Emily Hébert, DrPH, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. She received her DrPH in Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences from the UTHealth School of Public Health Austin Campus in 2016.
Dr. Hébert’s research focuses on leveraging mobile technology to improve the accessibility and personalization of health behavior interventions. Her work emphasizes the development of Just-in-Time Adaptive Interventions (JITAIs) for tobacco prevention and cessation, informed by supervised machine learning and ecological momentary assessment (EMA). She is particularly interested in applying smartphones, sensors, and digital health tools to advance the science of behavior change.
She is currently the Principal Investigator of an NIH-funded R01 study, Using Real-Time Data to Examine the Impact of Product Characteristics on Young Adult ENDS Use, which applies EMA and survey methods to evaluate how product features such as flavors, device type, and nicotine concentration influence e-cigarette behaviors, dependence, and trajectories of use among young adults. This work will provide critical evidence to inform FDA regulation of electronic nicotine delivery systems.
Dr. Hébert previously led an NIH K99/R00-funded project on the use of machine learning to predict smoking lapse and deliver real-time, adaptive support. Her broader research portfolio in tobacco regulatory science explores contextual factors influencing tobacco use and opportunities to integrate technology into behavioral interventions.
Education:
2016 - Doctor of Public Health
University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) School of Public Health, Austin, TX
Concentration: Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences
2011 - Master of Public Health
University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) School of Public Health, Dallas, TX
Fellowship:
2016 - 2020 Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Oklahoma Tobacco Research Center, The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK
Funding:
Current Research Support
R01DA060878 (PI: Hébert) 05/01/2025 – 04/30/2030
NIH/FDA $3,545,301
Using Real Time Data to Examine the Impact of Product Characteristics on Young Adult ENDS Use
The aims of the proposed project are to: 1) To assess concordance between traditional survey and real-time EMA measures of ENDS use behaviors (e.g., progression, dual/poly use, and cessation), ENDS product characteristics (e.g., flavors, device type, nicotine concentration) and abuse liability (e.g., dependence) among young adults, 2) To examine the effect of ENDS product characteristics on tobacco use behaviors among young adults, and 3) To examine the effect of changes in ENDS product characteristics on dependence and use behaviors among young adults.
Role: Principal Investigator
R01CA221819 (PI: Businelle) 01/01/2019 – 12/31/2025
NIH/NCI $2,804,785
Smartphone Based Smoking Cessation Intervention for Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Adults
This study (N=450) will compare the longer-term effects of the Smart-T smoking cessation app with the free and publicly available NCI QuitGuide smoking cessation app (Aim 1). The second aim will determine if Smart-T messages that are tailored to address key smoking lapse risk variables in real-time (i.e., urge, stress, cigarette availability, cessation motivation) reduce participant ratings of these lapse risk variables compared with similar situations that do not receive this tailored content (QuitGuide group).
Role: Co-Investigator
U54MD015946 (PI: Obasi; Project MPIs: Businelle & Zvolensky) 09/08/2020 – 04/30/2025
NIH/NIMHD $11,848,265
Overall Grant Title: HEALTH Center for Addictions Research and Cancer Prevention
Core Project Title: Improving access to cigarette cessation treatment among African American
smokers: Development and evaluation of an integrated mHealth application
We will refine and evaluate an initially developed and tested, novel, mobile intervention that targets sensitivity to bodily sensations among African American smokers and bridges the gap in access to care which has plagued this health disparities population.
Role: Co-Investigator
R01MD017280 (MPI: Wilkinson & Loukas) 07/01/2023 – 03/31/2027
NIH/NIMHD $658,293
Social Media, Acculturation and E-cigarette Use among Mexican American College Students in South Texas
The purpose of this proposal is to identify mechanism underlying ENDS-related social media exposure and engagement, and ENDS use among Mexican American college students and to examine the role of acculturation as a moderator of these mechanisms.
Role: Co-Investigator
R21MH138954 (MPI: Vogel & Cohn) 09/02/2024 – 09/01/2026
NIH/NIMH $418,859
Social Comparison on Social Media, Depressive Symptoms, and Body Dissatisfaction Among Adolescents
This project aims to explore the bidirectional influences of social media (SM) use and individual characteristics on adolescents' depressive symptoms and body dissatisfaction, utilizing ecological momentary assessment (EMA) to capture real-time data on SM activity and mental health. By examining the within-day and day-to-day relationships between SM use, social comparison, rumination, and mental health symptoms, the study seeks to identify modifiable risk and protective factors that can inform future interventions targeting these influences.
Role: Co-Investigator
Completed Research Support
K99/R00DA046564 (PI: Hébert) 03/01/2019 – 11/30/2024
NIH/NIDA $746,990
Using Machine Learning to Develop Just-in-Time Adaptive Interventions for Smoking Cessation
The aims of the proposed career development award are 1) to apply supervised machine learning methods to quantify personalized risk of smoking lapse, and 2) to evaluate the feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of delivering a personalized, just-in-time adaptive intervention driven by machine learning prediction of smoking lapse risk in real time.
Role: Principal Investigator
Select Publications:
Hébert ET, Kendzor DE, Vidrine DJ, Langford JS, Kezbers KM, Montgomery A, Chen M, Frank-Pearce SG, Vesely SK, Chen S, Barrett ZCW, Businelle MS. Just-in-Time adaptive intervention for smoking cessation in low-income adults: A randomized clinical trial. JAMA Network Open, 2025; 8(8), e2526691. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.26691
Hébert ET, Vandewater EA, Businelle MS, Harrell MB, Kelder SH, Perry CL. Tobacco advertising exposure and product use among young adults: An ecological momentary assessment approach. Addictive Behaviors, 2023; 139, 107601. doi: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2022.107601
Hébert ET, Bhushan T, Ra CK, Frank-Pearce S, Alexander AC, Cole AB, Kendzor DE, Businelle MS. Daily use of nicotine replacement medications is related to daily smoking status: An ecological momentary assessment study. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 2021; 229(Pt A), 109161. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2021.109161. PubMed PMID: 34775184; NIHMSID:NIHMS1756235
Hébert ET, Suchting R, Ra CK, Alexander AC, Kendzor DE, Vidrine DJ, Businelle MS. Predicting the first smoking lapse during a quit attempt: A machine learning approach. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 2021; 218, 108340. doi:10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2020.108340
Hébert ET, Ra CK, Alexander AC, Helt A, Moisiuc R, Kendzor DE, Vidrine DJ, Funk-Lawler RK, Businelle MS. A mobile iust-in-time adaptive intervention for smoking cessation: Pilot randomized controlled trial. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 2020; 22(3), e16907. doi:10.2196/16907
Hébert ET, Case KR, Kelder SH, Delk J, Perry CL, Harrell MB. Exposure and engagement with tobacco- and e-cigarette-related social media. Journal of Adolescent Health, 2017; 61(3), 371-377. doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2017.04.003