Jung-Ah Lee
Professor with tenure, Sue & Bill Gross School of Nursing, University of California, Irvine
Associate Dean for Culture and Community Engagement, PhD Program Director, Sue & Bill Gross School of Nursing, University of California, Irvine
Biography
Jung-Ah Lee, PhD, RN, FGSA, FAAN, FADLN, is Professor with tenure, Director of the PhD Program, and Associate Dean for Culture and Community Engagement at the Sue & Bill Gross School of Nursing, University of California, Irvine. She received her PhD in Biobehavioral Nursing and Health Systems from the University of Washington in 2008. Lee's research focuses on health equity in aging populations, particularly dementia caregiving among underserved ethnic minority communities, and the application of mobile health and wearable Internet-of-Things technology to improve health outcomes for older adults with chronic diseases.
Lee has secured substantial research funding, including an NIH/NIA R01 award to develop and test a home-based, culturally and linguistically specific intervention for dementia family caregivers using wearable technology. Her work integrates community-based participatory research approaches with advanced health technology to address health disparities in diverse populations. She has published over 85 peer-reviewed journal articles and presented her research at numerous national and international conferences. Her scholarship spans clinical translational science, health informatics, and ethnogeriatrics, with particular emphasis on Asian American and Latino communities.
Lee has received numerous honors recognizing her contributions to nursing science and health equity. She was inducted as a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing in 2021, a Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America in 2021, and an inaugural Fellow of the Academy of Diversity Leaders in Nursing in 2024. In 2024, she received the Sigma International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame Award. Lee served as President of the Asian American and Pacific Islander Nurses Association and a Board member of the National Coalition of Ethnic Minority Nurses Association. She has mentored numerous doctoral students, postdoctoral fellows, and junior faculty members, with several receiving competitive fellowships and awards for their research.
Return to topEducation
- PhD in Biobehavioral Nursing and Health Systems, University of Washington
- MN in Biobehavioral Nursing and Health Systems, University of Washington
- BSN in Nursing Science, Catholic University of Korea
Distinctions
- Clinical COHS Team Research Award – Honorable Mention, 2025
- Hall of Fame Sigma International Nurse Researcher Award, Sigma Theta Tau (Honor Society of Nursing), 2024
- Senior Researcher of Geriatric Nursing Research Award, Western Institute of Nursing, 2024
- Newkirk Faculty Fellow, University of California, Irvine, Newkirk Center for Science and Society, 2024
- Inaugural Fellow of Academy of Diversity Leaders in Nursing (FADLN), 2024
- Duck Hee Kang Distinguished Mentor Award, Global Korean Nursing Foundation, 2023
- Fellow of Western Academy of Nurses (WAN), Western Institute of Nursing, 2022
- Fellow Gerontological Society of America Award (FGSA), 2021
- Fellow of American Academy of Nursing (FAAN), 2021
- Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Research, University of California, Irvine, 2021
- Nursing Excellence Award, UCI Health, 2021
- NIH/NIA R01 Award, 2020
- Best Paper Award on Improving Communication in Diverse Older Adults, American Geriatrics Society, 2020
- Athalie Clarke Achievement Award for Nursing Research, UCI, 2020
- Best Research Poster Award, Western Institute of Nursing, 2019
- Gerontology Education Award, Western Institute of Nursing, 2018
Areas of Expertise
- Gerontological Nursing
- Venous Thromboembolism Prevention
- Mobile Health Technology
- Dementia Family Caregiving
- Wearable Internet-of-Things
- Community-Based Participatory Research
- Health Disparities in Aging
Recent Publications
- Kwon, H.J., Ryu, S.H.., Choi E.J.., Lee, J.A., Kim, S.J. & Cho, H.J., “Effectiveness of Virtual Reality-Based Toothbrushing Instruction on Oral Health Outcomes: A Randomized Controlled Trial”, Clinical Oral Investigations, 2026.
- Koh, JH, Choi, EJ, Lee, JA, Kim, SJ, Cho, HJ, “Association of Tooth Loss With Stress and Depressive Symptoms in Korean Adults: An Analysis Using Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES VI) (2013, 2015)” (opens in new tab), Gerodontology, vol. 43, pp. 61-68, 2025.
- Gepshtein, Y., Lee, JA, Bounds, D., Burton, C., “We should not call an Ambulance, even if We are Very Sick: Ukrainian Refugee Women's Experiences in the United States Healthcare System” (opens in new tab), Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, vol. 27, pp. 766-777, 2025.
