Dr Sunny Chan

Before joining UWE Bristol as a Senior Lecturer in 2022, Dr Sunny Chan was an Assistant Professor at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University from 2018 to 2021, where he secured and contributed to multiple competitive research grants in Hong Kong with a combined value of more than £4 million. Since moving to the UK, he has continued to secure funding for a range of research projects. To date, he has published nearly 40 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters.

Dr Chan’s research focuses on mental health, sleep, mood disorders, emotion regulation, ageing and cognitive health, including dementia, mild cognitive impairment and subjective cognitive decline. A particular strand of his work examines mind–body interventions, especially mindfulness and Tai Chi. He co-developed the DREAM (Dyadic Resilience, Engagement, Awareness & Mind–body intervention) programme in collaboration with people with lived experience, family carers and other stakeholders. DREAM aims to address sleep disturbances and support wellbeing among people living with dementia and their carers. More recently, he has extended this work through the development of CALM-SLEEP (Culturally Adapted Lifestyle Mind–Body Practices for Sleep) for older adults with subjective cognitive decline, with the aim of improving sleep and supporting brain health at an earlier, pre-clinical stage.

Dr Chan also has a strong track record of working with minority ethnic communities in the UK to co-develop culturally responsive interventions, with the aim of improving their accessibility, acceptability and relevance. Alongside his academic work, he is an experienced mindfulness teacher and Tai Chi practitioner, with extensive training undertaken in Hong Kong, Beijing, Taiwan and the United States, as well as many years of experience in delivering mindfulness-based programmes.