depressive symptoms in sexual minority, Black, Indigenous, and other women of color. LGBT Health, in press. 

3. Gabster A**, Xavier Hall CD**, Pon, AY**, Millender E**, Wong FY, Pascale JM. Dating violence prevalence and risk factors among adolescents (14-19 years) in urban setting in Panama. Lancet Regional-Americas, 2023; 17: 1000383. doi: 10.1016/j.lana.2022.100383 

4. Harris RM*, Xavier Hall CD**, Mills J**, Pence BW, Bagneris J*, Wong FY. Beyond viral suppression: The impact of cumulative exposure to violence on health-related quality of life among a cohort of virally suppressed patients. JAIDS, 2023; 92(1): 59-66. doi: 10.1097/QAI. 0000000000003099 

5. Wang L*, Harris R*, Simoni JM, Yue Q, Fu J, Zheng H, Ning Z**, Xavier Hall CX**, Burns PA**, Wong FY. Health services utilization and its associations with depression and sexual risk behaviors among transgender women in Shanghai, China. Transgender Health, Published online, August 5, 2022. doi: 10.1089/trgh.2021.0009 

6. Millender E**, Harris RM*, Bagneris JR*, Marks LR**, Barcelona V, Wong FY, Crusto CA, The cumulative influence of perceived discrimination, stress, and coping responses on symptoms of depression among young African American mothers TaylorJY. Journal of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association, Published online July 14, 2022. doi: 10.1177% 2F10783903221105281 

7. He J, Ding Y**, Wong FY, He N. Health-care access and utilization among HIV-infected men who have sex with men in two Chinese municipalities with or without lockdown amidst early COVID-19 pandemic. AIDS Care, 2022, 34(11): 1390-1399. doi: 10.1080/09540121. 2022. 2041163 

8. Wang L*, Lin C*, Simoni JM, He N, Li C, Chen C, Wong F. Correlates of antiretroviral therapy Frank Y. Wong April 2023 11 (ART) initiation among men who have sex with men in China. Journal of Global Health Reports, 2022; 6: e2022020. doi: 10.29392/001c.33816

FUNDED GRANTS: Ongoing Research Support

2021-26 Fostering Institutional Resources for Science Transformation: The FLORIDA-FIRST Health-science Brigade (U54CA267730-01); National Institutes of Health: PI (Contact) -- $14,593,580

2021-23 Building Resilience to Minority Stress and HIV-related Stigma for Promoting Positive Sexual Health among Vietnamese High-risk Men (R21TW011759-01A1); Fogarty International Center, National Institutions of Health: PI (Contact) -- $369,164

2021-26 The Lotus Project: Improving Trauma-informed Care and Prevention for Asian Children and Families (1H79SM085087-01); Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration Consultant (PI: TooruNemoto)

2020-23 Identifying the Influence of Genetic and Social Epigenomic Factors on Long-term Comorbid Outcomes on Depression and Cardiovascular Disease (043846); Health Data Science Institute, Office of Research, Florida State University: Co-I (PI: Eugenia Millender) -- $20,000

2018-23 Unpacking the Mechanisms of Disparities for HIV-related Hypertension in African-American andAsian/Pacific-American MSM; National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities (R01MD013501-01): PI (Contact) -- $3,425,404