Kai-Lin You PhD, RN

Kai-Lin You

Research Fellow

Department

Department of Systems, Populations and Leadership

Contact

4304 NURS1

University of Michigan School of Nursing
400 North Ingalls Building
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-5482

Interests

  • Cancer

  • Technology-based intervention

  • Health Services Research

  • Human-centered design

Dr. Kai-Lin You’s research centers on cancer survivorship care, with a focus on the return-to-work experiences of nurses following a cancer diagnosis. Her postdoctoral scholarship aims to develop a technology-based, user-centered intervention to address occupational challenges encountered by healthcare workers after cancer. She is currently supported by a trainee grant to collaborate with cancer patients and oncology clinicians in creating a gamified electronic patient-reported outcome (ePRO) platform. This project aims to enhance ePRO engagement through the integration of game elements, thereby promoting patient-provider communication and improve patient outcomes. Dr. You has experience in qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods research methodologies.

Current Research Grants and Programs

  • Return-to-work issues in healthcare workers diagnosed with cancer: Investigation and intervention development. National Cancer Institute Predoctoral to Postdoctoral Fellow Transition Award (F99/K00), 2024-2028 (PI)

  • Co-design of a gamified electronic patient-reported outcome platform to enhance patient and care outcomes. University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) Hillman Cancer Center Team Shark Tank Award, 2024-2026 (Co-I)

Teaching

Dr. Kai-Lin You is committed to nursing education through classroom teaching and mentorship. Her teaching philosophy emphasizes inquiry-based learning, active engagement, and inclusivity, encouraging students to think critically and act compassionately in cancer care and research. Dr. You has served as a teaching fellow for the undergraduate Community Health Nursing course and has delivered guest lectures to undergraduate and graduate students on topics of research pathways and grant writing. Through the Undergraduate Research Mentorship Program at the University of Pittsburgh, she mentored undergraduate nursing students in foundational research skills and supported their development as independent student researchers. Additionally, Dr. You contributed to a university-level mentoring program that supported incoming international students in making a smooth transition into the university community.

Affilliations/Service

  • Member, Oncology Nursing Society, 2018-present

  • Member, Eastern Nursing Research Society, 2018-2025

  • Member, Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing, 2021-present; (Eta Chapter, Leadership Succession Committee Member, 2021-2023)

  • Member, Council for the Advancement of Nursing Science, 2022-present

  • Member, American Medical Informatics Association, 2022-present (Social Media Student Ambassador, For Your Informatics Podcast, 2022-2023)

  • Liaison, Graduate Nursing Student Academy, 2024-2025

Notable Awards/Honors

  • The NCI Predoctoral to Postdoctoral Fellow Transition Award (F99/K00), 2024-2028

  • Team Shark Tank Award Finalist, University of Pittsburg Medical Center (UPMC) Hillman Cancer Center Scientific Retreat, 2024

  • Research Doctoral Degree Academic Scholarship, Oncology Nursing Foundation, 2022

  • Sigma/CANS Grant, Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing & Council for Advancement of Nursing Science, 2022

  • Margaret E. Wilkes Scholarship, University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing, 2021-2022

  • Salk Health Activist Fellowship, Jewish Healthcare Foundation, 2022

Education

  • PhD, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 2025

  • MSN, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan 2018

  • BSN, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan 2013

Publications Highlights

  • Healy, P., Malizio, I., Pho, A., You, K. L., Xu, A., Thomas, T. H. & Bbichenko, D. (2025). Which part makes it work? Mechanism exploration through feature comparison in a healthcare-related serious game. IEEE Conference on Serious Games and Applications for Health (SeGAH). 1-8. 10.1109/SeGAH65397.2025.11168291 [Awarded the Best Paper Award.]

  • You, K. L., Wang, Y., Zhang, Y., Bender, C. M., Fennimore, L. A., Rosenzweig, M. Q., Dierkes, A. M., Terry, M. Ann, Raina, K. D., & Thomas, T. H. (2024). Nurses’ returning to work after cancer: A focus group study. Nursing Outlook, 72(6), 102290. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.outlook.2024.102290

  • You, K. L., Sereika, S. M., Bender, C. M., Hamilton, J. B., Mazanec, S. R., Brufsky, A., & Rosenzweig, M. Q. (2024). Health-related quality of life over chemotherapy course among individuals with early-stage breast cancer: the association of social determinants of health and neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage. Supportive Care in Cancer, 32(4), 224. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-024-08429-y

  • Williams, K. S., Hui, V., Ross, M., Zamanzadeh, D. J., Nguyen, V., Khan, Z. A., Chapman, W. W., You, K. L., Murcko, A., Warsame, L., Ingram, W. M., Harman, T., & Grando, A. (2024). Empowering diversity: Striving for inclusivity by leveraging the American Medical Informatics Association's "For Your Informatics" Podcast. JAMIA Open, 7(3), ooae072. https://doi.org/10.1093/jamiaopen/ooae072

  • Cummings, M. H., You, K. L., & Nilsen, M. L. (2024). From ramsay hunt to parotid cancer: A case report. ORL-Head & Neck Nursing, 42(2), 29-32.

  • You, K. L., Cummings, M. H., Bender, C. M., Fennimore, L. A., Rosenzweig, M. Q., Dierkes, A. M., Raina, K. D., & Thomas, T. H. (2023). A scoping review on work experiences of nurses after being diagnosed with cancer. Oncology Nursing Forum, 50(6), 714–724. https://doi.org/10.1188/23.ONF.714-724

  • You, K. L., Delaney, R. K., McKinley, N., Healy, P., & Thomas, T. H. (2023). Who engages and why it matters?: Describing participant engagement in a serious game intervention for patients with advanced cancer. International Journal of Gaming and Computer-Mediated Simulations, 15(1), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.4018/IJGCMS.316968

  • Thomas, T. H., Bender, C., Rosenzweig, M., Taylor, S., Sereika, S. M., Babichenko, D., You, K. L., Terry, M. A., Sabik, L. M., & Schenker, Y. (2023). Testing the effects of the Strong Together self-advocacy serious game among women with advanced cancer: Protocol for the STRONG randomized clinical trial. Contemporary Clinical Trials, 124, 107003. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cct.2022.107003

  • Thomas, T. H., Go, K., Go, K., McKinley, N. J., Dougherty, K. R., You, K. L., & Lee, Y. J. (2022). Empowerment through technology: A systematic evaluation of the content and quality of mobile applications to empower individuals with cancer. International Journal of Medical Informatics, 163,104782. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2022.104782