- Oh, K.M., Hong, S., Beran, K., Sanders, L., Park, J. Y., Lee, JA, “Utilizing conversational AI technology for social connectedness among older adults: A systematic review” (opens in new tab), Journal of Applied Gerontology, vol. 45, pp. 527-549, 2025.
- Ju, E., Qu, A., Guo., Y., Park, JI., Kim, J., Lee, JA, “Sleep Quality of Persons with Dementia and Family Caregivers in Korean Americans: Wearable Technology to Study the Dyadic Association” (opens in new tab), Western Journal of Nursing Research, vol. 27, no. 5, pp. 404-412, 2025.
- Kim, J., Cho, K., Hwang, Y. Y., Lee, JA., Baek, S. Y., Yang, J., Park, Y., & Heo, S., “Beliefs and attitudes of family caregivers of People with dementia toward advance care planning: A Q methodology study” (opens in new tab), Dementia, 2025.
- Lee, JA, Kim, J., Rousseau, J., Sabino-Laughlin, E., Ju, E., Kim, E., Rahmani, A., Gibbs, L., Nyamathi, A., “Community health workers supporting diverse family caregivers of persons with dementia: Preliminary qualitative results from a randomized home-based study” (opens in new tab), Dementia: the international journal of social research and practice, vol. 24, no. 2, pp. 249-268, 2024.
- Ju, E, Guo, Y., Burton, C., Kim, J., Lee, JA, “Severe Sleep Disturbances in Dementia Patients with REM Sleep Behavior Disorder and Family Caregivers: A Mixed Methods Study” (opens in new tab), Research in Gerontological Nursing, vol. 17, no. 5, pp. 247-255, 2024.
- Park, J.I., Aquajari, S.A., Rahmani, A., Lee, JA, “Predicting Sleep Quality in Family Caregivers of Dementia Patients from Diverse Populations Using Wearable Sensor Data” (opens in new tab), CIN: Computers, Informatics, Nursing, vol. 110, pp. 276–288, 2024.
- Roh, SH., Lee, YS, Moon, H., Steele, J., Warne, D., Lee, JA, “Cognitive Impairment and Social Determinants of Health among Indigenous Women” (opens in new tab), The Gerontologist, vol. 64, 2024.
- Kim, J., Kim, K.H., Shin, M.S., Heo, S., Lee, J.A., Cho, K., An, M, “Evaluating Dyadic Factors Associated with Self-Care in Patients with Heart Failure and Their Family Caregivers: Using an Actor-Partner Interdependence Model” (opens in new tab), Plos One, vol. 19, no. 9, 2024.
- Rousseau, J, Gibbs, L., †Garcia, C., Runge, A., †Palmer, C., Haria, J., Eichinger, M. & Lee, JA, “A Pioneering EMR-Embedded Digital Health Literacy Tool Reveals Healthcare Disparities for Diverse Older Adults” (opens in new tab), Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, vol. 72, 2024.
Most Cited Publications
- Lee, JA, Choi, M., Lee, SA., Jiang, N., “Effective behavioral intervention strategies using mobile health applications for chronic disease management: a systematic review” (opens in new tab), BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making, vol. 18, pp. 12, 2018.
- Lee JA., Zierler, B. K., Zierler, R.G., “The risk factors and clinical outcomes of upper extremity deep vein thrombosis” (opens in new tab), Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, vol. 46, no. 2, pp. 139-44, 2012.
- Evangelista, L. S., Lee, JA., Moore, A. A., Motie, M., Ghasemzadeh, H., Sarrafzadeh, M., Mangione, C., “Examining the effects of remote monitoring systems on activation, self-care, and quality of life of older patients with chronic heart failure” (opens in new tab), Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing, vol. 30, no. 1, pp. 51-7, 2015.
- Lee, HY, Lee, JA., Brar, J., Rush, E., Jolley, C., “Physical activity and depressive symptoms in older adults” (opens in new tab), Geriatric Nursing, vol. 35, no. 1, pp. 37-41, 2014.
- Lee, JA, Nguyen, A. L., Berg, J. P., Amin, A. N., Bachman, M., Guo, Y., Evangelista, L. S., “Attitudes and preferences of the use of mobile health technology and health games for self-management: Interviews with older adults on anticoagulation therapy” (opens in new tab), Journal of Medical Internet Research mHealth and uHealth, vol. 2, no. 3, pp. e32, 2014.
- Lee, JA., Grochow, D., Drake, D., Johnson, L., Reed, P., van Servellen, G., “Evaluation of hospital nurses' perceived knowledge and practices of venous thromboembolism assessment and prevention” (opens in new tab), Journal of Vascular Nursing, vol. 32, no. 1, pp. 18-24, 2014.
