Lily Xu

Lily Xu is a tenure-track faculty member in the School of Nursing and Health Professions at the University of San Francisco. Her research focuses on stress, mental health, and well-being among nursing students and other healthcare trainees. Her broader research interests include developing and evaluating evidence-based interventions to reduce stress and promote mental health, as well as incorporating biological stress markers into future nursing research. Lily is committed to student mentorship and innovative teaching strategies that support students’ professional development and well-being.

• Quantitative research design
• Stress and depression 
• Respiratory care

• Stress,  depression, students mental health
• Coping
• Bio-behavioral health

• UC San Francisco, PhD in Nursing, 2026
• Biola University, BSN in Nursing, 2019

• 2025 Western Institute of Nursing/National League of Nursing Doctoral Research Award:

• Xu L, Morales MJ, Biangone M, Hoffmann T, Leung C. Prevalence of Stress, Depressive Symptoms, and Contributing Factors Among Undergraduate Nursing Students: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Nurs Rep. 2026 Mar 5;16(3):88. doi: 10.3390/nursrep16030088. PMID: 41893076; PMCID: PMC13029601.
• Weiss SJ & Xu L. (2024). Postpartum symptoms of anxiety, depression and stress: differential relationships to women’s cortisol profiles. Achieves of Women’s Mental Health. 27(3),435-445