Prof. Mingshan Lu
Affiliations
Professor
Adjunct Professor
Cumming School of Medicine, Department of Community Health Sciences
Faculty member
O'Brien Institute for Public Health
Member
Libin Cardiovascular Institute
Contact information
Phone number
Office: +1 (403) 220-5488
Location
Office: SS328
For media enquiries, contact
Background
Credentials
Dr. Ac., College of Acupuncturists of Alberta , 2023
Registered Provisional Psychologist, College of Alberta Psychologists, 2026
Educational Background
BEng Management Information System, Tsinghua University, 1992
M.A. Economics, Boston University, 1997
Doctor of Philosophy Economics, Boston University, 1998
Traditional Chinese Medicine Diploma (TCMD) & Diploma in Acupuncture Alberta College of Acupuncture & Traditional Chinese Medicine, 2022
MSc Counselling Psychology, University of Calgary, 2026
Biography
Dr. Mingshan Lu is a Professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Calgary, an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Community Health Sciences at the Cumming School of Medicine, and a member of the O'Brien Institute for Public Health. She joined the University of Calgary in 1997 and holds a PhD in Economics from Boston University. She completed her MSc program in Counselling Psychology at the University of Calgary in 2026 and is a Registered Acupuncturist and a Registered Provisional Psychologist in Alberta.
Dr. Lu's research examines how economic incentives, healthcare financing and payment systems, and service delivery affect healthcare access, quality, outcomes, and equity. Her work spans mental health and substance use, health inequalities, patient-centred care, health services research, and the economic evaluation of interventions. She has published in economics, health economics, health services research, health policy, and medical journals. She received two consecutive Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research Population Health Investigator awards (1999–2005), served as Health Economics Lead at the Alberta SPOR SUPPORT Unit (2015–2021), and has consulted for the World Bank, the US National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, and the US National Institute on Drug Abuse.
In recent years, Dr. Lu has extended her work into integrative health research and clinical practice. From 2021 to 2024, she was principal investigator for three Government of Alberta–funded, community-based integrative health programs addressing pain, mental health concerns, and barriers to care. She takes a scientist-practitioner approach: clinical questions shape her research, and research informs her clinical work.
Clinically, she focuses on concerns that span psychological and physical health, including persistent stress, fatigue, pain, cognitive and attention difficulties, and their effects on daily functioning. Her long-term goal is to develop evidence-informed, individualized approaches that integrate counselling psychology and Traditional Chinese Medicine, and to evaluate whether they improve outcomes and offer value to patients and health systems.
She is especially interested in improving care for neurodivergent individuals and others navigating fragmented mental and physical health services. She is also learning from Indigenous perspectives on health and healing, with the aim of offering culturally responsive, trauma-informed care to Indigenous clients.
Research
Areas of Research
Health economics and health services research, with an emphasis on healthcare financing and payment systems, economic incentives, mental health and substance use, health inequalities and vulnerable populations, patient-centred care, and the economic evaluation of health interventions.
Research interests in counselling psychology, Traditional Chinese Medicine, and the development and evaluation of evidence-informed integrative care. Areas of focus include concerns spanning psychological and physical health, individualized care, and the clinical and economic outcomes of integrative interventions.
Participation in university strategic initiatives
Publications
More Information
Adjunct Faculty Member, Alberta College of Acupuncture & Traditional Chinese Medicine (ACATCM)
Director of Research, Huatuo Clinic
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