About
I'm a behavioral health economist and my research utilizes field experiments and causal inference methods for big data to study health habits and clinical decision-making.
My work on habits has recently expanded to develop a better understanding of the mechanisms for maintaining healthy behaviors (in addition to habits), and I am leading three new large-scale randomized controlled trials to test novel behavioral interventions and measure maintenance mechanisms across several different behaviors and populations.
The art pieces displayed in the photograph on this page were created by James Angel for the 2023 Phoenix Bioscience Core Artists + Researchers Program. The artwork illustrates a prospective iteration of health wearables designed to gather an extensive array of biometric information, encompassing brain activity, with the aim of guiding behavioral interventions.
Education
2017
University of California, Los Angeles
PhD in Economics
Dissertation: “Improving HIV/AIDS Care Through Physician Peer Effects and Behavioral Incentives for Patients"
2012
University of California, Los Angeles
MA in Economics
2008
Colby College
BA in Mathematics and Economics
Summa Cum Laude
Active Research Grants
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R01: mobile Cued Adherence Therapy (mCAT): a scalable habit formation intervention to improve blood pressure medication adherence based on a widely used smartphone app. PI: Chad Stecher; (7/1/2024 – 6/30/2029): $4,184,668.
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R01: INcentives and ReMINDers to Improve Long-term Medication Adherence (INMIND). PIs: Chad Stecher and Sebastian Linnemayr; (5/1/2024 – 4/30/2029): $3,906,573.
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R01: StandUPTV Habits: Feasibility trial for maintaining reductions in sedentary screen time. PI: Chad Stecher; (12/15/2023 – 12/15/2026): $896,736.