Dr. Belinda Borrelli Launches Mobile and Electronic Health ARC with Colleagues from Across BU
Dr. Belinda Borrelli has partnered with colleagues from across Boston University to launch an innovative new Affinity Research Collaborative (ARC) on Mobile and Electronic Health. Dr. Borrelli is a Professor in the Department of Health Policy and Health Services Research, as well as Director of Behavioral Science Research, at the Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine (GSDM). She serves as the Principal Investigator and Lead Co-Director of the Mobile and Electronic Health ARC. She is joined in the ARC by Co-Directors Dr. Lisa Quintiliani from the School of Medicine and School of Public Health and Dr. Julie Keysor from Sargent College. The initiative is funded by the Evans Center for Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research and the Boston University Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research Office (IBRO).
The Mobile and Electronic Health ARC’s (ME-ARC) mission is to conduct state-of-the-art research and training in mobile and electronic health, aiming to improve the health of populations, through mobile technology, particularly those who are underserved. Currently, there are over 70 members of the ARC, including a steering committee and external advisory board. The ARC also funds three pilot projects and they anticipate funding additional projects in the future. The ARC has monthly seminars with invited speakers, and also holds an annual mHealth symposium, which was well-attended last year by people from both campuses. GSDM researchers are welcome to join the ARC and receive emails about events.
The Mobile and Electronic Health ARC brings together researchers and affiliates from several schools and both campuses at Boston University, including GSDM, the School of Medicine, the School of Public Health, SAIL/Hariri Institute, Global Health, Sargent College, CAS, and the College of Engineering. Further research projects are in development, as well as an initiative to build a website to foster mobile health collaboration and to design a participant registry to aid BU researchers with recruitment.
Mobile health presents an unprecedented opportunity to proactively reach large populations with evidenced based approaches to assess, manage, and treat health and health behaviors. The Evans Center ARC, launched in 2009 and successfully led by Professor Katya Ravid, is an extraordinary resource at BU, and helped launch this effort.
Affinity Research Collaboratives are organized through the Evans Center for Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research and the Boston University Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research Office (IBRO). Each ARC is focused around a research theme, which is explored through a variety of disciplines and technologies. ARCs also offer opportunities to enhance educational opportunities for graduate and post-graduate researchers, as well as potential to partner with industry or collaborate with other centers and institutions. For more information about ARCs, please visit the Evans Center website.