Department of Applied Health Science
School of Public Health
Indiana University Bloomington
Dr. Hsien-Chang Lin is an Associate Professor and the Interim Associate Dean for Faculty Recruitment at Indiana University School of Public Health in Bloomington. Dr. Lin joined AAHB in 2011 and was awarded AAHB Fellow in 2019. He has been active in services to the Academy in various capacities, including Chair of the Annual Conference Planning Committee, Chair of the Awards Council, Chair of the Research Review Committee, and Member of the Professional Development and Mentoring Council. Dr. Lin is currently the AAHB President-Elect and will start his presidency in March 2023.
Dr. Lin's research program encompasses health services, health policy, pharmaceutical health outcomes, and health behavior research. Guided by the socioecological model of health, Dr. Lin applies multidisciplinary perspectives and methods to bridge macro-level health policy analysis to micro-level health behavioral research. His work also focuses on adopting innovative methods to address complex health issues using high-dimensional quantitative data. Dr. Lin is interested in how policies and regulations may influence substance use/misuse behaviors, including vaping as well as prescribing and use/misuse of prescription opioids. Specifically, Dr. Lin has conducted several studies examining the impact of federal and state policies/regulations on adolescents’ and young adults’ vaping behaviors. In addition, his research on prescription opioid misuse examined physicians’ prescribing practice and patients’ use/misuse of opioid painkillers among patients with chronic pain, and how the healthcare system and healthcare policy influence these behaviors. Dr. Lin’s research is supported by federal and state agencies including the National Institutes of Health and the Indiana State Department of Health.
Dr. Lin is a devoted mentor. In the past decade, he has mentored dozens of young scholars, including junior faculty, postdocs, and PhD and master students. His mentorship philosophy includes: 1) mentoring should tailor a mentee’s aptitude, 2) challenge students while giving feedback, 3) try to embrace scientific advancement, and 4) never be afraid of being surpassed by mentees. Dr. Lin always feels extremely fulfilled and “rewarded” when seeing his mentees publishing articles in high-impact journals, obtaining tenure, being awarded prestigious grants, and being success in careers.
Dr. Lin has an interdisciplinary educational background. He received his bachelor’s and master’s training in economics and sociology at National Taiwan University and obtained his dual PhD in health policy and pharmacoepidemiology from the University of Michigan School of Public Health and School of Pharmacy.
What does this award mean to you?
I am extraordinarily honored to be given the AAHB mentorship award. I have been extremely fortunate to be mentored by many people in my academic career, and I am very thrilled to have the opportunity to mentor others. In addition to the research accomplishments I have made with my mentees (i.e., extrinsic reward), I have been feeling intrinsically rewarded when seeing the growth and success of my mentees, which has been a prominent inspiration for me to be a responsible and devoted mentor. Being the recipient of the AAHB mentorship award further gives me the stimulus to continue mentoring the next generation of public health scholars.
Hsien-Chang Lin, PhD, FAAHB