Expert Subject: Social Work

Amy L. Ai, Ph.D., MSW, MS, MA, is a Professor of Social Work/SW and is affiliated with the Colleges of Medicine and Nursing and the Institute for Successful Longevity, Florida State University.

Dr. Ai earned three master’s degrees and a joint Psychology-SW Ph.D. at the University of Michigan, followed by postdoctoral training at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Her interdisciplinary research focuses on physical and behavioral health, aging, health disparities, trauma, disasters, human strengths, and spirituality, leading to numerous first-author publications.

She is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, Association of Psychological Science, and Gerontological Society of America; John A. Hartford Geriatric Faculty Scholar; Delegate/Representative of Academic Settings to the 2005 White House Conference on Aging; and Fulbright Scholar.

She is the PI/Co-PI of multiple projects, funded by Federal, State, and private foundations. She is a Scientific Reviewer for national, international, and private funding agencies (e.g., the Departments of State, Defense, and Health and Human Services, the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, NIH, and major funders in Canada, the United Kingdom, and Israel).

Dr. Ai is a Society of Behavioral Medicine fellow and received two awards from SBM, the Integrative Health and Spirituality Specialty Group Distinguished Scientist Award (2024) and Cardiovascular Disease Group Kenneth E. Freedland Founder’s Award (2026). She is also a fellow of the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare.

She a recipient of the Outstanding Science Award (APA Trauma Psychology), the Innovation Award from the International Society of Traumatic Stress Studies, the Distinguished Health Psychology Award (IAAP). Her seminal tool book, “Assessing Spirituality in a Diversified World” (2020, peer-reviewed), is currently the only book on this topic, involving 40+ interdisciplinary scholars around the globe.