Nabil Alshurafa directs the HABits Lab and recently received a K25 Career grant from NIDDK titled "SenseWhy: Overeating in Obesity Through the Lens of Passive Sensing." The HABits Lab is preparing for a 30-day observational study of participants with obesity that will don several novel wearable sensors and report using event-triggered EMAs to inform detectable (through advanced machine learning algorithms) and potentially intervenable problematic eating behaviors that plague this population. The study also aims to understand psychological factors that influence habit.

Our research integrates multiple disciplinary approaches and methods, including human laboratory, clinical trial, epidemiological, and systematic review and meta-analysis, to delineate psychological and neurobiological factors that sustain cigarette smoking and nicotine dependence. The overarching goal of our research is to improve the treatment of nicotine dependence, especially for high tobacco burden clinical (e.g., cancer, depression) and community (e.g., low income, LGBT) populations.

Dr. Phillips is one of only two 2019 winners of the NIH ODP Early Stage Investigator Lecture award, recognizing early-career prevention scientists poised to become leaders in prevention research. Her research focuses on understanding determinants and health outcomes of physical activity participation, developing and testing technology-supported physical activity interventions and translating this research into practice particularly as it pertains to cancer prevention, control and survivorship. Dr. Phillips’ ongoing studies include Fit2ThriveMB and the MyActivity Trial. Here completed studies include the IMPACT Study, Fit2Thrive and Cancer to 5K Program Evaluation Study (more info here.)