Judith K. Ockene, PhD, MEd, M, is Professor of Medicine and Chief of the Division of Preventive and Behavioral Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School. She holds the Barbara Helen Smith Chair in Preventive and Behavioral Medicine and is Associate Vice Provost for Gender and Equity. Dr. Ockene is the recipient of numerous NIH grants funding research in the prevention of illness and disability and the promotion of health and quality of life for individuals and communities. Much of her work has focused on the risk behaviors of tobacco, alcohol, and diet. She teaches medical, graduate, public health students and clinicians how to help patients make lifestyle changes. She has over… 180 publications and was a scientific editor of two Surgeon General's Reports on Smoking and Health. Dr. Ockene has received several school, state, and national mentoring awards, including the Society of Behavioral Medicine Distinguished Mentor Award in 2009, the Katharine F. Erskine Mentoring Award for Women in Medicine & Science in 2008, and the UMMS Women's Faculty Committee Mentor Award in 2006. Dr. Ockene is a past member of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force and past President of the Society of Behavioral Medicine. She is coeditor of the third edition of The Handbook of Health Behavior Change.
Lori Pbert, PhD, is Professor of Medicine and Associate Chief of the Division of Preventive and Behavioral Medicine in the Department of Medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS). She is Director of the Center for Tobacco Treatment Research and Training (CTTRT) and of the UMMS Tobacco Treatment Specialist Training and Certification Program. Dr. Pbert is a clinical and translational researcher with over 20 years experience conducting community-based and clinical trials. She is the recipient of numerous grants from NIH funding research in the design and evaluation of behavioral interventions for health promotion and risk behavior change in real world settings. Dr.… Pbert teaches medical and graduate students, physicians and other health care providers in the theory and practice of health behavior change. She is a fellow in the Society of Behavioral Medicine and a founding member of the American Academy of Pediatrics Center for Child Health Research Tobacco Consortium.