I am a Research Professor in the Department of Psychology at San Diego State University. I am a graduate of the San Diego State University / University of California, San Diego Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology where I specialized in Behavioral Medicine (1994). I served as Chief Fellow of the NIMH Postdoctoral Training Program in HIV/AIDS at the Cornell University Medical College/Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centers in New York City (1995) until being awarded the Aaron Diamond Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (1997).
I have trained a variety of practitioners in the application of MI techniques for health behavior change both domestically and internationally. I have led or collaborated on numerous NIH funded intervention studies exploring the use of Motivational Interviewing (MI) based counseling strategies to promote a wide variety of health behavior changes including antiretroviral adherence, smoking cessation, and health screenings. My research is also notable for its focus on community-based translational research efforts that have focused on impacting various healthcare settings, including primary care, infectious disease clinics, and dental treatment centers.
