Brian J. Hall

Brian James Hall
Born
United States
Alma materKent State University (Ph.D.)
Known forGlobal mental health equity; migrant and refugee mental health; trauma and PTSD; digital mental health
Scientific career
FieldsClinical psychology, Global mental health, Psychiatric epidemiology
WorkplacesNYU Shanghai
New York University
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Stevan E. Hobfoll
Websitecghe.shanghai.nyu.edu

Brian James Hall (born in the United States) is an American clinical psychologist and global public health scholar. He is Professor of Global Public Health (with tenure) at NYU Shanghai and founding director of the NYU Shanghai Center for Global Health Equity. He is also an Affiliated Full Professor in the Department of Global and Environmental Health at the NYU School of Global Public Health in New York City..

Hall has been recognized as a Highly Cited Researcher by Clarivate each year from 2022 to 2025, placing him among the top 1% of scientists globally by citations in his fields. He is one of only 28 full-time scientists across all of New York University to hold this distinction.[1][2] His research addresses mental health among marginalized populations — including migrants, refugees, and disaster survivors — with a particular focus on low- and middle-income countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

Education and training

Hall received his Doctor of Philosophy in Clinical Psychology from Kent State University in 2011.

Following his doctorate, he completed a predoctoral clinical internship at the Medical University of South Carolina (Charleston Consortium), where he was also an NIMH Predoctoral Research Fellow in Traumatic Stress (T32 MH018869). He then completed a Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Psychiatric Epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (NIMH T32 MH014592), followed by a Fogarty Global Health Fellowship at the National Institutes of Health / University of North Carolina in collaboration with Sun Yat-sen University School of Public Health, with country placement in Guangzhou, China (2013–2014).[3]

Academic positions

Current

Hall has held the rank of Professor of Global Public Health with tenure at NYU Shanghai since 2020, where he founded the Center for Global Health Equity. Since 2020 he has concurrently served as an Affiliated Full Professor at the NYU School of Global Public Health in New York. He holds adjunct appointments at Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine / Shanghai Mental Health Center (2025–present), Sun Yat-sen University School of Public Health (2024–present), School of Psychology at East China Normal University (2020–present), and the Centre for Macau Studies at the University of Macau (2018–present). He has been an Associate Faculty Member in Health, Behavior and Society at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health since 2014.[4]

Previous

Prior to joining NYU Shanghai, Hall served as Associate Professor (2018–2020) and Assistant Professor (2014–2018) of Psychology at the University of Macau, where he founded the Global and Community Mental Health Research Group. In 2017–2018 he was the inaugural Global Mental Health Fellow in the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse at the World Health Organization in Geneva. He was a Visiting associate professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in 2019. Earlier in his career he worked as a statistician and clinician at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago (2008–2010).

Research

Hall's research sits at the intersection of clinical psychology, psychiatric epidemiology, and global public health. His primary areas of investigation include:

  • Migrant and refugee mental health: prevalence studies, determinants, and community-based interventions in Asia-Pacific contexts[5][6][7][8][9]
  • Traumatic stress and PTSD: cross-cultural measurement, epidemiology, and scalable psychological treatments[10]
  • Digital mental health and global health equity: technology-based approaches to closing the treatment gap and reducing mental health disparities in low- and middle-income countries, particularly in China and the Western Pacific[11][12]
  • Culture and mental health: cross-cultural conceptualization and classification of mental disorders, including contributions to the cultural revision of the DSM-5-TR (American Psychiatric Association, 2019–2021) and membership on the World Health Organization Working Group on Cultural Influences on Mental Health for the ICD-11 (2017–2018)

He is a Commissioner on The Lancet Commission on Mental Health in China (2020–present).

