Welcome to the OWL Lab!

Director: Nur Hani Zainal, Ph.D.

National University of Singapore (NUS) Presidential Young Professorship (PYP) Assistant Professor

Our primary research interests encompass executive functioning (EF), technology-based interventions, cognitive-behavioral theories, biological psychiatry, and precision mental health (MH). We employ prospective research designs, such as basic experiments, longitudinal surveys, ecological momentary assessments (EMAs), and randomized controlled trials (RCTs), to repeatedly measure MH symptoms and their risk factors over varying time intervals in adult populations. Our research focuses on testing vulnerability models (positing that common mental disorders (CMDs) are preceded and predicted by risk factors) and scar theories (positing that chronic CMDs both predict and modify future risk factors) that examine the relationships between risk factors and CMDs. Additionally, we strive to identify moderators (effect modifiers) and mediators (potential mechanisms) of these bidirectional relations, aiming to enhance and optimize psychological interventions for precision MH.