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Signature Seminar Series: Stigma and Global Mental Health: Applying 'What Matters Most'
to At Risk Youth Across Asian Cultures
ABOUT THE LECTURE:
Singapore's designation of mental health as a national priority for 2030 brings renewed attention to one of its most persistent barriers: the stigma that prevents at-risk individuals from seeking care. Dr. Yang will present his program of research in stigma and global mental health, centering on the concept of "What Matters Most" — how personhood is defined within local cultural groups — to elucidate new ways to understand, measure, and intervene against stigma in global communities, with a focus on Asian societies. Dr. Yang will highlight two key projects applying this framework: i) how stigma impacts undocumented Chinese immigrants with psychosis in New York City, and ii) how stigma affects identification of at-risk youth for serious mental illness in a major study conducted in North America. Through these projects, Dr. Yang will illustrate how mental illness identification can ostracize youth and other populations in Asian societies — including Singapore — from "What Matters Most" in their daily lives. Dr. Yang will conclude by presenting new advances in applying "What Matters Most" to address stigma, promote equity, and improve health outcomes for communities worldwide.
HOST:
Dr Sharon Sung
Associate Professor
Health Services Research & Population Health Programme
Duke-NUS Medical School
Dr Joshua Gooley
Associate Professor
Neuroscience & Behavioural Disorders Programme
Duke-NUS Medical School
VENUE:
Duke-NUS Medical School
Meeting Room 7C, Level 7
CONTACT PERSON:
Ms Kathleen Chan (kathleen.chan@duke-nus.edu.sg)
Duke-NUS Research Affairs Department
Date and Time
04 Jun 2026 @ 12:00 - 04 Jun 2026 @ 13:00
Speaker
Prof Lawrence Yang
Pauline Gratz Distinguished Professor
Duke University School of Nursing
Professor
Department of Population Health Sciences
Duke University School of Medicine
Dr. Lawrence Yang is the Pauline Gratz Distinguished Professor at Duke Nursing and Professor of Population Health Sciences. Associate Director, Duke Center for AIDS Research. Formerly Professor, Chair, and Founding Director of the Global Mental Health and Stigma Program at NYU GPH. Developer of the "What Matters Most" stigma framework and leading researcher in identification of at-risk youth for psychosis. Contact PI of 5 R01s, 195+ publications in JAMA and AJPH, and 2021 Maltz Prize recipient.