2013 NIH-UCLA Summer Institute on Mobile Health (mHealth) Technology Research

August 26-30, 2013

University of California, Los Angeles

http://obssr.od.nih.gov/training_and_education/mhealth/

Application Process opens April 29, 2013

Applications due May 24, 2013

Using mobile technologies to more rapidly and accurately assess and modify behavior, biological states and contextual variables has great potential to transform medical research.  Recent advances in mobile technologies and the ubiquitous nature of these technologies in daily life (e.g., smart phones, sensors) have created opportunities for research applications that were not previously possible (e.g., simultaneously assessing behavioral, physiological, and psychological states in the real world and in real-time). Importantly, much of the work being done in mHealth arises from siloed fields with a focus on the creation of high end products with little reference to behavior theory or to potential application in biomedical settings. Products uninformed by research, will not be maximally effective. Moreover, the gap between the mHealth product world and behavioral and clinical research constitutes a missed opportunity for current researchers to include mHealth products to their research to strengthen and support ongoing efforts. The gap between engineering development and clinical and behavioral research can be reduced by conducting cross-training between early investigators in these fields. Bringing these groups together will allow for collaboration and cross-fertilization that is unlikely in other discipline or trade-specific venues.

To address these issues, the NIH Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research and the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) will conduct a five-day training Institute. The institute will bring together leaders in mobile technology and behavioral sciences to lead a cross-training event for early career investigators with interest in mHealth.  The training curriculum will cover the current state of the science in mobile technology and engineering, behavior change theory and clinical applications, and highlight the intersection among these areas for research related to health. Daily didactic sessions will target the major cross-cutting research issues.  Afternoons will be devoted to small, interdisciplinary teams developing potential mHealth research projects, guided by multidisciplinary mentorship teams.

Candidate Requirements:

Hold a doctoral level degree (PhD, ScD, MD, DDS, DVM, etc.), in any of the following:

· Social and Behavioral sciences

· Medical, Health or Dental sciences

· Biological, Physical or Earth sciences

· Computational Sciences and Mathematics

·         Engineering

DEADLINE TO SUBMIT APPLICATIONS:
11:59PM, EASTERN TIME, FRIDAY, May 24, 2013

Applicants must submit the following documents electronically  by May.

1. Personal Information. Enter through the link in the application form.

2.  Applicant Background.  Provide a brief summary of your professional background. Be sure to include the expertise  you bring that is relevant to realizing the full potential of mHealth research.  (no more than one-half page)

3. Research interests.  Describe a succinct, testable research question that you are interested in addressing with mHealth methodologies. Examples could include such topics as: Can a body sensor network be used to monitor emotional state? Can a personalized health record be both useful to patients and utilized to collect research data? Can a cell-phone based intervention for smokers reduce quit rates more than treatment as usual? This document may inform the selection of team projects and is intended to solicit your perspectives on the potential of mobile technologies to address critical public health challenges and approaches to building the evidence base that will inform how best to harness these technologies.  (No more than 1 page).

4.  Team Section: The mHealth Institute environment is especially suited to individuals who are willing to step outside their particular area of interest or expertise, who are positively driven, who enjoy creative activity, who can think innovatively and who can settle in easily in the company of strangers. Please describe an experience you have had in a comparable environment, especially one in which you worked in a team. What would you personally and professionally gain from participating in this Institute? (No more than 1 page)

5.  Applicant’s Curriculum vitae: Upload your Curriculum Vitae.

6.  Letter of Support: Signed letter of support from the applicant’s Dean, Department Chair or Employer. This letter should include that if participants are invited to attend the training, they will be released from regular duties during training period (August 26-30).

There is no cost for the training.  Applicants are NOT required to be citizens, permanent residents, or non-citizen nationals of the United States. HOWEVER, expenses will only be paid for domestic (within the U.S.) travel. Preference will be given to applicants who plan to use the training to inform research on health problems.