About Me
I am an Associate Professor at the Department of Implementation Science at Wake Forest University. I also hold an Affiliate Professor position at the Department of Human Centered Design and Engineering at the University of Washington. My background includes studying psychology at the Universitat de Barcelona and earning a doctoral degree in clinical psychology from the University of Nevada. Over the years, I’ve contributed to the study and development of several digital interventions, such as Mindful Daily, SmartQuit, Tummy Trials, Eyes Free Yoga, Mindful Powers, and Pain Tracker Self Management. I created Learn to Quit, the first NIH-funded digital therapeutic designed to deliver smoking cessation treatment for individuals with serious mental illness. This applicationwon the Gold W3 Award in 2016 from the Academy of Interactive and Visual Arts and the Silver Davey International Award in 2016 for best wellness and health application. My work has been featured in FastCompany, The Drum, Seattle K5 News, and Psychiatric News.
At Wake Forest University, I lead the Access to Behavioral Lab for All (ABHA) Laboratory. Our focus is on ideating, developing, and testing digital behavioral health interventions for underserved populations, including individuals experiencing persistent mental health symptoms, addiction, or chronic pain. The ABHA Laboratory specializes in designing digital tools to foster behavioral health and psychological resilience, rigorously evaluating them, and exploring barriers and facilitators of digital health equity. Our research methods include user-centered design, small-n experimental designs, clinical trials, digital phenotyping, and participatory research. I’ve served as an ad-hoc reviewer for more than 25 scientific journals and 9 granting institutions, and I am currently a standing member of a study section for NIH’s Center for Scientific Review.