Gary G. Bennett

Bishop-MacDermott Family Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience

Education & Training

Ph.D., Duke University 2002
M.A., Duke University 1999
B.A., Morehouse College 1997

Overview

Please note that this is not our primary website.

To learn more about Dr. Bennett, please visit: drgarybennett.com

To learn more about Dr. Bennett's work with Duke Digital Health, please visit: dukedigitalhealth.org

Gary G. Bennett is the Bishop-MacDermott Family Professor of Psychology & Neuroscience, Global Health, and Medicine at Duke University. He directs Duke’s Global Digital Health Science Center (Duke Digital Health), which leverages digital health technologies to improve health outcomes in medically vulnerable populations. Dr. Bennett also leads the Duke Obesity Prevention Program and holds an appointment in the Duke Cancer Institute.

Dr. Bennett’s research program designs, tests, and disseminates digital health obesity treatments for primary care settings that serve medically vulnerable populations. Dr. Bennett developed the interactive obesity treatment approach (iOTA), which has been evaluated in several trials, both domestically and abroad. His recent work has demonstrated the effectiveness of coach-led, digital health weight loss and hypertension control interventions delivered via web, smartphone, and interactive voice response systems. His recent intervention trials in medically vulnerable communities have been the focus of numerous invited addresses for professional and lay audiences alike. He has authored more than 125 scientific papers in the past decade and his research program has been continuously supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Dr. Bennett has served on numerous NIH committees, grant review panels, editorial boards, and guidelines councils. Dr. Bennett is committed to the dissemination of evidence-based treatments; he serves on science advisory and executive boards of several community, professional, and commercial organizations. He also co-founded two digital health startups: Crimson Health Solutions (acquired by Health Dialog in 2007) and Scale Down. Prior to joining Duke in 2009, Dr. Bennett served on the faculties of the Harvard School of Public Health and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Dr. Bennett earned a bachelor's degree at Morehouse College, followed by doctoral studies in clinical health psychology at Duke University, a clinical psychology internship at Duke University Medical Center and postdoctoral studies in social epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health.

Expertise

Obesity, digital health, mHealth, intervention, medically vulnerable populations, population health, dissemination

Location

Office: 222 Soc Psy, Durham, NC 27708

Mail: Box 90086, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708-0086

Contact

(919) 808-7821

gary.bennett@duke.edu

McVay, Megan, et al. “Provider Counseling and Weight Loss Outcomes in a Primary Care-Based Digital Obesity Treatment..” Journal of General Internal Medicine, vol. 34, no. 6, June 2019, pp. 992–98. Epmc, doi:10.1007/s11606-019-04944-5. Full Text

Krishnan, Anirudh, et al. “A Digital Behavioral Weight Gain Prevention Intervention in Primary Care Practice: Cost and Cost-Effectiveness Analysis..” Journal of Medical Internet Research, vol. 21, no. 5, May 2019. Epmc, doi:10.2196/12201. Full Text

Berger, Miriam B., et al. “The Balance protocol: a pragmatic weight gain prevention randomized controlled trial for medically vulnerable patients within primary care..” Bmc Public Health, vol. 19, no. 1, May 2019. Pubmed, doi:10.1186/s12889-019-6926-7. Full Text

Steinberg, Dori, et al. “The Effect of a Digital Behavioral Weight Loss Intervention on Adherence to the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) Dietary Pattern in Medically Vulnerable Primary Care Patients: Results from a Randomized Controlled Trial..” Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, vol. 119, no. 4, Apr. 2019, pp. 574–84. Epmc, doi:10.1016/j.jand.2018.12.011. Full Text

Patel, Michele L., et al. “Comparing Self-Monitoring Strategies for Weight Loss in a Smartphone App: Randomized Controlled Trial..” Jmir Mhealth and Uhealth, vol. 7, no. 2, Feb. 2019. Epmc, doi:10.2196/12209. Full Text

Shaw, Ryan, et al. “Log2Lose: Development and Lessons Learned From a Mobile Technology Weight Loss Intervention..” Jmir Mhealth Uhealth, vol. 7, no. 2, Feb. 2019. Pubmed, doi:10.2196/11972. Full Text

Kay, Melissa C., et al. “Digital Weight Loss Intervention for Parents of Children Being Treated for Obesity: A Prospective Cohort Feasibility Trial..” J Med Internet Res, vol. 20, no. 12, Dec. 2018. Pubmed, doi:10.2196/11093. Full Text

Bennett, Gary G., et al. “Effectiveness of an App and Provider Counseling for Obesity Treatment in Primary Care..” Am J Prev Med, vol. 55, no. 6, Dec. 2018, pp. 777–86. Pubmed, doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2018.07.005. Full Text

Lin, Pao-Hwa, et al. “The Association Between Engagement and Weight Loss Through Personal Coaching and Cell Phone Interventions in Young Adults: Randomized Controlled Trial..” Jmir Mhealth Uhealth, vol. 6, no. 10, Oct. 2018. Pubmed, doi:10.2196/10471. Full Text

Hopkins, Christina M., and Gary G. Bennett. “Weight-Related Terms Differentially Affect Self-Efficacy and Perception of Obesity..” Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.), vol. 26, no. 9, Sept. 2018, pp. 1405–11. Epmc, doi:10.1002/oby.22255. Full Text