Xiaoling Xiang

Dr. Xiaoling Xiang is a Professor at the University of Michigan School of Social Work, where she conducts cutting-edge research aimed at improving the health and well-being of older adults. Her scholarship bridges fundamental social science inquiry with applied intervention science, focusing on late-life depression, digital mental health, chronic disease comorbidity, and the ethical deployment of artificial intelligence in gerontechnology.

Education & Training

• 2015 PhD Social Work, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
• 2015 MSW Macro, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
• 2011 MPhil Social Welfare, Chinese University of Hong Kong, China
• 2009 BA Social Work and Sociology, Peking University, Beijing, China

Research Foci

Dr. Xiang’s program of research is organized around two synergistic pillars:

1. Fundamental Social Science: Leveraging large national surveys such as the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) and the National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS), she employs advanced statistical techniques—survival analysis, structural equation modeling, generalized linear mixed models, and quasi-experimental designs—to illuminate the dynamic interplay among physical functioning, disability, mental health, and cognition.
2. Applied Intervention Research: She designs, tests, and implements user-centered digital mental health interventions for home- and community-based settings. The flagship Empower@Home program is an internet-delivered CBT platform tailored for homebound older adults with depression, co-created through over 100 stakeholder meetings and four iterative redesigns.

Current Funding & Grants

• NIMH R01 MH137064 — Testing real-world effectiveness and implementation of Empower@Home supported by social service providers and laypersons.
• ACL/NIDILRR Field Initiated Project 90IFRE0097 — Scaling and sustaining digital mental health interventions in community aging services.

Scientific Honors

• 2025 Elected Fellow, Gerontological Society of America
• 2024 Grantee, Administration for Community Living
• 2024 Grantee, National Institute of Mental Health
• 2018 Ginsberg Center Award for Community & Service Learning

Teaching & Mentorship

Dr. Xiang has taught Adulthood and Aging, Evaluation in Social Work, Basic Social Work Research, and Statistics in Policy Analysis and Evaluation. She is actively recruiting and mentoring PhD students interested in aging, mental health, and digital interventions.

Recent Publication Trends

Her 2023–2025 portfolio reveals a concerted push toward pragmatic, hybrid effectiveness-implementation trials of digital CBT, qualitative exploration of user engagement, AI-driven analyses of social media discourse, and rigorous systematic reviews on chatbots and loneliness interventions.