About Us
Our lab uses smartphone-based Ecological Momentary Assessments.
Dr. Michael Businelle's research lab is a cornerstone of the Health Promotion Research Center (HPRC), specializing in the use of mobile health technologies. The lab employs ecological momentary assessments (EMAs), passive sensor data, and just-in-time adaptive interventions (JITAI) to gain insights into the complex interplay between the environment, thoughts, feelings, and health behaviors. Driven by a multidisciplinary team with expertise in psychology, communication, and technology, the lab is devoted to developing and implementing real-time, mHealth interventions. Their diverse research initiatives encompass mobile health technology, smoking cessation, mental health, and health disparities in various populations, reflecting the lab's commitment to understanding and addressing health challenges from multiple angles​​.
Our Team
Principal Investigator
Michael Businelle, PhD
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Co-Director of the TSET Health Promotion Research Center, Director of the mHealth Shared Resource at the TSET Health Promotion Research Center at the OU Health Stephenson Cancer Center, Professor, Department of Family and Preventive Medicine
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Michael Businelle was recruited to the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center in 2015 to develop and direct the OU Health Stephenson Cancer Center Mobile Health (mHealth) Shared Resource. The mHealth resource, staffed by 10 employees including 6 computer scientists/engineers has created the InsightTM platform. This platform enables researchers to rapidly create mobile applications that can use ecological momentary assessments (EMA) and sensor data (i.e., activity monitor, mobile carbon monoxide monitor, e-cigarette device) to identify environmental, cognitive, affective, physiological, and behavioral antecedents of health risk behaviors (e.g., smoking, heavy alcohol use, poor diet / inactivity / obesity) and deliver context-specific adaptive interventions in real-time. To date, the mHealth resource has supported 109 research studies (60 NIH funded, 5 studies have collected data outside the US – Cambodia, Laos, and Scotland; 5 languages [English, Spanish, Khmer, Vietnamese, and Lao]).
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Since 2011, Dr. Businelle has been a PI, Co-I, Mentor, or consultant on 64 studies that have been funded by the NIH, ACS, or internal funds. During that time, he has been a PI on 24 research studies. He current serves as PI/MPI on 7 ongoing NIH-funded studies including mHealth apps that focus on smoking cessation (R01CA221819; U54MD015946 Study 1, U54MD015946 supplement; R01MD019957, R34CA286803), alcohol (R01AA030276), and Anxiety/Depression (R01MH126586). Dr. Businelle has a strong publication record (i.e., over 230 peer reviewed publications) in the areas of smoking cessation, mental health, health disparities, and mHealth. His primary goal is to improve understanding of the causes of health disparities and to create and disseminate effective smartphone-based just-in-time adaptive interventions (JITAIs) that reduce health disparities.
Postdoctoral Research Fellows
Sarah Tonkin, PhD
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Sarah Tonkin, PhD, is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the TSET Health Promotion Research Center at the OU Health Stephenson Cancer Center. Sarah earned her BS in Psychology from Penn State University and her PhD in Clinical Psychology from The State University of New York at Buffalo. She completed her clinical internship at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. Sarah’s research seeks to identify psychological treatment mechanisms for smoking cessation and address treatment disparities by examining how these processes vary in populations that tend to benefit less from smoking interventions. To answer these questions, Sarah uses a translational approach by examining laboratory and “real-world” measurement of behavior, affect, and cognition.
Jeremy Langford, PhD
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Jeremy began his fellowship at the HPRC in January 2024 after earning his PhD in Psychology: Behavior Analysis from West Virginia University. He is interested in developing mobile-based interventions to promote health-related behaviors (e.g., smoking cessation, drug abstinence, physical activity) by investigating the behavior-environment relations that influence sustained behavior change. His research focuses on using behavioral principles to identify the conditions in which efforts to promote health behaviors are most needed and most likely to be successful. In his work, Jeremy aims to integrate this knowledge into mobile technology platforms, leveraging the capabilities of digital tools to collect individual data and deliver tailor-made interventions.
Research Staff
Krista Kezbers, PhD, DipACLM, ACSM-EIM
Senior Program Manager
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Krista Kezbers joined the TSET HPRC in July 2021 after spending 4 years as a Research Associate at OU-Tulsa. She earned her PhD in Health and Human Performance from Oklahoma State University in 2017 and her dissertation focused on the health and well-being of sports coaches. Krista received a masters degree in Kinesiology from The University of Texas and an undergraduate degree in Kinesiology from The University of Minnesota. Her research interests revolve around improving the health and lifestyle behaviors of individuals in unique populations.
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Audrey Montgomery, M.Ed.
Senior Staff Research Assistant
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Audrey Montgomery joined the TSET HPRC in January 2020 as a research technician. She previously worked as a licensed professional counseling candidate after receiving her Master of Education in Professional Counseling from the University of Oklahoma. Audrey completed her undergraduate research experience at the University of Oklahoma’s Center for Applied Social Research (CASR). She worked on multiple research projects focused on the relationship between attitudes in ideological Internet discussions and emotion and communication strategies. Her current research interests include the investigation of information practices and behaviors of health professionals and patients.
