Biography

Dr. Tricia Leahey is Director of UConn’s Institute for Collaboration on Health, Intervention and Policy, Co-Director of the UConn Weight Management Research Group, and Professor of Allied Health Sciences. She completed her clinical psychology internship and post-doctoral fellowship at Brown Medical School with specializations in behavioral medicine and lifestyle interventions for obesity treatment. Dr. Leahey is a leader in the field of lifestyle interventions for weight loss and weight loss maintenance. Dr. Leahey is currently PI or Co-I on several NIH-funded trials that examine the efficacy of mHealth technology, peer support, partner support, and behavioral economics strategies for weight loss or weight loss maintenance in diverse populations. Her research also examines the effectiveness of methodological aspects of clinical trials, including behavioral run-ins and best practices for increasing accessibility to clinical trial participation, including remote trial procedures. Dr. Leahey’s research has been continuously funded by the NIH throughout her career. She was a standing member of the NIH’s Psychosocial Risk and Disease Prevention Study Section, has served as Chair or Co-Chair of NIH grant review panels, has numerous publications, and served on the editorial board for several journals. Dr. Leahey has received several awards for her research from international and national scientific communities such as The Obesity Society and the Society of Behavioral Medicine. She has also been recognized for teaching and mentorship, receiving UConn’s Teaching Excellence Award and Brown University’s Psychology Research Mentor Award. Her research findings have been published in top journals (e.g., JAMA Internal Medicine) and featured in major media outlets, including NPR, The Wall Street Journal, Time Magazine, ABC News, Forbes, and The Huffington Post.