Center for Digital Health

Dr. Tyler Wray, PhD is the Edens Family Assistant Professor of Healthcare Communication & Technology at the Brown University School of Public Health (SPH). Dr. Wray is a clinical psychologist who studies how technology can be used to encourage health behavior change, particularly in the areas of addiction and HIV prevention. Since joining the faculty at Brown, his work has been continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and has received over $9 million in total support to date. Dr. Wray teaches a survey course on technology and health behavior change (PHP1690), as well as courses on intervention design and user research methods. Dr. Wray's research involves designing and testing software/devices that use the unique strengths of each tool to deliver behavior change techniques in ways that maximize their potency and relevance. Much of this work involves adapting evidence-based behavior change techniques to digital frameworks, with particular interest in designing systems (web/smartphone apps, virtual reality) to increase users' motivation for health behavior change. Many of his projects also involve using the internet-of-things, wearables, geofencing, and digital footprint to deliver the support users need to help them change at the right time. Through this work, Dr. Wray has developed broad expertise in user-centered design research, decentralized and limited-interaction clinical trials, online/social media outreach, product/device commercialization, and approaches to disseminating/marketing digital health products.