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Isaias Salgado, BS
Senior Staff Research Assistant
Isaias Salgado joined TSET HPRC in January 2025. He earned his undergraduate degree in Neuroscience from the University of Texas at Dallas, where he conducted research on child-parent relationships and developed strategies to improve school readiness and long-term success among low-income families in Dallas. As a recipient of an NIDCD supplement, he contributed to a study examining the language environment of Spanish-speaking households and its impact on brain development and school preparedness. He also conducted research at the Texas Biomedical Device Center, investigating how vagus nerve stimulation paired with sound can enhance auditory processing. His current research interests focus on the long-term impact of life choices on individuals and their children, as well as interventions to break negative cycles and promote lasting well-being.
Carl Witten, MS
Staff Research Assistant
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Carl Witten joined the TSET HPRC in April of 2022. He received his Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Master of Science in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from Missouri State University. While at Missouri State, Carl worked with Board Certified analysts to provide behavior interventions for children with developmental disabilities. Once out of grad school he worked with the F.A.A. In Oklahoma City performing human factors research on multiple flight-deck projects. Research interests include motivation, and everything related to how organizations operate as functional groups.
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Zachary Barrett, MS
Staff Research Biostatistician
Zachary Barrett joined the HPRC as a Research Biostatistician in April 2024. He received his master’s degree in Biostatistics from the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences in 2023. He has previous professional experience working as a Software Engineer, Project Manager, and Program Manager. His academic background includes training and research covering linguistics, speech-language pathology, Chinese language and culture, health promotion, education, statistical methods, epidemiology, and ecolinguistics. His current research interests involve causal inference, applied Bayesian statistical methods, and how messaging affects intention to adopt health behaviors.
Alissa Lopez, MS
Staff Research Assistant
Alissa Lopez joined the TSET HPRC as a staff research assistant in January 2025. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of North Texas and a Master of Science in Psychological Science from Texas Woman’s University. Alissa is committed to being a positive and impactful addition to the team, gaining hands-on experience in research, and embracing the opportunities for growth her role provides. Her current research interests include investigating social behaviors pertaining to health and substance use.
Karly Bradford, MS
Staff Research Assistant
Karly Bradford joined the TSET HPRC in January 2025 after spending two years as a cognitive performance specialist with the Army at Fort Novosel, Alabama where she primarily worked with pilots. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, with minors in Health and Exercise Science and Spanish, from the University of Oklahoma in 2020. She earned her Master of Science in Kinesiology, with a focus in sport psychology, from the University of North Texas in 2022. While at UNT, she helped organize and execute the 2022 Association of Applied Sport Psychology (AASP) South Central Regional Conference and worked as a junior sport psychology consultant with a private Dallas high school. Currently, Karly is working towards earning her Certified Mental Performance Consultant (CMPC) through AASP. Her research interests include informal/formal leadership emergence in student-athletes, leadership behaviors, and athlete health.
Lab Alumni
Bingjing Mao
Bingjing is now an Assistant Professor at Louisiana State University.
Ruosi "Rose"Shao
Rose is now an Assistant Professor at Florida State University.
Blayne Barker
Blayne is currently working for the Office of Compliance at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences.
Brighton Banks
Brighton is currently studying her Doctor of Science in Holistic Medicine at the American College of Healthcare Sciences.
Jessica "Jess" Becerra, PhD
Jessica will be moving to Washington DC area where she will be working as a Consultant II at FMP Consulting.
Meghan Neumann
Meghan completed her MPH degree in Epidemiology and is continuing her work with the TSET Health Promotion Research Center working in The Active Living & Vitality Lab.
Irene De La Torre
Irene will be attending the University of Colorado in Boulder this fall. She'll be working toward her PhD in Social Psychology.
Lizbeth "Libby" Benson, PhD
Libby is a tenure track Research Assistant Professor at the Data Science for Dynamic Intervention Decision Making Center within the Survey Research Center and Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan.
Danielle Walters
Danielle will be starting her PhD in the Fall at the University of Wyoming.
Nadia Stanley
Nadia is currently a PhD student at Texas A&M University-Commerce in the Department of Psychology and Special Education.
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Jillian Robison
Jillian is currently a Clinical Psychology PhD student at the University of Houston.
Emily Hébert, DrPH
Emily T. Hébert, an Assistant Professor at the University of Texas HSC at Houston, is now conducting research on the use of mobile technology for health behavior evaluation and intervention.
Chris Neal
Chris Neal is a licensed professional counselor who provides individual and couples therapy across Texas and Oklahoma.
Angela Helt
Angela Helt is now a Doctoral Candidate in Health Promotion Sciences and Research Project Coordinator at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center.
Clayton Ulm
Clayton is currently pursuing his PhD at the Gillings School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
Madison Stout
Madison Stout is currently a predoctoral intern in clinical psychology at the Eastern Oklahoma VA Health Care System and doctoral candidate at Oklahoma State University.
Tanushri Bhushan
LaQuita McDade
LaQuita McDade has joined the Neuropsychology Team at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences as a Psychometrist.
Jiwon (Jennie) Min
Jiwon "Jennie" Min currently serves as Chief Clinical Psychology Resident at the University of Mississippi Medical Center.
Mary Williams
Joseph Waring
Joseph is currently a PhD Student at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Subekchhya Subedi
