Jonathan Bricker, PhD, is an expert in the field of health behavior change interventions. He is a Full Professor of Public Health at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and Affiliate Professor and Member of the Graduate Faculty in Psychology at the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington. Dr. Bricker is founder and leader of the Health and Behavioral Innovations in Technology (“HABIT”) Research Group. The HABIT research group focuses on developing and testing innovative theory-based behavioral interventions for tobacco cessation and weight loss, especially those delivered in widely disseminable technology platforms. He and his team have developed a novel health behavior change intervention model based on the principles of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (“ACT”). The principal investigator of over $29 million US dollars in research grants, he has been leading seven NIH R01 randomized trial grants, as well as led or collaborated on multiple other Federal and private research grants. His current grants focus on testing a machine learning natural language processing “chat bot” for quitting smoking, several smartphone applications for tobacco cessation in the general population, among cancer patients, and among adolescents, and a weight loss telephone coaching program based on ACT. His “iCanQuit” smartphone app based on ACT was proven more effective than a leading National Cancer Institute smartphone app based on the US Clinical Practice Guidelines in a large randomized trial published in JAMA Internal Medicine. iCanQuit is now publicly available. He has published over 130 peer-reviewed research articles on addictions, behavioral interventions, and technologies. Currently, he serves as Senior Editor of the journal Addiction - the highest impact substance abuse journal. He has served as a regular member of several NIH Study Sections, including the IPTA addiction interventions study section, and has chaired several NIH special emphasis panels including the TCORS tobacco regulatory review panel. He has provided expert testimony to State legislators, including in support of the Washington State Tobacco 21 bill that was soon after signed into law. His TEDx talk, The Secret to Self Control, has been viewed over 8 million times and his work has been featured in popular books, documentaries, and news outlets across the world. A licensed clinical psychologist, Dr. Bricker received his PhD in Clinical Psychology from the University of Washington.

Margarita Santiago-Torres, PhD, is a nutrition and health disparities researcher with knowledge and expertise in energy balance, lifestyle behavioral interventions, community intervention research, and observational studies. Margarita studied Human Biology at the University of Puerto Rico and obtained a PhD in Nutritional Sciences from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She then completed an NCI-funded postdoctoral fellowship at the Fred Hutch before transitioning into a Staff Scientist position. Margarita’s current research focuses on the development, implementation and dissemination of lifestyle behavioral interventions that are scalable and culturally appropriate among underserved populations. As a Latina who grew up in an underserved community, Margarita is dedicated to promoting health related research that addresses health disparities in underserved populations.

Brie Sullivan is the Project Manager for the HABIT Group.  She manages the group’s research administration, operating procedures, and randomized clinical trial development and execution. She received her masters degree in Cognitive Psychology from Pennsylvania State University and her Project Management Professional certification from the Project Management Institute.

Sarah Hwang, BS, is the project coordinator for the HABIT Group. She serves as a project liaison and coordinates research and administrative activities, and is the main point of contact for all study participants. Her bachelor’s degree is in Physiology, with a Minor in Nutrition, from the Univeristy of Washington.

Christeine Terry, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist who serves as Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT) Clinical Supervisor for HABIT Group projects researching smoking cessation and weight loss interventions. She works with Dr. Bricker to train the health behavior counselors and treatment adherence coders and to formulate adherence manuals for each project.  She supervises counselors to assure treatment quality and fidelity, and conducts calibration sessions with coders to assure consistent levels of sensitivity. 

Kristin Mull, MS, is a biostatistician who serves as a Statistical Research Associate for the HABIT Group. She received a masters degree in Statistics from Oregon State University, and enjoys statistical programming and data visualization. An expert in general biostatistical methods and data analysis, she conducts the statistical design and analysis of the research group’s randomized clinical trials.

Jessica Harris, MA, LMHC, is a Health Behavior Counselor in the HABIT Group's randomized clinical trials of telephone counseling for weight loss and smoking cessation. She holds a master's degree in Mental Health Counseling from Antioch University. She is originally trained in Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention (MBRP) and is a mindfulness-based psychotherapist.

Victoria Sanborn, LICSW, is a Health Behavior Counselor in the HABIT Group in randomized clinical trials of telephone counseling for weight loss and smoking cessation. A licensed clinical social worker, she has a master’s degree in social work from Columbia University.

Juie Packard, MSW, is a Health Behavior Counselor in the HABIT Group's randomized clinical trials of telephone counseling for weight loss and smoking cessation.. She received her master’s degree in social work from the University of Washington.

Sara Fey-Hinckley, LMFT, is a Health Behavior Counselor in the HABIT Group in randomized clinical trials of telephone counseling for weight loss and smoking cessation. A licensed marriage and family therapist, she has a master’s degree in marriage and family therapy from Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, WA.

Becky Parrish, LMFT, is a Health Behavior Counselor in the HABIT Group in randomized clinical trials of telephone counseling for weight loss and smoking cessation. A licensed marriage and family therapist, she has a master’s degree from Seattle Pacific University in Seattle, WA.

Ali Keith is a Fidelity Coder with the HABIT group. She rates treatment adherence in telephone weight loss counseling sessions and assists with administrative activities. She has a bachelor’s degree in Neuroscience and Behavior from Columbia University. 

Camille Fogel is a Fidelity Coder with the HABIT group. She rates treatment adherence in telephone weight loss counseling sessions. She has a master's degree in Experimental Psychology from Western Washington University.

Ravi Mehrota, MD, PhD, is an Affiliate Investigator at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center,  and an Adjunct Professor of Epidemiology at the Rollins Institute of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, and the Founder of the Centre for Health Innovation and Policy (CHIP) Foundation. Dr. Mehrotra holds degrees in Medicine from the Armed Forces Medical College, Pune, MD and DPhil from the University of Allahabad and Fellowship of the Royal College of Pathologists from the UK.  He was the Founder-CEO of the ICMR-India Cancer Research Consortium and is the former director of the ICMR-National Institute of Cancer Prevention and Research (NICPR) and the WHO FCTC Global Knowledge Hub on Smokeless Tobacco. He has authored 300 plus peer-reviewed publications like Lancet, NEJM, BMJ and Nature. He is a member of the editorial board of 10 medical journals.