Na Zhang, Ph.D., is the Director of the Family Resilience And Mindfulness Empowerment (FRAME) lab and Assistant Professor of Human Development and Family Sciences at UConn. Dr. Zhang has completed a National Institute of Health T32 Postdoctoral Fellowship at Arizona State University’s REACH Institute. Additionally, Dr. Zhang earned her Ph.D. in Family Social Science with a Prevention Science Minor from the University of Minnesota.
The FRAME lab studies mindfulness in divorcing/separating families, a project funded by the National Institute of Health. The ultimate goal is to develop a mindfulness app that can be added to an existing digital evidence-based parenting intervention for divorced/separated parents as a self-help tool. Dr. Zhang expects the project to have real-world impacts on reducing mental health problems and stress in divorced parents as well as improving the well-being of their children. The FRAME lab is inviting divorcing or recently divorced mothers or fathers to participate in their study. Please reach out if you are interested. Email the lab at frame.lab@uconn.edu or call/text them at 203-561-7045.
Learn more about the FRAME lab here!
As a family scholar and prevention scientist, Dr. Zhang mainly studies the intrapersonal and interpersonal pathways involved in the development of psychopathology and resilience among youth and adults who were exposed to stressful or traumatic experiences. A major focus of her research is on the development and evaluation of behavioral parent training programs that consider parents as the agents of change. Dr. Zhang has investigated how effective parenting may lead to resilience outcomes in children from at-risk families and the applications of mindfulness training as an intervention strategy to strengthen and optimize parenting programs.
Dr. Zhang’s favorite activities include playing at home with her four-year-old son! Together, they play puzzles, Legos, and pretend games!
