Pei-Shan Tsai, PhD, RN, BCIA is a professor at Taipei Medical University College of Nursing. Formerly the dean of Taipei Medical University Office of Global Engagement, Professor Pei-Shan Tsai led a team of professionals and academics to assist international exchange of people and ideas, facilitate collaboration in education and research, and promote the institution’s achievements. Working closely with the University’s Senior Leadership Team, Tsai provided strategic advice and practical solutions to the institution’s vision for international development. Tsai took office as the dean school of nursing starting from March 14, 2023. 

Her research focuses on the link between stress‐response systems and chronic illnesses and outcomes of interventions for chronic pain, sleep disturbances, and other symptoms associated with chronic diseases. Tsai’s expertise includes using both physiological and behavioral measures in research for understanding the mechanisms and efficacy of nursing interventions. She also plays a vital role in demonstrating important health factors, disease prevalence, and health care effectiveness in the general population in Taiwan through secondary analysis of health data. Tsai is a collaborator noted for bringing researchers from different fields together to collaborate on research projects that have important clinical and policymaking implications. To date, she has published more than 180 peer-reviewed articles in medical, psychology, and nursing journals, many of which have received a high number of citations.

The Mind-Body Research Team focuses on the connection between thoughts, behaviors, emotions, environmental influences and biology. We seek to address the questions that are centered on the connection between mind and body. 

These include: 

1) The influence of psychological stress on physical and mental health.

2) The risk or protective factors for stress-related illnesses.

3) The beneficial effects of mind-body interventions on health outcomes and quality of life.

4) The potential mechanisms and pathways underlying the efficacy of mind-body interventions.

Neurobiology and the immune system as key pathways linking mind and body are of potential interests. Team members included Pei-Shan Tsai, Chia-Chi Chang, Hsiu-Ju Chang, Hsiao-Yean Chiu, Kee-Hsin Chen, Shu-Yu Kuo, Hui-Chuan Huang, Chueh-Ho Lin, and Fang Liu. 

Dr. Pei-Shan Tsai, the head of the laboratory, focuses her research on the link between stress‐response systems and chronic illnesses and outcomes of nursing care of patients with stress‐related illnesses. Dr. Chia-Chi Chang has special expertise in dementia care, especially problems of feeding and nutrition. Dr. Hsiu-Ju Chang has specialized in research on determining the psychopathological predictors and the effectiveness of body-mind-spirit viewpoints on improving well-being among patients with psychiatric disorders. Dr. Hsiao-Yean Chiu’s research activities currently focus on the management of sleep disturbances and cognitive impairments in a variety of clinical and community settings. Dr. Kee-Hsin Chen focuses on knowledge translational research for promoting the multidisciplinary evidence-based practice, particularly women health. Dr. Hui-Chuan Huang’s interests are in mental health and health promotion in patients with chronic diseases. Dr. Chueh-Ho Lin focuses his research on brain-behavior relationships during a specific task. Dr. Fang Liu’s research activities focus on the effectiveness of case management on chronic illness, cancer, and dementia.

The primary theme of the biobehavioral laboratory is using biobehavioral methods to improve health outcomes, in areas such as health promotion, disease assessment and prevention, management of critical and chronic illness, and quality of life. We conduct randomized controlled trials which incorporate biobehavioral measures to the impact of biologic and behavioral factors on health outcomes and the efficacy of integrated biobehavioral interventions and to unveil the biological bases and predictors of responses to behavioral interventions. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses are conducted to evaluate the effects of nonpharmacological interventions on health outcomes. Research thus far has mainly focused on patient populations who suffer from chronic medical conditions and frequently develop comorbid depression and sleep disturbances. Analysis of data from national surveys is done to determine the role of health behaviors on health outcomes. In addition, the team also analyzes data from the National Health Insurance Research Database to determine the impact of healthcare practices and interventions on long-term health outcomes. The team welcomes multidisciplinary approaches to study the connection between mind and body.