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Linda Collins

Linda Collins

Linda Collins

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Professor of Social and Behavioral Sciences

Professional overview

Linda M. Collins is Professor of Global Public Health in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, with a secondary appointment in the Department of Biostatistics. She earned her B.A. in Psychology at the University of Connecticut and her Ph.D. in Quantitative Psychology at the University of Southern California.

Collins’ research interests are focused on the development, dissemination, and application of the multiphase optimization strategy (MOST), a framework for the optimization of behavioral, biobehavioral, and social-structural interventions. The objective of MOST is to improve intervention effectiveness, efficiency, economy, and scalability. She is currently collaborating on research applying MOST in the areas of smoking cessation, the prevention of excessive drinking and risky sex in college students, and HIV services.

Collins’ research has been funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, and the National Science Foundation, among others. She has given more than 150 presentations on MOST around the world, and her publications have appeared in journals in the fields of behavioral science, quantitative methodology, medicine, and engineering.

Collins has held tenured faculty positions at the University of Southern California and at Penn State University, where she was Distinguished Professor of Human Development and Family Studies and Director of The Methodology Center. She is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, the Association for Psychological Science, the Society of Behavioral Medicine, and is a past president of the Society of Multivariate Experimental Psychology and the Society for Prevention Research.

Education

BA, Psychology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT
PhD, Quantitative Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA

Honors and awards

Fulbright Specialist, National University of Ireland Galway (2018)
Pauline Schmitt Russell Distinguished Career Award, Pennsylvania State University’s College of Health and Human Development (2017)
Evan G. and Helen G. Pattishall Outstanding Research Achievement Award, Pennsylvania State University’s College of Health and Human Development (2011)
President’s Award, Society for Prevention Research (2004)
Faculty Scholar Medal for the Social and Behavioral Sciences, Pennsylvania State University (2000)
Psychology Department Teacher of the Year, University of Southern California (1992)
Psychology Department Mentorship Award, University of Southern California (1991)
Society of Multivariate Experimental Psychology Award for Distinguished Early Career Contributions to Multivariate Behavioral Research (1991)

Areas of research and study

Behavioral Science
Cost Effectiveness
Cost-effective Health Programs and Policies
Dissemination and Implementation of Evidence-based Programs

Publications

Publications

Achieving the goals of translational science in public health intervention research : The multiphase optimization strategy (MOST)

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Developing a Psychological-Behavioral Intervention in Cardiac Patients Using the Multiphase Optimization Strategy : Lessons Learned from the Field

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Effects of motivation phase intervention components on quit attempts in smokers unwilling to quit : A factorial experiment

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The selection of comparators for randomized controlled trials of health-related behavioral interventions : recommendations of an NIH expert panel

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A randomized controlled trial of an optimized smoking treatment delivered in primary care

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Healthy Campus Trial : A multiphase optimization strategy (MOST) fully factorial trial to optimize the smartphone cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) app for mental health promotion among university students: Study protocol for a randomized controlled tria

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Just-in-time adaptive interventions (JITAIs) in mobile health : Key components and design principles for ongoing health behavior support

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Multilevel factorial designs with experiment-induced clustering

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Optimization of a technology-supported physical activity intervention for breast cancer survivors : Fit2Thrive study protocol

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Optimizing a Positive Psychology Intervention to Promote Health Behaviors after an Acute Coronary Syndrome : The Positive Emotions after Acute Coronary Events III (PEACE-III) Randomized Factorial Trial

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Tobacco dependence treatment in the emergency department : A randomized trial using the Multiphase Optimization Strategy

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An Overview of Research and Evaluation Designs for Dissemination and Implementation

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Implementing Clinical Research Using Factorial Designs : A Primer

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The Positive Emotions after Acute Coronary Events behavioral health intervention : Design, rationale, and preliminary feasibility of a factorial design study

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Toward precision smoking cessation treatment I : Moderator results from a factorial experiment

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Toward precision smoking cessation treatment II : Proximal effects of smoking cessation intervention components on putative mechanisms of action

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Using the multiphase optimization strategy (MOST) to optimize an HIV care continuum intervention for vulnerable populations : A study protocol

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Advancing Models and Theories for Digital Behavior Change Interventions

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Comparative effectiveness of intervention components for producing long-term abstinence from smoking : A factorial screening experiment

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Comparative effectiveness of motivation phase intervention components for use with smokers unwilling to quit : A factorial screening experiment

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Enhancing the effectiveness of smoking treatment research : Conceptual bases and progress

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Evaluating Digital Health Interventions : Key Questions and Approaches

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Identifying effective intervention components for smoking cessation : A factorial screening experiment

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Implementing multifactorial psychotherapy research in online virtual environments (IMPROVE-2) : Study protocol for a phase III trial of the MOST randomized component selection method for internet cognitive-behavioural therapy for depression

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Mining health app data to find more and less successful weight loss subgroups

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Contact

linda.m.collins@nyu.edu 708 Broadway New York, NY, 10003