Jack J. Lu, Ph.D., LCSW
Principal Investigator and Project Director, Innovations Institute and Associate Research Professor
Jack J. Lu, LCSW, is Principal Investigator and Project Director, Innovations Institute and Associate Research Professor at the UConn School of Social Work.
At Innovations, he serves as the principal investigator and project director for the evaluation of Connecticut’s Rural Health Transformation Program, led by the Connecticut Department of Social Services, and funded by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. In this role, he leads a team of faculty and staff from the UConn School of Social Work’s Innovations Institute, UConn Health’s Health Disparities Institute and Center on Aging, and the Neag School of Education’s Husky Nutrition and Sport to ensure rural communities achieve optimal success across four pillars: population health, workforce, data and technology, and care transformation and stability.
Dr. Lu’s research program addresses the translational research-to-practice gap by establishing protocols that scale and sustain evidence-informed health services. He specializes in implementation science, integrated behavioral health care, and health systems transformation. Bridging high-level administrative leadership with empirical research, Dr. Lu has secured and managed multiple federal grants and state contracts as a principal investigator and project director. His research interests include social drivers of health, digital technologies, participatory research methods, and health equity.
His scholarship—published in leading journals such as Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, Journal of Substance Abuse and Addiction Treatment, and Prevention Science—includes rigorous implementation science frameworks to advance structural health equity.
Prior to his current appointment, Dr. Lu served as director of implementation at the Child Health and Development Institute and held a tenure-track assistant professor appointment at the University of Illinois Chicago. Previous projects have been funded by Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Centers for Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment, Connecticut Department of Children and Families (DCF), and the Connecticut Judicial Branch Court Support Services Division (CSSD).
Prior to his current appointment, Dr. Lu served as director of implementation at the Child Health and Development Institute and held a tenure-track assistant professor appointment at the University of Illinois Chicago. Previous projects have been funded by Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Centers for Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment, Connecticut Department of Children and Families (DCF), and the Connecticut Judicial Branch Court Support Services Division (CSSD).
Dr. Lu received a Ph.D. in social work and MSW degree from the University of Connecticut, and BA in psychology from the University of Massachusetts—Amherst.
Learn more about the CMS/HHS-funded Connecticut Rural Health Transformation Program.