Awards and honors

International recognition

Hall has been named a Highly Cited Researcher by Clarivate annually from 2022 to 2025, recognizing scientists whose publications rank in the top 1% by citations for field and year in the Web of Science. He is one of only 28 full-time scientists across all of New York University to receive this recognition.[13][14]

  • Delta Omega Honorary Society in Public Health, Delta Beta Chapter, 2022

American Psychological Association

In 2021 Hall received the American Psychological Association's Award for Distinguished Contributions to Psychology in the Public Interest. He was elected Fellow of the APA in 2019, with fellowship in Division 52 (International Psychology) and Division 12 (Society of Clinical Psychology). Earlier career awards from the APA include:

  • Theodore Blau Early Career Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Clinical Psychology, Division 12, 2016
  • Early Career Psychologist Award, Division 52 (International Psychology), 2016
  • Award for Outstanding Contribution to Trauma Psychology by an Early Career Psychologist, Division 56 (Trauma Psychology), 2016
  • Distinguished Student Award, Division 12 (Society of Clinical Psychology), 2007

Society and conference awards

  • Early Career Award, Stress and Anxiety Research Society (STAR), 2017
  • Student Development Award, Stress and Anxiety Research Society (STAR), 2007
  • Chaim and Bela Danieli Young Professional Award, International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS), 2016
  • Young Investigator Award — Applied Science, International Union of Psychological Science (IUPSyS), 2016
  • Best Oral Presentation, World Psychiatric Association Conference, Hong Kong, 2014
  • Excellent Paper Submission Prize (two conference abstracts), ISTSS Annual Meeting, Hangzhou, 2014
  • Emerging Scholar Award (research), Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Macau, 2017

Academic honors

  • Faculty Excellence in Advising Award, Center for Global Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 2019
  • Keynote Distinguished Alumni Lecture, 50th Anniversary, Department of Psychological Sciences, Kent State University, 2018
  • Full tuition scholarship, CBT for Depression and Anxiety Workshop, Beck Institute for Cognitive Behavior Therapy, Philadelphia, 2012
  • Psi Chi International Honor Society in Psychology, 2001
  • Golden Key International Honor Society, 2001

Editorial service

Hall serves as Editor-in-Chief of Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences (Impact Factor 8.10, Q1) since 2025, having previously served as Senior Associate Editor (2023–2025). He is Advisory Editor of Social Science & Medicine (2024–present) and Associate Editor (Global Mental Health) of the International Journal of Mental Health (2020–present). He has served on the editorial boards of Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, The European Journal of Psychotraumatology, Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, and Journal of Anxiety Disorders, among others.

He has guest-edited special issues for BMC Global Health Research and Policy, Frontiers in Psychiatry, Frontiers in Psychology, Applied Psychology: Health and Well-being, the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, and The European Journal of Psychotraumatology.

Advisory and policy roles

World Health Organization

  • Technical Adviser for Digital Mental Health, Western Pacific Region (2021–present)
  • Temporary Adviser, Expert Consultation on the Future of Mental Health in the Western Pacific Region (2021, 2022)
  • External Expert Steering Committee Member, WHO Scientific Brief on COVID-19 and Mental Health (2021–2022)
  • Member, Guidance Development Group, WHO interim guidance on rehabilitation of post-COVID-19 condition (2021–2022)
  • Member, Working Group on Cultural Influences on Mental Health, ICD-11 (2017–2018)
  • Member, Technical Expert Advisory Group, WHO "Problem Management Plus" (PM+) scalable psychological intervention (2016)

Other advisory roles

  • Co-chair, Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU) Working Group on Migrant Health (2019–present)
  • Co-chair, APRU Working Group on Mental Health (2019–present)
  • Commissioner, The Lancet Commission on Mental Health in China (2020–present)
  • Cross-Cutting Reviser and Reviewer, culture-related text, DSM-5-TR, American Psychiatric Association (2019–2021)
  • Member, Programme Committee, World Health Summit Regional Meeting 2027, Hong Kong
  • Board Advisor (Global Mental Health), Arelyx (2025–present)
  • International Advisory Board Member, IINARA Center, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (2026–present)

Professional society leadership

Hall is an Elected Steering Committee Member of the Migration Health and Development Research Initiative (MHADRI), where he chairs the Sub-committee on Collaborations and Partnerships (2024–present). He co-chaired the APRU Working Groups on Migrant Health and on Mental Health. He served as an Elected Member of the Board of Directors of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (2016–2019) and co-chaired its Research Methods Special Interest Group (2011–2019). He chairs the Fellows Committee of APA Division 12: Society of Clinical Psychology (2024–present).

