Dror Ben-Zeev, PhD, is a Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Washington and licensed Clinical Psychologist who specializes in development and evaluation of technology-based approaches in the study, assessment, treatment, and prevention of mental illness. Dr. Ben-Zeev serves as the Co-Director of UW's Behavioral Research in Technology and Engineering (BRiTE) Center (https://www.brite.uw.edu/) and Director of the mHealth for Mental Health Program (www.mh4mh.org), a multidisciplinary effort to harness mobile technology to improve the outcomes and support the recovery of people with psychiatric conditions. His innovative digital health work includes development of illness self-management apps for people with schizophrenia, leveraging mobile and context-aware technologies for assessment of violence and suicidality in psychiatric hospital settings, behavioral sensing and modelling systems for detection of psychotic relapses, social media-based outreach and remote data collection involving people who experience auditory hallucinations, and clinical texting interventions for individuals with dual diagnosis in community settings.
Dr. Ben-Zeev’s research has been supported by grants and awards from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Science Foundation (NSF) Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), SYNERGY Clinical and Translational Science Institute, Myrtlewood Foundation, Pivotal Ventures, VA Health Services Research & Development (HSR&D), and John Sloan Dickey Center for International Understanding. He has published editorials and commentaries on the use of technology-based interventions in Psychiatric Services, Nature Human Behaviour, the BMJ, and the New York Times. Ben-Zeev’s research has been covered by National Public Radio, Nature, Wired Magazine, Slate, and The Economist. He serves as the Inaugural Editor of the "Technology in Mental Health" Column for Psychiatric Services (APA journal). Dr. Ben-Zeev publishes extensively in scientific journals and is a regular speaker at national and international scientific meetings including invited presentations at the National Institute of Mental Health Director’s Innovation Speaker series, the National Academy of Sciences, and the White House.
