Lee Kum Sheung Center for Health and Happiness
The mission of the Lee Kum Sheung Center for Health and Happiness is to build a rigorous and interdisciplinary science of positive health, happiness, and well-being with a focus on health equity, and to translate the science to influence practice and policy.
Kresge Building 6th Floor
677 Huntington Avenue
Boston, MA 02115
Ongoing Research
Center scholars are continually engaging in cutting-edge research into the science of health and happiness, sometimes in collaboration with partners across the world. By engaging with these local and global organizations, the Center facilitates an exchange of knowledge between science and practice.
Collaboration with the East Boston Social Centers
As part of Center Director Viswanath’s initiative to promote community well-being and health equity, the Lee Kum Sheung Center for Health and Happiness has begun working with the East Boston Social Centers (EBSCs). The EBSCs were founded more than a hundred years ago to welcome and support immigrant families in East Boston through early education programming and public health and social services. Under the leadership of Executive Director Justin Pasquariello, the EBSCs started a campaign to promote community joy, which in turn sparked a partnership with the Lee Kum Sheung Center.
The HappyB2.0 Project
The HappyB2.0 project is the continuation of the HappyB project in the US context. The project is funded by the National Institutes of Health and directed by the Research Associate Dr. Laura Marciano (Principal Investigator), in collaboration with Center Director Dr. K. “Vish” Viswanath (Co-Investigator) and Dr. Nathaniel Osgood (Co-Investigator). The proposed research will quantify how in-person interactions and social media communication uniquely contribute to the experience of adolescents’ loneliness and mental health (including the experience of happiness and thriving) in the short- and long- term. Data will be collected from approximately 360 Boston teens, in collaboration with Boston high schools through the Education Development Center and the Roxbury Tenants of Harvard.
Collaboration with the Salaam Bombay Foundation
Center Director Viswanath is collaborating with the Salaam Bombay Foundation (SBF) to conduct a longitudinal study to track students over time, following them through their school years and beyond to determine how exposure to SBF programming and other life events impact their health and well-being. The purpose of the SBF longitudinal study is twofold: 1) to gather valuable data on the health communication behaviors, availability of assets, and resilience of youth to determine how these factors are associated with health and well-being, and 2) to directly chart how SBF programs impact outcomes for students who attended SBF-sponsored schools compared to those who did not.
Case Study: Lee Kum Kee Company
Director Viswanath is working on an in-depth case study of the Lee Kum Kee company to determine how the company’s philosophy of “Si Ji Li Ren,” which roughly translates to “consider others’ interests before acting,” is operationalized and followed in practice. The case study will be used to teach students, providing an illustration of how the workplace could be a site for promoting well-being and happiness.