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Training the Next Generation
2026 mHealth
Institute Program
Phase 1: Recruitment & Selection
8:00 am - 10:00 am PT
Applications Open
Immediately
Application Deadline
Tuesday, January 20, 2026
Review Period
January 21 – March 2, 2026
Notification of Acceptance
Tuesday, March 10, 2026
Scholar Acceptance Deadline
Friday, March 20, 2026
(10 day allocation for RSVPs)
Phase 2: The Virtual Core
(Synchronous Mondays)
Welcome e-Reception
8:00 am - 10:00 am PT
Welcome
Scholar e-Intros
Overview & Structure for mHTI/Team Activities
Vivek Shetty – UCLA
Asynchronous Learning Blocks
Asynchronous Learning
Core Didactic Sessions
8:00 am - 12:15 pm PT
8:00 am - 9:00 am PT
Navigating the Gap: Where mHealth Meets Real-World Implementation Challenges
Bonnie Spring – Florida State University
9:00 am - 10:00 am PT
mHealth Implementation Roadmap: Developing, Deploying, and Evaluating Implementation Strategies
Byron Powell – Washington University in St. Louis
10:15 am - 11:15 am PT
Adaptive interventions in digital health: Common Misconceptions and new Opportunities
Inbal (Billie) Nahum-Shani – University of Michigan
11:15 am - 12:15 pm PT
Building and deploying Adaptive Behavioral Interventions: Options and Consideration
Mark Newman – University of Michigan
8:00 am - 12:15 pm PT
8:00 am - 9:00 am PT
LLMs Unplugged: Simplifying Generative AI for mHealth Innovation
Benjamin Marlin – UMass
9:00 am - 10:00 am PT
Advancing Mobile Health with Foundational AI Architectures
Jim Rehg – UIUC
10:15 am - 11:15 am PT
Will it be easier or harder to be healthy in the future? Lessons from five years of challenging the “product environment”
Steve Downs – Building H
Phase 3: Team Science (The Sandboxes)
Mentored Sandboxes
8:00 am - 11:00 am PT
Mentored Sandbox #1 (all 5 team meetings conducted concurrently)
8:00 am - 11:00 am PT
Mentored Sandbox #2 (all 5 team meetings conducted concurrently)
Phase 4: In-Person Institute @ UCLA
mHealth Training Institute
2026 mHealth Training Institute - Registration / Reception
2:00 pm - 6:00 pm PT
Registration / Check-in
6:00 pm - 8:00 pm PT
Dinner Reception
Luskin Center’s Plateia Restaurant
2026 mHealth Training Institute - Day 1
8:00 am - 4:00 pm PT
Full Day Session - Schedule TBA
8:00 am - 10:00 am PT
Nudging for Health: How Behavioral Economics Makes Health Interventions Stick!
Craig Fox – UCLA
10:15 am - 12:30 pm PT
Team Science Session (mentored)
1:30 pm - 1:45 pm PT
Team Report Backs on Capstone Progress
1:45 pm - 4:00 pm PT
Team Science Session
6:00 pm - 9:00 pm PT
Networking Dinner Mixer | Connect with Scholars, Faculty, & Special Guests
2025 mHealth Training Institute - Day 2
8:00 am - 4:00 pm PT
Full Day Session & Clinics - Schedule TBA
8:00 am - 8:30 am PT
Team Reports: Capstone Project Summaries (5 mins each)
8:30 am - 10:00 am PT
Developing Smarter mHealth Tools: Insights into mHealth Technology Design and Implementation
Santosh Kumar – University of Memphis
Developing Smarter mHealth Tools: Insights into mHealth Technology Design and Implementation
Nabil Alshurafa – Northwestern University
10:15 am - 12:30 pm PT
Team Science Session (mentored)
12:30 pm - 2:00 pm PT
Working Lunch | Consultation Clinic
Consultation Clinics (by signup)
Experimental Design/Methodology
Angela Pfammatter – University of Tennessee
Behavioral Interventions
Bonnie Spring – Florida State University
Behavioral Interventions
Eric Hekler – UC San Diego
Digital Platforms for JITAI's
Rose Rocchio – UCLA
Digital Technologies
Nabil Alshurafa – Northwestern University
Implementation
Pedja Klasjna – University of Michigan
2:00 pm - 4:00 pm PT
Team Science Session
2025 mHealth Training Institute - Day 3
8:00 am - 4:00 pm PT
Full Day Sessions - Schedule TBA
8:00 am - 9:00 am PT
No Participant Left Behind: Expanding Reach & Impact in mHealth Studies
Vickie Mays – UCLA
9:00 am - 10:00 am PT
Partnership Processes and the Digital Therapeutics Real World Evidence Framework
Eric Hekler – UCSD
10:15 am - 12:00 pm PT
Team Science Session (mentored)
2025 mHealth Training Institute - Day 4
8:00 am - 12:30~ pm PT
Capstone Presentations & Graduation Lunch
8:00 am - 9:15 am PT
Capstone Presentations by Teams
9:30 am - 10:15 am PT
Optimizing your Academic Dossier
Vivek Shetty – UCLA
10:15 am - 11:15 am PT
The Scholar’s Ascent: From Endurance to Excellence
Peter Kaufman – Glenair, Inc.
