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Research Interests

Dr. Huo’s research focuses on how and why older adults help other people, and how these helping behaviors contribute to older adults’ resilience in the face of age-related challenges and promote healthy aging. Her work centers on three main areas: (a) empathy and couple relationships in the context of health limitations (e.g., disability, cognitive impairment), (b) volunteering, and (c) ageism and views on aging. Dr. Huo's research draws on diverse methods, including self-report data, daily and ecological momentary assessments, biomarker data, geocoded data, objective assessments of physical activity, and real-life observational data. Her studies have been published in leading journals of gerontology, such as The Gerontologist and The Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences.

Education
Ph.D., Human Development and Family Sciences (Portfolio: Aging and Health). The University of Texas at Austin

B.S., Psychology, Beijing Normal University

Faculty CV

Selected Accomplishments
 

APA DIV 20 Springer Early Career Achievement Award

APA DIV 20 Dissertation Award in Psych and Aging

Harrington Dissertation Fellow, Donald D. Harrington Fellowship (Highest honors; $40,000)
 

Grants

Principal Investigator, UC Davis Subcontract ($15,000) of the NIA R01 entitled “Social Networks and Well-being in Late Life: A Study of Daily Mechanisms” (R01AG046460, 2016–2021; PI: Karen Fingerman, PhD)

2021-2024 Principal Investigator, National Institute on Aging funded R21 (grant # R21AG069045-01A1), entitled “Empathy, Support Exchanges, and Well-being in Older Couples Coping With Early-Stage Alzheimer’s Disease” (Total costs: $424,269)

2021-2023 Principal Investigator, UC Davis Alzheimer’s Disease Center Pilot Grant entitled “Empathy in Couples Coping with Early-Stage Alzheimer’s Disease: Implications for Unmet Needs and Well-being” (Submitted, Apr 2021; Total costs: $88,512)

Select Publications

Huo, M., Kim, K., Brown, C. K., Gilligan, M., & Wang, W. (2026). Receiving caregiver support and its association with hair hormones in people living with Alzheimer’s disease: The role of caregivers’ perspective taking. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 186, Article 107746. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2026.107746

Huo, M., Wang, F., Shang, Y.*, & Patterson, S. (in press). Caregivers serving as confidants: Relationship correlates and well-being by care recipients’ dementia status. The Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbaf273

Hu, R. X., & Huo, M. (in press). Expanding the social pathways linking self-perceptions of aging to health: The role of friendships. The Gerontologist. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnaf270  

Huo, M., Hu, R. X., & Skoblow, H. F. (2025). Aging and perceiving aging together: Couple synchrony in self-perceptions of aging and health. The Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 80(12), Article gbaf199. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbaf199    

Huo, M., Mroz, E., Monin, J., & Hinton, L. (2025). Support that people with early-stage Alzheimer’s disease provide to their spousal caregivers: A qualitative study on dyadic perspectives. Aging and Mental Health. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2025.2569657    

Huo, M., & Kim, K. (2025). Volunteering with mild cognitive impairment: Implications for subsequent cognitive changes. The Gerontologist, 65(11), Article gnaf190. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnaf190

Kong, D., Li, X., Lan, Y., Huo, M., & Xiang, X. (2025). Functional disability and depressive symptoms in middle-aged and older couples: A dyadic examination of bidirectional influences and temporal dynamics. Journal of Aging and Health. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/08982643251355055

Huo, M., Vu, T.*, Yoneda, T., Wei, J., Abbott, B., & Monin, J. K. (2025). Empathy and psychological outcomes in informal caregivers of community-dwelling older adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis. The Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 80(6), Article gbaf018. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbaf018

Huo, M., Leger, K. A., Birditt, K. S., & Fingerman, K. L. (2025). Empathy is associated with older adults’ social behaviors and verbal emotional expressions throughout the day. Scientific Reports, 15, Article Number: 269. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-82550-0  

Li, J.*, Huo, M., Gao, L., & Wang, D. (2024). Stigma of losing an only child: Implications for public perceptions of bereavement adversities and prosocial tendencies in China. OMEGA - Journal of Death and Dying. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/00302228241303254  

Lee, E.*, Huo, M., & Kim, K. (2024). Preferences for features of current and future residential environments among Korean middle-aged adults. Research on Aging, 47(2), 128–139. https://doi.org/10.1177/01640275241279922  

Huo, M., Gilligan, M., Kim, K., Richards, N. E.*, Fingerman, K. L., & Zarit, S. H. (2024). Dyadic ambivalence in couples managing early-stage Alzheimer’s disease: Linking behavioral and psychological symptoms to life satisfaction. The Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 79(9), Article number: gbae130. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbae130.