Advice for Early Career Professionals from Richard Liu, PhD
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# Advice for Early Career Professionals from Richard Liu, PhD
T.H. Stanley Seah, PhD
Marina Zhukova, PhD
10.27.2026
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Authored by T.H. Stanley Seah, PhD and Marina Zhukova, PhD
_This blog is part of__ADAA’s Early Career Professionals and Students SIG__International Scholars Blog Series__which highlights the experiences of early-career international scholars._
#### Dr. Richard Liu, PhD, an Associate Professor of Psychology at Harvard Medical School and Psychologist at Massachusetts General Hospital, has made significant contributions and impact in the field of youth depression and suicide.
In the following interview, Dr. Liu shares how he navigated the academic landscape in the U.S. as an international scholar and offers helpful advice and suggestions for early career professionals.
#### 1. What initially brought you to the U.S. for clinical psychology training, and what were a few of the biggest surprises or adjustments you encountered along the way?
I am originally from Canada, arrived to the U.S. for college, and have stayed ever since. Coming from a country with universal healthcare, I was new to the concept of being “out of network,” something I discovered when it was immediately relevant. So that was certainly a surprise, but fortunately my Canadian health insurance still provided some coverage, even in the US.
#### 2. What were the most challenging aspects of navigating the U.S. clinical psychology training and early career system as an international scholar (e.g., internship, post-doc, licensure, funding, personal matters), and how did you manage them?
I have pursued a research-oriented career since graduate school, and so my response is with that perspective. A major challenge is that many positions and funding opportunities require US citizenship or permanent resident status, which I did not have at the time. When I came across a new funding opportunity, I learned to skip immediately to the eligibility criteria, before getting into the weeds of what the application would entail. Certain major funding mechanisms that would look appealing for internship and beyond were not options for me. Not having an F31 awarded by the NIH, for example, due to ineligibility may be less salient with reviewers of internship or post-doc applications, than is the presence of an F31. However, international scholars can still make up for this in other ways (e.g., time that would otherwise have been spent on a grant application could be directed to strengthening publication output).
Pursuing a research-oriented post-doc can also be more challenging for international scholars, for much the same reason, e.g., non-citizens without a green card are not eligible for T32 training programs or F32 research funding. Positions at the VA also are not an option for international scholars. Therefore, this reduces the pool of programs and faculty who will be able to take you on as a post-doc.
Fortunately, there are still many post-doc positions that do not have this restriction. In fact, international scholars are eligible for some major funding opportunities at the post-doctoral level through various foundations. I was supported, for example, through a post-doc grant from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Also, one NIH grant with a training component for which international scholars are eligible to help launch their faculty career is the K99/R00 mechanism.
#### 3. What do you think would make an international candidate competitive on the job market as they transition from trainee to early career faculty?
Track record in terms of papers and grants is of course a big factor. But for papers, more than quantity, quality is important. In my view, papers reflecting innovative and impactful ideas in an emerging program of research is one of the strongest indicators of promise. Papers showcasing one’s advanced methodological and statistical skills may also be advantageous. I personally also attend much more to first-author papers than total number of papers.
Although co-author papers are still important, having a high number of them can sometimes be a function of being in a productive lab. In fact, a high number of co-author papers with very few first-author papers may raise concerns about potential for independence and one’s ability to carry one’s ideas and projects to completion. In the end, I would recommend a good number of impactful first-author papers, while also ensuring a reasonable balance between first-author and co-author publications if possible.
#### 4. In what ways has your identity as an international scholar shaped your research, clinical work, mentoring philosophy, or professional trajectory?
My years of experience navigating the academic landscape as an international scholar in the US has made me sensitive to the unique challenges and considerations of scholars having these experiences now, particularly in the current environment. It provides added motivation for me to help my international mentees and those within my broader network to the degree that I can.
#### 5. What advice would you give to current international doctoral students or early career psychologists who hope to secure their first faculty position (clinical and/or research) in the U.S.?
I believe building an informal mentorship and peer network, within and outside your lab and institution is important. It is particularly helpful for your network to include other internationals, who will be familiar with some of the considerations and challenges unique to an international scholar in the US. Also, no single mentor will be able to address all your professional development needs, and no mentor is always going to be right, and so it is often valuable to get a balance of multiple perspectives on a question at hand. Having a diverse network of mentors with complementary expertise, experiences, and perspectives is immensely helpful.
Senior mentors bring a wealth of experience, and junior mentors may be particularly well positioned to offer guidance if they have recently gone through the journey you are embarking on (e.g., job hunting, negotiating a job offer). Given changes to requirements and procedures for immigration visas and green cards over the years, more junior mentors who have recently gone through the relevant process can be very helpful (in addition to consulting your Office of International Scholars).
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T.H. Stanley Seah, PhD
T.H. Stanley Seah, PhD
Stanley Seah, PhD, is a licensed psychologist and an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Dr. Seah conducts research and teaches courses in developmental psychopathology, focusing on risk and resilience factors of youth mental health. Dr. …
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Marina Zhukova, PhD
Marina Zhukova, PhD
Marina Zhukova, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist and an Assistant Professor at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. Dr. Zhukova has more than a decade of clinical and research experience working with children and adolescents with …
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The ADAA blogs are forums for individuals to share their opinions, experiences and thoughts related to mental illness. ADAA wants to ensure the integrity of this service and therefore, use of this service is limited to participants who agree to adhere to the following guidelines:
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