Ken Resnicow, PhD

Dr. Ken Resnicow is the Irwin Rosenstock Professor of Health Behavior and Health Education at University of Michigan School of Public Health and Professor of Pediatrics in the School of Medicine, the Associate Director for Community Engagement and Health Disparities Research at the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center, and Chief Scientific Lead at the University’s Center for Health Communications Research. Over the past 35 years, he has been PI or Co-Investigator on over 80 NIH and other externally funded grants. His work has focused on designing and evaluating behavior change programs for a wide range of health behaviors including smoking cessation, breast cancer treatment, genetic testing, COVID-19 vaccination, cancer screening, car safety, weight control, diet and physical activity, effective parenting, medical adherence, organ donation, substance use, youth violence and risk behaviors, gun safety, and accrual into clinical trials. Much of his work has involved ethnic/racial and underserved populations particularly African Americans, Native Alaskans, Latina/Hispanic, and Middle Eastern North Africans, and is based on Motivational Interviewing and is influenced by Chaos Theory and Self-Determination Theory. Dr. Resnicow has published over 400 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters and has served on numerous advisory panels and review groups, including since 2019, the National Council for the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIH). In recent years, his work has increasingly entailed novel behavioral tailoring and the incorporation of e-Health technology to enhance the impact of health messages. He has collaborated with researchers in over 25 countries and has trained over 1000 health professionals in Motivational Interviewing in both academic and health care delivery settings. He is also founder and president of Academic Assistance, a health care consulting company, that specializes in designing and implementing health coaching and e-Health programs ranging from behavioral and mental health to prevention and management of chronic diseases.