UConn Conference 2020

Virtual Conference Agenda, May 14th

“Building an Evidence Base for Commercially Available Technology”

8:00 AM - 9:00 AM

Sign On Period and Video Poster Viewing

9:00 AM - 9:15 AM

Opening Remarks: Sherry Pagoto, PhD, UConn

9:15 AM - 10:00 AM

Brie Turner-McGrievy, PhD, University of South Carolina

The efficacy of commercially available diet tracking apps using calorie tracking and photo tracking of dietary intake.

10:00 AM - 10:45 AM

David Conroy, PhD, Pennsylvania State University

Implementation of behavior change strategies in commercial physical activity apps.

10:45 AM - 11:30 AM

Yelena Wu, PhD, University of Utah

Leveraging commercial mobile and sensing technology for cancer survivorship and prevention in children.

11:30 AM - 12:30 PM

Lunch Break and Video Poster Viewing

12:30 PM - 1:15 PM

Heather Patrick, PhD

A walk on the wild side: Tales of translating behavioral science into health tech

1:15 PM - 2:00 PM

Aaron Coleman, CEO Fitabase

Data management for research using commercial wearable and internet-connected devices.

2:00 PM - 2:45 PM

Jennifer Huberty, PhD, Arizona State University

Leveraging commercial mindfulness technology to improve health and well-being.

2:45 PM - 3:45 PM

Breakout Q&A Session

Using Fitbit in your health research—How Fitabase can help! with Aaron Coleman

Using technology with children in your research with Yelena Wu, PhD

Nutrition research and technology with Brie Turner-McGrievy, PhD

How academics can interface with digital health companies with David Conroy, PhD, Jennifer Huberty, PhD, and Heather Patrick, PhD

3:45 PM - 4:15 PM

Closing Remarks and Video Poster Awards

Most Viewed Video Poster, Best Video Poster by a Student, Best Video Poster Overall

Post- Conference Workshops, May 15th

Three virtual post-conference workshops will be held on Friday, May 15th. The cost of each workshop is $20, or free for UConn students.

9:00 AM - 10:30 AM

Research Designs for Testing Commercially Available Technology

David Conroy, PhD, Penn State University and Sherry Pagoto, PhD, Department of Allied Heath Sciences, UConn

Evidence is direly needed for commercially available technologies to guide healthcare professionals on which products to “prescribe” to their patients, and to guide consumers on which products are worth their time and money. Research on commercially available technologies is also needed to guide the development of future technologies. In this workshop, researchers will learn about a range of research designs that might be used to gather evidence for commercially available technology, including both quantitative and qualitative approaches.

12:00 PM - 1:30 PM

Introduction to Social Network Analysis in mHealth and Social Media Research

Ran Xu, PhD, Department of Allied Health Sciences, UConn

Social network analysis is a set of unique theories and tools to examine the relationship between social structure and various behavioral and social outcomes of interest. It is particularly useful for mHealth and social media research as it is vital to understand how online social networks and interactions change people’s health knowledge and behavior. In this workshop, researchers will learn about basic concepts and tools in social network analysis, including graph and network theory, measures of social networks, subgroup analysis, and network visualization, with examples of implementing network approach in Twitter and Facebook research.

2:00 PM - 3:30 PM

How to Write an Effective Seed Grant

Molly Waring, PhD, Department of Allied Health Sciences, UConn

This workshop will provide an overview of seed grants, funding mechanisms available for pilot work, the role of pilot studies in a program of research, and types of pilot studies. Examples will be provided of successful seed grants that led to external funding. Workshop participants will have an opportunity to outline a pilot study for the next step in their program of research and to receive feedback from the workshop leader and other participants.