Licensure

Hall is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist in the state of Maryland (License #05193), active since 2013, along with Virgina, Washington DC, with Telehealth License in Florida and Colorado.

References

  1. ↑ "Highly Cited Researchers 2025". New York University. November 2025. Retrieved 2026-06-04.
  2. ↑ "Toward Health Equity Across the Globe: NYU Shanghai's Brian Hall Named Highly Cited Researcher in the Field of Psychiatry and Psychology". NYU Global Dimensions. April 22, 2024. Retrieved 2026-06-04.
  3. ↑ "Brian Hall: Mental Health in China". Fogarty International Center, National Institutes of Health. January–February 2018. Retrieved 2026-06-04.
  4. ↑ "Brian James Hall — Faculty Profile". Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Retrieved 2026-06-04.
  5. ↑ Hall, Brian J.; Pangan, Cheila Alexis C.; Chan, Edward W.W.; Huang, Rebecca L. (January 2019). "The effect of discrimination on depression and anxiety symptoms and the buffering role of social capital among female domestic workers in Macao, China". Psychiatry Research. 271: 200–207. doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2018.11.050. PMID 30500710.
  6. ↑ Chan, J.; Dominguez, G.; Hua, A.; Garabiles, M.; Latkin, C.; Hall, Brian J. (2024). "The social determinants of migrant domestic worker (MDW) health and well-being in the Western Pacific Region: A scoping review". PLOS Global Public Health. 4 (3) e0002628. doi:10.1371/journal.pgph.0002628. PMC 10971684. PMID 38536868.
  7. ↑ Hall, Brian J.; Garabiles, Melissa R.; Latkin, Carl (2019). "Work life, relationship, and policy determinants of health and well-being among Filipino domestic workers in China: A qualitative study". BMC Public Health. 19 (1): 229. doi:10.1186/s12889-019-6552-4. PMC 6387740. PMID 30797233.
  8. ↑ Hall, Brian J.; Huang, L.; Yi, G.; Latkin, Carl (2021). "Fast food restaurant density and weight status: A spatial analysis among female Filipino migrant workers in Macao, China". Social Science & Medicine. 269 113192. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.113192. PMID 32713761.
  9. ↑ Garabiles, Melissa R.; Lao, K.; Hung, A.; Hall, Brian J. (2019). "Exploring comorbidity between anxiety and depression among migrant Filipino domestic workers: A network approach". Journal of Affective Disorders. 250 (2): 85–93. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2019.02.062. PMID 30840160.
  10. ↑ Assessment of PTSD in Non-Western Cultures. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 2026-06-04.
  11. ↑ Sit, H. F.; Chen, W.; Wu, D.; Huang, Y.; Xu, D. R.; Hall, B. J. (2024). "Digital mental health in China". The Lancet Public Health. 9 (12): e1136–e1141. doi:10.1016/S2468-2667(24)00249-4. PMID 39643331. Retrieved 2026-06-04.
  12. ↑ Li, Gen; Sit, Hao Fong; Chen, Wen; Wu, Kunpeng; Sou, Elvo Kuai Long; Wong, Mek; Chen, Ze; Burchert, Sebastian; Hong, Ieng Wai; Sit, Ho Yi; Lam, Agnes Iok Fong; Hall, Brian J. (20 February 2024). "Digital mental health". Translational Psychiatry. 14 (1). Nature: 102. doi:10.1038/s41398-024-02812-3. PMC 10879210. PMID 38378687.
  13. ↑ "Highly Cited Researchers 2025". New York University. November 2025. Retrieved 2026-06-04.
  14. ↑ "Toward Health Equity Across the Globe: NYU Shanghai's Brian Hall Named Highly Cited Researcher in the Field of Psychiatry and Psychology". NYU Global Dimensions. April 22, 2024. Retrieved 2026-06-04.
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