- Kim, HJ, Kehoe, P., Gibbs, L., Lee, JA, “Caregiving Experience of Dementia Among Korean-American Family Caregivers” (opens in new tab), Issues in Mental Health Nursing, vol. 40, no. 2, pp. 158-165, 2019.
- Burton, C., Lee, JA, Waalen, A., Gibbs, L., “Things are Different Now But: Older LGBT adults' experiences and unmet needs in health care” (opens in new tab), Journal of Transcultural Nursing, vol. 31, no. 5, pp. 492-501, 2020.
- Lee JA, Liu C, Sales A, “Racial and ethnic differences in diabetes care and health care use and cost” (opens in new tab), Preventing Chronic Disease, vol. 3, no. 3, pp. A85, 2006.
- Kim, E.A., Shin, S.S., Lee, JA, “Relationship between Acculturation and Mental Health in Korean American Family Caregivers of Community Dwelling Persons Living with Dementia” (opens in new tab), Clinical Nursing Research, 2024.
- Lee, JA.*, Kim, H., †Ju, E., Guo, Y., Rousseau, J., Gibbs, L., †Tran, T., †Tom, C., †Sabino-Laughlin, E., & Kehoe, P, “A culturally and linguistically appropriate telephone support intervention for diverse family caregivers of persons with dementia during the COVID-19 pandemic” (opens in new tab), Journal of Family Nursing, vol. 28, no. 3, pp. 231-242, 2022.
- Nguyen, H., Zagoza, M., Wussler, N., & Lee, JA, ““I was confused about how to take care of mom because this disease is different everyday”: Vietnamese American caregivers’ understanding of Alzheimer’s Disease” (opens in new tab), Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology, vol. 35, no. 2, pp. 217-234, 2020.
- Lee, JA.,* Evangelista, L. S., Moore, A.A., Juth, V., Guo, Y., Gago, S., Lem, C.G., Nguyen, M., Khatibi, P., Baje, M., & Amin, A.N., “Feasibility study of a mobile health intervention for older adults on oral anticoagulation therapy” (opens in new tab), Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine, 2016.
- Lee, JA.,* Nguyen, A. L., Berg, J. P., Amin, A. N., Bachman, M., Guo, Y., & Evangelista, L. S, “Attitudes and preferences of the use of mobile health technology and health games for self-management: Interviews with older adults on anticoagulation therapy” (opens in new tab), Journal of Medical Internet Research mHealth and uHealth, 2014.
- Lee, JA.,* Grochow, D., Drake, D., Johnson, L., †Reed, P. & van Servellen, G. , “Evaluation of hospital nurses' perceived knowledge and practices of venous thromboembolism assessment and prevention” (opens in new tab), Journal of Vascular Nursing, vol. 32, no. 1, pp. 18-24, 2014.
- Kim, HJ, Kehoe, P., Gibbs, L. & Lee, JA, “Caregiving Experience of Dementia Among Korean-American Family Caregivers” (opens in new tab), Issues in Mental Health Nursing, vol. 40, no. 2, pp. 158-165, 2019.
- Lee, JA.,* Zierler, B. K., Liu, CF., & Chapko, M, “Cost-effective diagnostic strategies in patients with a high, intermediate, or low clinical probability of pulmonary embolism” (opens in new tab), Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, vol. 45, no. 2, pp. 113-121, 2011.
- Lee, JA.,* Zierler, B. K., Glenny, R., Wittkowsky, A. van Servellen, G., & Amin, A.N. , “Venous thromboembolism preventive strategies in hospitalized patients”, Journal of Clinical Outcomes Management, vol. 18, no. 12, pp. 66-73, 2011.
- Lee, JA.* & Zierler, B. K., “Prevention and clinical outcomes in older inpatients with suspected venous thromboembolism” (opens in new tab), Journal of Gerontological Nursing, vol. 36, no. 4, pp. 40-48, 2010.
- Lee JA,* Liu C, & Sales A, “Racial and ethnic differences in diabetes care and health care use and cost” (opens in new tab), Preventing Chronic Disease, vol. 3, no. 3, pp. A85, 2006.
- Choi, S., Lee, JA. & Rush, E., “Ethnic and language disparities in diabetes care among California residents” (opens in new tab), Ethnicity and Disease, vol. 21, no. 2, pp. 183-9, 2011.
Contact Information
Website: https://www.faculty.uci.edu/profile/?facultyId=5580
Email: jungahl@uci.edu
Phone: (949) 824-7894
Address: 4305 Nursing & Health Sciences Hall, Irvine, CA 92697-3959
Return to topThis profile was created with the help of AI.
Last updated on 3/14/2026.