Ruth Appel, MPP is a PhD Candidate at Stanford University who combines insights and methods from psychology, political science and computer science to develop evidence-based interventions to promote the common good. She is particularly passionate about preventing the spread of misinformation, encouraging political participation, promoting wellbeing and mental health, and addressing ethical challenges related to new technologies. Her current research projects include an online game to combat vaccine misinformation, and she has written about the ethics and privacy implications of new technologies.
She gained work experience as a UX Research Intern at Google, as a Research Associate at the Center for Advanced Hindsight, and as an Intern at the EU Delegation to the UN in New York. She holds a Master’s in Public Policy from Science Po Paris and a B.Sc. in Economics from the University of Mannheim.
Erin E. Bonar, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist and Associate Professor at the Addiction Center in the University of Michigan’s Department of Psychiatry. She leads research studies that involve novel applications of technology and social media to help prevent the individual and public health consequences of substance misuse and substance use disorders.
Jason Colditz, PhD, MEd
Jason Colditz, PhD, MEd, is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Pittsburgh Clinical and Translational Science Institute. Prior to completing his PhD in 2021, he spent 15 years as a Research Coordinator in the Departments of Psychiatry and Medicine. During this time, he developed real-time data collection and analysis processes to enhance validity of observational Twitter research on various health topics. He has also provided methodological contributions toward studies on the Yelp, YouTube, and TikTok platforms. His ongoing work leverages mixed-methods analysis, natural language processing, and machine learning to understand contexts of social support in addiction recovery communities on Reddit. The downstream goal is to translate observational findings into interactive, educational interventions, to enhance online community support and behavioral health trajectories.
Ben Lenail, based in Palo Alto CA, has consulted with biotech companies such as Minoryx Therapeutics, Autobahn Therapeutics, Deep Genomics, and Cionic. Ben is an investor in 15 early-stage healthcare companies with HealthTech Capital. He is a mentor with the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative; and serves on the Board of ALD Connect and of the American Brain Foundation.
Ben has worked in high-tech in Silicon Valley for 30+ years. He’s a graduate of the University of Washington in Seattle WA and Sciences-Po in Paris.
Debra Parker Oliver, PhD, MSW, holds the Ira Kodner Chair of Palliative and Supportive Care as a Professor in the School of Medicine, Division of Palliative Medicine, at Washington University in St Louis Missouri. She has a Masters of Social Work and PhD in Rural Sociology from the University of Missouri. Prior to getting her PhD she was the founder of Hands of Hope Hospice in St Joseph Missouri as well as service as a Hospice Director in two additional hospices years for a total of more than 20 years. Debbie is a former President of the Missouri Hospice and Palliative Care Association and a founding member and former Chair of the Missouri End of Life Coalition. After getting her doctorate she continued her commitment to the improvement of hospice care through research. She has nearly 200 peer -reviewed articles and several book chapters related to end of life and hospice care. She is currently the Principle Investigator of two NIH funded behavioral intervention studies and Co-Investigator on three additional intervention studies. Her research seeks to develop, test, and disseminate technological innovations to support caregivers of patients at the end of life. She is funded by the National Cancer Institute, the National Institute of Nursing Research, and the National Institute on Aging.
Julia Vassey, MPH, is a mixed-method researcher studying child and adolescent health behavior. She is focusing on adolescent exposure to marketing and counter-marketing tobacco-related content on social media, primary visual platforms, including Instagram, TikTok and Twitch. Julia is specifically interested in influencer social media marketing content and influencer marketing strategies and apply social network analysis to how influencers are connected to tobacco brands and to each other. Other methods she applies in her research include qualitative and quantitative (deep learning and machine learning) image and text analysis. Julia graduated from UC Berkeley Interdisciplinary MPH, and is currently working on herPhD in Health Behavior Research at USC, Department of Populations and Public Health Sciences.
Erin Vogel, PhD, is a social psychologist and Senior Research Associate at the University of Southern California. Her research uses experimental and observational methodology to explore the intersection of social media use and young people's health behaviors (e.g., tobacco use) and well-being (e.g., self-image). Erin recently taught a graduate seminar at Stanford University, "Social Media, Health, and Well-Being," in which students examined ethical issues around social media and its potential as a research tool and intervention tool. Aside from her academic work, Erin enjoys cooking, hiking, and spending time with family and friends.
Sean Young, PhD, MS, is the Executive Director of the University of California Institute for Prediction Technology, the Center for Digital Behavior, a Medical School and Informatics Professor with the UCI Departments of Emergency Medicine and Informatics, and the #1 Wall Street Journal and International Best-Selling author of Stick With It.
Dr. Young studies digital behavior and prediction technology, or how and why people use social media, mobile apps, and wearable devices. He helps people and businesses apply this knowledge to predict what people will do in the future (in areas like health, medicine, politics, and business) and to change what they will do in the future.
Dr. Young received his PhD in Psychology and Master's degree in Health Services Research from Stanford University, worked in technology and user behavior/human factors at NASA Ames Research Center and Cisco Systems, taught at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business, and advised various companies and start-ups. Dr. Young is an internationally-recognized speaker, having presented at forums such as the European Parliament, mHealth Conference, World Congress, as well as corporations, academic institutions, and organizations. He was a study committee member for the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) on STI prevention and control, and is currently a board member within NASEM’s broader Division of Health and Medicine
