PhD, MSW, MA

Social Work PhD Program Director and Professor

Professor of Public Health and Social Work

Director, Center for Children and Families Across Cultures

Education

• PhD, Washington University, 2006
• MSW, Washington University, 2001
• MA, Yonsei University, 2000
• BA, Sungkyunkwan University, 1998

Teaching interests

Theory; Principles of Epidemiology; Inequality and Disparities in Health; Global Health and Mental Health; Program Evaluation; Research Methods and Design

Research interests

• Health-Risk Behaviors (e.g., tobacco and other substance use problems, physical inactivity)
• Interactions between Mental Health and Physical Health
• Epidemiologic Research
• Population Health and Health Promotion
• Adolescent Health
• Health Disparities
• Research with Racial/Ethnic Minority Groups, and Vulnerable/Underserved Populations
• International and Cross-Cultural Research

Research and scholarly activity

Dr. Yu’s research has been focused on health disparities and the interconnections of mental health, physical health, and health risk behavior. Each of these components of a person’s life impacts the others. Dr. Yu compares different segments of populations, particularly vulnerable and disadvantaged populations, to identify problems and issues around these aspects of people’s lives. His goal is to generate scientific evidence that practitioners in the field can use to better meet the needs of their clients.

Dr. Yu’s research was recognized by the Society for Social Work Research (SSWR) as he was inducted as the SSWR Fellow in 2017 and received the Distinguished Research Award from the University of Missouri College of Human Environmental Sciences. In addition, Dr. Yu has a joint appointment with the School of Social Work and the Department of Public Health. He was inducted into the Delta Omega Public Health Honorary Society, founded by the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health in 1924, to be recognized for his achievements in public health research and engagement.

Dr. Yu also leads Culture, Public Health and Social Service: Greece through MU International Programs. The program takes students to Athens and Larissa, Greece, allowing them to broaden their knowledge of culture, public health and social services through a broad lens of contemporary global health issues and diverse cultural exposure.

Selected publications

Han, K., Yu, M., Kehinde, O. (2024). Effectiveness of different online intervention modalities for middle-aged overweight and obese adults: A 20-year systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Prevention 45, 123-157. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10935-023-00761-z

Rudy, D., Han, S., & Yu, M. (2023). South Korean adolescents’ delinquency, disclosure, parental knowledge, parent-child closeness, and delinquent peer associations. Journal of Research on Adolescence 33 (2), 514-529. http://doi.org/10.1111/jora.12822

Foell, A., Amano, T., Newransky, C., Nebbitt, V., Lombe, M., Yu, M., Horton, D., Enelamah, N., & Riffer, A. (2023). Stress-biomarkers in Black youth: Exploring community and household correlates. Journal of Urban Health. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-023-00776-1

Hodge, D.R., Yu, M., & Kim, A.* (2021). Ranking disciplinary social work journals: Comparing faculty perceptions with two citation-based approaches. Journal of the Society for Social Work Research, 12 (1), 109-129. https://doi.org/10.1086/713306

Yu, M., Sacco, P., Choi, H., & Wintemberg, J. (2018). Identifying patterns of tobacco use among youth in the United States: Sociodemographic and tobacco-related correlates. Addictive Behaviors, 79, 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2017.11.034

• Google Scholar
• Research Gate

Awards

• 2024 Faculty of the Year Award, The University of Missouri Department of Public Health
• 2019 Distinguished Research Award, The University of Missouri College of Human Environmental Sciences
• 2018 Instructor of the Year Award, The University of Missouri Master of Public Health Program
• 2010 Instructor of the Year Award, The University of Missouri Master of Public Health Program
• 2009 Outstanding Faculty Award for Teaching, The University of Missouri School of Social Work

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