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Jojo Yan Yan KWOK
ORCID

Dr. Jojo Kwok is an Assistant Professor at the School of Nursing and the Associate Director at the Centre on Behavioral Health, The University of Hong Kong. She is a registered nurse and a certified yoga instructor in Hong Kong, holding a Bachelor of Nursing (First Class Honours), Master of Public Health, and PhD degrees from the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Dr. Kwok’s research portfolio centers around neurology care, behavioral science and rehabilitation medicine, focusing on nurse-led, compassionate-based care models for movement disorders. Her pioneering research has been published in top-rank journals in clinical neurology, gerontology and behavioral medicine, such as JAMA Neurology, npj Parkinson’s Disease, and the Journal of the American Medical Directors Association. Her scholarly works have gained international attention and have been featured in regional and international news media outlets such as Reuters and Radio Television Hong Kong. The impact of her research is evident, with her publications cited in international guidelines such as the 2021 Lancet Seminar on Parkinson’s disease. With her dedication to advancing health and social care services for aging populations, Dr. Kwok successfully obtained a substantial donation (HK$12.87 million) to support her leadership in developing and implementing a territory-wide, community-based compassionate care model for managing Parkinson’s disease.

In recognition to her research achievement and contribution to the nursing profession, Dr. Kwok has been recognized as a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing in 2024, and an Emerging Nurse Researcher/Scholar Award from the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International in 2023. She has also received an Early Career Award from the Hong Kong Society of Behavioral Health in 2022, an Outstanding New Researcher Award in 2021, an Early Career Award and a Meritorious Scientific Abstract Award in 2018 from the International Society of Behavioral Medicine (ISBM). She has been appointed as an external reviewer for national competitive research grants such as the Dutch Research Council and the Austrian Science Fund. Additionally, Dr. Kwok serves as a council member and education and training committee member of the Hong Kong Parkinson’s Disease Foundation, contributing to PD-specific education and training for patients, caregivers, and allied health professionals.

Furthering her research expertise, Dr. Kwok is also a Research Scholar (Visiting) at the Osher Center for Integrative Health, Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital. She is actively engaged in international collaboration on mechanistic and effectiveness investigation of integrative care and mind-body modalities, complementing her primary work on nurse-led, compassionate-based care models for movement disorders.

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  • Neurology research (Parkinson’s disease, symptom management and caregiving)
  • Gerontology (aging, loneliness)
  • Behavioral medicine (psychological interventions, mHealth, gut microbiome)
  • Complementary and alternative medicine (yoga, mindfulness, inflammatory biomarkers)
  • Research methodology (clinical trials, systematic review, network meta-analysis, mixed-method)
Funding Scheme Project Title Approved Amount (HK$)
General Research Fund 2024/2025, Research Grants Council Enhancing psychological wellbeing and the patient-caregiver relationship through dyadic mindfulness: A randomized controlled trial in people with Parkinson’s disease and their caregivers 927,800
Health and Medical research Fund, Health Bureau Effects of a nurse-led palliative care programme, ‘Cultivating Acceptance and Living Meaningfully with Progressive Neurological Diseases’ (CALM-Neuro): A feasibility randomized control trial 499,976
Health and Medical research Fund (HMRF) Research Fellowship Scheme 2022, Health Bureau A Brief and Blended Mindfulness-based Lifestyle counselling programme (B-Mindful-Life) for behavioural risk modification among caregivers of people with neurodegenerative disorders: A pilot randomised controlled trial 998,813
The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust

The Jockey Club Movin’ Care for Parkinson's Disease Project*
賽馬會「柏動愛」柏金遜症關懷計劃*

12,870,000

The Nethersole Institute of Continuing Holistic Health Education (NICHE) Research Grant 2022/2023

