Who We Are

Personal Statement

I am a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Washington and licensed Clinical Psychologist who specializes in development and evaluation of technology-based approaches in the study, assessment, treatment, and prevention of mental illness. This work includes development of illness self-management apps for people with schizophrenia, leveraging mobile and context-aware technologies for assessment of violence and suicidality in psychiatric hospital settings, behavioral sensing and modelling systems for detection of psychotic relapses, social media-based outreach to people who experience auditory hallucinations, and clinical texting interventions for individuals with serious mental illness  in community settings.

My research has been supported by grants and awards from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Science Foundation (NSF) Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), SYNERGY Clinical and Translational Science Institute, Myrtlewood Foundation, and John Sloan Dickey Center for International Understanding.  I publish extensively in scientific journals and is a regular speaker at national and international scientific meetings including invited presentations at the White House and National Institute of Mental Health Director’s Innovation Speaker series. I have written editorials and commentaries on the use of technology-based interventions for Psychiatric Services, the BMJ, and the New York Times, and my research has been covered by Public Radio, Nature, Wired Magazine, Slate, and The Economist. I served on the Editorial Board of Schizophrenia Bulletin and am the Inaugural Editor of the “Technology in Mental Health” Column for Psychiatric Services.

Education

Postdoctoral Research Fellowship, UCSD School of Medicine, 2009
Clinical Internship, UCSD School of Medicine/VA San Diego, 2008
PhD, Clinical Psychology, Illinois Institute of Technology, 2008
MS, Clinical Psychology, Illinois Institute of Technology, 2005
BA, Behavioral Sciences, Ben-Gurion University, Israel, 2002

Department Affiliations