People

Bei Wu, PhD

NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing - Dean’s Professor in Global Health
NYU College of Dentistry - Affiliated Professor
NYU Aging Incubator - Co-Director

Email: bei.wu@nyu.edu

Education

PhD, Gerontology, University of Massachusetts Boston
MS, Gerontology, University of Massachusetts Boston
Bachelor of Law, Sociology, Shanghai University

Research Interests

Health disparities, Cognitive impairment, Oral health, Aging, Behavioral interventions, Secondary data analysis

BIO

Bei Wu is Co-Director of the Aging Incubator at New York University which provides support and an infrastructure for relationships and sharing of resources across the NYU campus for aging related initiatives. Dr. Wu holds the positions of Dean’s Professor in Global Health and Director of Global Health and Aging Research at the NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing. She is also the Director of Research at the Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing and affiliated professor at NYU College of Dentistry. Dr. Wu’s career in gerontology has been distinguished by interdisciplinary collaboration with researchers in various disciplines at many academic institutions and organizations in the U.S. and abroad. Her extensive publications cover a variety of topics related to aging and health, such as oral health, health services utilization, long-term care, dementia, and caregiving. Her research interest is to address health disparities among older adults in the U.S. and abroad.

Current Research Projects

Developing a Behavioral Intervention to Improve Oral Health for Persons with Cognitive Impairment (Wu – MPI)
Funding source: Duke/Duke-NUS collaborative research pilot project funds
Understanding the Role of Chinese Culture Traits in Promoting Resilient Aging: A Three-Site Comparative Study Among Elderly Chinese (Wu and Zhang – MPIs)
Funding source: University of Hawaii and New York University Rory Meyers College of Nursing
Nanjing Centenarian Study (Wu, Gu and Zhao – MPIs)
Funding source: Nanjing Normal University and Hong Kong Mindlink Research Center

Publications

Recent

Zhu Z, Hu Y, Xing W, Guo M, Wu B (2019).
Perceived discrimination and cognitive function in middle-aged and older adults living with HIV in China
AIDS Care, 31 (9), 1061-1068. doi: 10.1080/09540121.2019.1601674.

Zhu Z, Guo M, Petrovsky DV, Dong T, Hu Y, Wu B (2019).
Age and regional disparity in HIV education among migrants in China: Migrants population dynamic monitoring survey, 2014-2015
International Journal for Equity in Health, 18, 104. doi: 10.1186/s12939-019-0999-x. PMCID: PMC6610800.

Deren S, Cortes T, Dickson VV, Guilamo-Ramos V, Han BH, Karpiak S, Naegle M, Ompad DC, Wu B (2019).
Substance use among older people living with HIV: Challenges for health care providers
Frontiers in Public Health, 7, 94. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2019.00094. PMCID: PMC6491638.

Zhu Z, Hu Y, Xing W, Guo M, Zhao R, Han S, Wu B (2019).
Identifying symptom clusters among people living with HIV on antiretroviral therapy in China: A network analysis
, 57 (3), 617-626. doi: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2018.11.011.

Li J, Wu B, Selbaek G, Krokstad S, Helvik AS (2017).
Factors associated with consumption of alcohol in older adults – a comparison between two cultures, China and Norway: The CLHLS and the HUNT-study
BMC Geriatrics, 17 (1), 172. doi: 10.1186/s12877-017-0562-9. PMCID: PMC5537928.

Dr. Wu's Research Gate Profile

Selected Press

Link Between Gum Disease and Dementia is Uncertain

Fox News Health

Coverage of Bei Wu's article on the association between oral health and cognitive status among older adults.

People with Diabetes Twice as Likely to Lose Teeth

CBS News

Coverage of an article, co-authored by Bei Wu, on trends in tooth loss among American adults with and without diabetes.