Dr. Yi Chai is a Research Assistant Professor at the Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacy, The University of Hong Kong (HKU). She earned her M.Sc. degree in Engineering Management from City University of Hong Kong in 2017 and her Ph.D. degree in Social Work and Social Administration from HKU in 2022. She was awarded the RGC Postdoctoral Fellowship (2022/23) during her postdoctoral training at HKU. Since 2022, she has been a Fellow of the Hong Kong Jockey Club Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention at HKU. Her research focuses on big data analytics in mental health. She is interested in investigating the epidemiology, contributing factors, and interventions of mental health conditions, including self-harm, suicide, depression, and schizophrenia.

Honours and Awards

• Fellow, Hong Kong Jockey Club Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention, The University of Hong Kong (2022-present)
• RGC Postdoctoral Fellowship (2022/23)

• Big data analytics in mental health
• Self-harm and suicide
• Pharmacological intervention in psychiatric disorders

Selected Publications

• Chai, Y., Luo, H., Wong, G. H. Y., Tang, J. Y. M., Lam, T.-C., Wong, I. C. K., & Yip, P. S. F. (2020). Risk of self-harm after the diagnosis of psychiatric disorders in Hong Kong, 2000–10: A nested case-control study. The Lancet Psychiatry, 7(2), 135-147. doi: 10.1016/S2215-0366(20)30004-3 (IF: 64.3 in 2022; JCR Q1, rank 2/155 in Psychiatry)
• Chai, Y., Luo, H., & Yip, P. S. F. (2020). Prevalence and risk factors for repetition of non-fatal self-harm in Hong Kong, 2002-2016: A population-based cohort study. The Lancet Regional Health – Western Pacific, 2, 100027. doi: 10.1016/j.lanwpc.2020.100027 (IF: 7.1 in 2022; JCR Q1, rank 7/105 in Health Care Sciences & Services)
• Chai, Y., Luo, H., Man, K. K. C., Lau, W. C. Y., Chan, S. K. W., Yip, P. S. F., & Wong, I. C. K. (2022). Antidepressant use and risk of self-harm among people aged 40 years or older: A population-based cohort and self-controlled case series study. The Lancet Regional Health - Western Pacific, 27, 100557. doi: 10.1016/j.lanwpc.2022.100557 (IF: 7.1 in 2022; JCR Q1, rank 7/105 in Health Care Sciences & Services)
• Chai, Y., Luo, H., Wei, Y., Chan, S. K. W., Man, K. K. C., Yip, P. S. F., Wong, I. C. K., & Chan, E. W. (2022). Risk of self-harm or suicide associated with specific drug use disorders, 2004–2016: a population-based cohort study. Addiction., 117(7), 1940-1949. doi: 10.1111/add.15820 (IF: 6.0 in 2022; JCR Q1, rank 3/38 in Substance Abuse)
• Chai, Y., Luo, H., Yip, P. S. F., Perlman, C. M., & Hirdes, J. P. (2021). Factors associated with hospital presentation of self-harm among older Canadians in long-term care: A 12-year cohort study. Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, 22(10), 2160-2168.e2118. doi: 10.1016/j.jamda.2020.12.022 (IF: 7.6 in 2022; Q1, rank 5/54 in Geriatrics & Gerontology)
• Chai, Y., Luo, H., Zhang, Q., Cheng, Q., Lui, C. S. M., & Yip, P. S. F. (2019). Developing an early warning system of suicide using Google Trends and media reporting. Journal of Affective Disorders, 255, 41-49. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2019.05.030 (IF: 6.6 in 2022; JCR Q1, rank 23/212 in Clinical Neurology)
• Chai, Y., Chu, R. Y. K. , Hu, Y., Lam, I. C. H., Cheng, F. W. T., Luo, H., Wong. M. C. S., Chan, S. S. M., Chan. E. W., Wong, I., C. K. & Lai, F. T. T. (2023). Association between cumulative exposure periods of flupentixol or any antipsychotics and risk of lung cancer: a territory-wide nested case-control study spanning two decades. Communications Medicine, 3(1), 126. doi: 10.1038/s43856-023-00364-z.
• Zhang, Q., Chai, Y. (joint first author), Li, X., Young, S. D., & Zhou, J. (2018). Using internet search data to predict new HIV diagnoses in China: A modelling study. BMJ Open, 8(10), e018335. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2017-018335 (IF: 2.9 in 2022; JCR Q2, rank 77/176 in Medicine, General & Internal)
• Luo, H., Lau, W. C. Y., Chai, Y., Torre, C. O., Howard, R., Liu, K. Y., Lin, X., Yin, C., Fortin, S., Kern, D. M., Lee, D. Y., Park, R. W., Jang, J.-W., Chui, C. S. L., Li, J., Reich, C., Man, K. K. C., & Wong, I. C. K. (2023). Rates of antipsychotic drug prescribing among people living with dementia during the COVID-19 pandemic. JAMA Psychiatry, 80(3), 211-219. doi: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2022.4448 (IF: 25.8 in 2022; JCR Q1, rank 3/155 in Psychiatry)
• Cheung, G., Chai, Y., Troya, M. I., & Luo, H. (2020). Predictive factors of nonfatal self-harm among community-dwelling older adults assessed for support services. International Psychogeriatrics, 34(9), 813-826. doi: 10.1017/s1041610220003853 (IF: 7.0 in 2022; JCR Q1, rank 2/37 in Gerontology)

• Patterns and trajectories of physical comorbidity in people with schizophrenia: A 20-year population-based cohort study (Ref: 17111523). Research Grants Council, General Research Fund (GRF), Co-I (771,680 HKD)