Emerging Findings in Digital Health and Technologies

2026 NIH Behavioral and Social Sciences Research Festival Webinar Series
Date: July 20, 2026, 2:00–3:30 p.m. ET
Location: Virtual

Overview

This webinar panel will highlight two NIH-funded researchers and one NIH IRP Senior Investigator whose work demonstrates how digital health technologies are transforming health care and outcomes. Digital health tools are being used to prevent, intervene, diagnose, manage, and treat illness and health risks. Examples include everything from wearables and mobile health to telehealth, AI-driven clinical decision systems, and data integration across platforms.

  • Teresa Hagan Thomas, Ph.D., R.N., FAAN, Associate Professor at the University of Pittsburgh, will discuss findings from a digital intervention aimed at promoting self-advocacy among women with cancer.
  • Francis "Joe" Real, M.D., M.Ed., Associate Professor at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, will provide an overview of a virtual reality education platform aimed at improving provider communication and training across a range of areas including flu vaccination, HPV, asthma management, social determinants of health, and medication initiation.  
  • Dr. Tiffany Powell-Wiley, M.D., M.P.H., FAHA, FABR, Stadtman Senior Investigator and Chief of the Social Determinants of Obesity and Cardiovascular Risk Laboratory at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, will share emerging findings from the design and implementation of a community‑engaged digital health intervention aimed at increasing physical activity and improving cardiovascular health in resource‑limited urban settings.

This is the second of three webinars in the 2026 NIH Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (BSSR) Festival Webinar Series.

A final panel on basic behavioral and social sciences research is planned for the fall. 

Reasonable Accommodation

Closed captioning will be provided. If you need additional accommodations, please contact Mark Dennis at [email protected] at least 5 days before the event.

Additional Information

This webinar is free and open to the public. A live Q&A session will follow the presentations.