Runzi Ma is a rising senior at Duke University where she majors in Psychology, Economics, and minors in Global Health. Having grown up in Beijing, China, before moving to the US for college, she developed a strong interest in the cultural differences in how people experience and express mental illness. She hopes to expand the boundaries of mental health and make culturally adapted treatment accessible to more people around the world.
This summer, she worked under the supervision of Dr. Jennifer Mootz with PhD student Sarah Belew on the project “Treating Common Mental Disorders in Women in Mozambique by Addressing Intimate Partner Violence in Couples”, where she primarily focused on sourcing and organizing global cultural adaptations of Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT). She conducted literature review on global communication in mental health intervention, common factors across therapeutic approaches, and AI facilitated intervention. She also helped draft a 2-page question manual for clinicians to better provide culturally sensitive care.
Runzi treasures the experience of working alongside such inspiring scholars in a field she is deeply passionate about. She is excited to return to Dr. Mootz’s team in August to continue this work and its mission of expanding mental health care access for women in Mozambique.