Effects of a nurse-led palliative care programme, ‘Cultivating Acceptance and Living Meaningfully with Progressive Neurological Diseases’ (CALM-Neuro), on psychospiritual well-being: A mixed-method feasibility randomised controlled trial. 66,420
Early Career Scheme (ECS) 2021/2022, Research Grants Council Effects of a Home-based Exercise Programme Incorporating Mindfulness and Yoga Practice on Balance and Mobility for People with Parkinson’s Disease: A Randomised Controlled Trial 1,070,000
General Research Fund 2020/2021, Research Grants Council ‘Mindfulness in stillness’ or ‘mindfulness in motion’? A randomized controlled trial on the effects and acceptability of individual mindfulness techniques – meditation and yoga – on anxiety and depression in people with Parkinson’s disease 979,252
Interdisciplinary Knowledge Exchange (KE) Project Fund, HKU Mindfulness Yoga for Parkinson’s Disease (MY-PD) 正念瑜伽展柏力 175,000
Professor Ida Martinson Project Fund, The East Asian Forum of Nursing Scholars (EAFONS) A cross-regional study comparing symptom prevalence, severity and health-related quality of life among people with Parkinson’s disease in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Thailand 45,000
Association of Hong Kong Nursing Staff The effect of yoga on psychological distress for people with Parkinson’s disease: a pilot study 49,800
  1. Kwok JY*, Jiang D*, Yeung DY, Choi NG, Ho RT, Warner LM, Chou KL. Layperson-delivered telephone-based behavioral activation among low-income older adults during COVID-19 pandemic: the HEAL-HOA randomized clinical trial. JAMA Network Open. 2024;7(6):e2416767. Available from: doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.16767
  2. Kwok JY*, Choi EP, Wong JY, Lok KY, Ho MH, Fong DY, Kwan JC, Pang SY, Auyeung M. A randomized clinical trial of mindfulness meditation versus exercise in Parkinson’s disease during social unrest. NPJ Parkinson’s Disease, 2023 Jan 21; 9 (1):7. Available from: doi: 10.1038/s41531-023-00452-w
  3. Chan LM, Yan OY, Lee JJ, Lam WW, Lin CC, Auyeung M, Bloem B, Kwok JY*. Effects of Palliative Care for Progressive Neurologic Diseases: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, 2022 Dec 5. Available from: doi: 10.1016/j.jamda.2022.11.001
  4. Kwok JY*, Choi EP, Lee JJ, Lok KY, Kwan JC, Mok VC, Auyeung M. Effects of mindfulness yoga versus conventional physical exercises on symptom experiences and health-related quality of life in people with Parkinson’s disease: the potential mediating roles of anxiety and depression. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 2022 Apr 23. Available from: doi: 10.1093/abm/kaac005
  5. Kwok JY*, Smith R, Chan LM, Lam LC, Fong DY, Choi EP, Lok KY, Lee JJ, Auyeung M, Bloem BR. Managing freezing of gait in Parkinson’s disease: a systematic review and network meta-analysis. Journal of Neurology. 2022 Mar 4. Available from: doi: 10.1007/s00415-022-11031-z
  6. Kwok JY*, Lee JJ, Choi EP, Chau PH, Auyeung M. Stay mindfully active during the coronavirus pandemic: a feasibility study of mHealth-delivered mindfulness yoga program for people with Parkinson's disease. BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies. 2022 Feb 7;22(1):37. Available from: doi: 10.1186/s12906-022-03519-y
  7. Kwok JY*, Huang TW, Tretriluxana J, Auyeung M, Chau PH, Lin CC, Chan HY. Symptom burden and unmet support needs of patients with Parkinson's disease: a cross-sectional study in Asia-pacific regions. Journal of the American Medical Directors Association. 2021 June; 22 (6): 1255-1264. Available from: doi: 10.1016/j.jamda.2020.09.012
  8. Kwok JY*, Choi EP, Chau PH, Wong JY, Fong DY, Auyeung M. Effects of spiritual resilience on psychological distress and health-related quality of life in Chinese people with Parkinson’s disease. Quality of Life Research. 2020 Jun 22:1-9. Available from: doi:10.1007/s11136-020-02562-x
  9. Kwok JY*, Lee JJ, Auyeung M, Chan ML, Chan HY. Letting nature take its course: A qualitative exploration of the illness and adjustment experiences of Hong Kong Chinese people with Parkinson's disease. Health & Social Care in the Community. 2020 Jun 10. Available from: doi:10.1111/hsc.13055
  10. Kwok JY*, Kwan JC, Auyeung M, Mok VC, Lau CK, Choi KC, Chan HY. Effects of mindfulness yoga vs stretching and resistance training exercises on anxiety and depression for people with Parkinson disease: A randomized clinical trial. JAMA Neurology. 2019 Jul;76(7):755-63. Available from: doi:10.1001/jamaneurol.2019.0534
  11. Kwok JY*, Choi KC, Chan HY. Effects of mind–body exercises on the physiological and psychosocial well-being of individuals with Parkinson's disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Complementary Therapies in Medicine. 2016 Dec;29:121-31. Available from: doi:10.1016/j.ctim.2016.09.016
2021-2024 Editorial Board Member, BMC Public Health
2024-Now Associate Director, Centre on Behavioral Health, The University of Hong Kong
2023-Now Council Member, Hong Kong Parkinson’s Disease Foundation
2021-Now Ordinary Member, Hong Kong Academy of Nursing (Education & Research – Education)
2019-Now Co-opt Member, Pi Iota Chapter, The Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International
2018-Now Member, Hong Kong Society of Behavioral Health
2016-Now Education and Training Committee Member, Hong Kong Parkinson’s Disease Foundation
2016-Now Member, International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society
2016-Now Life member, Hong Kong Movement Disorder Society
Year Scholarship/ Award Institution/ Organization
2024 The Mind & Life’s Summer Research Institute Scholarship The Mind & Life’s Summer Research Institute
2023 Emerging Nurse Researcher/Scholar Award The Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International
2022 Early Career Award Hong Kong Society of Behavioral Health
2021 Outstanding New Researcher Award International Society of Behavioral Medicine
2020 Pi Iota Chapter Scholarship The Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International
2018  Early Career Award The International Society of Behavioral Medicine
2018  Meritorious Scientific Abstract Award The 15th International Congress of Behavioral Medicine, The International Society of Behavioral Medicine
2017  International Congress Travel Grants Award The International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society
2016 Early Career Researcher Award (runner-up) International peer-reviewed journal, Complementary Therapies in Medicine
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