Dr. Dan Li is an Associate Professor of Health Promotion Sciences at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center (OUHSC). She is a National Certified Counselor and a Licensed School Counselor (K-12) in North Carolina. Dr. Li earned her Ph.D. in Rehabilitation and Counselor Education, with a minor in Applied Statistics, from the University of Iowa in 2018. Before joining the Hudson College of Public Health at OUHSC, she served as an Assistant Professor of Counseling at both the University of North Texas (UNT) and the State University of New York (SUNY) at New Paltz. Dr. Li is dedicated to integrating mental health with public health and promoting total health through counseling and education. Her overarching research agenda is focused on preparing culturally competent, responsive, and adaptive mental health and school counselors. She aims to promote the overall health and well-being of individuals across their lifespans, with a particular emphasis on children, while also working to reduce mental health disparities in marginalized communities.
As an interdisciplinary scholar, Dr. Li employs a wide variety of research methodologies to address her scholarly inquiries, including quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods. Her efforts have resulted in significant contributions, including authoring over 25 peer-reviewed publications (leading 15 as the first or sole author), two ongoing federal grants as a Co-PI (totaling more than $5.6 million), two professional grants (sole PI), one internal grant (sole PI), and 14 awards and fellowship. Her work has been recognized by prestigious honors, such as the 2022 Publication in Counselor Education and Supervision Award (a national award presented to one awardee per year), and the 2021 UNT College of Education Junior Faculty Research Award (also one per year). Dr. Li also dedicates herself to national service by providing scholarly assessments through respected publication outlets. For instance, since 2019, she has been selected to serve on the editorial review board for the Journal of Counseling & Development, the flagship journal of the American Counseling Association.