Linda Collins | NYU School of Global Public Health

Linda Collins

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Professor of Social and Behavioral Sciences

Linda M. Collins is Professor of Global Public Health in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, with a secondary appointment in the Department of Biostatistics. She earned her B.A. in Psychology at the University of Connecticut and her Ph.D. in Quantitative Psychology at the University of Southern California.

Collins’ research interests are focused on the development, dissemination, and application of the multiphase optimization strategy (MOST), a framework for the optimization of behavioral, biobehavioral, and social-structural interventions. The objective of MOST is to improve intervention effectiveness, efficiency, economy, and scalability. She is currently collaborating on research applying MOST in the areas of smoking cessation, the prevention of excessive drinking and risky sex in college students, and HIV services.

Collins’ research has been funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, and the National Science Foundation, among others. She has given more than 150 presentations on MOST around the world, and her publications have appeared in journals in the fields of behavioral science, quantitative methodology, medicine, and engineering.

Collins has held tenured faculty positions at the University of Southern California and at Penn State University, where she was Distinguished Professor of Human Development and Family Studies and Director of The Methodology Center. She is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, the Association for Psychological Science, the Society of Behavioral Medicine, and is a past president of the Society of Multivariate Experimental Psychology and the Society for Prevention Research.

Education

BA, Psychology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT

PhD, Quantitative Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA

Honors and awards

Fulbright Specialist, National University of Ireland Galway (2018)

Pauline Schmitt Russell Distinguished Career Award, Pennsylvania State University’s College of Health and Human Development (2017)

Evan G. and Helen G. Pattishall Outstanding Research Achievement Award, Pennsylvania State University’s College of Health and Human Development (2011)

President’s Award, Society for Prevention Research (2004)

Faculty Scholar Medal for the Social and Behavioral Sciences, Pennsylvania State University (2000)

Psychology Department Teacher of the Year, University of Southern California (1992)

Psychology Department Mentorship Award, University of Southern California (1991)

Society of Multivariate Experimental Psychology Award for Distinguished Early Career Contributions to Multivariate Behavioral Research (1991)

Areas of research and study

Behavioral Science

Cost Effectiveness

Cost-effective Health Programs and Policies

Dissemination and Implementation of Evidence-based Programs

Publications

Inside the Clockwork of the ECHO Factorial Trial: A Conceptual Model With Proposed Mediators for Prevention of Emotional Problems in Children

One view of the next decade of research on behavioral and biobehavioral approaches to cancer prevention and control: Intervention optimization

Stopping, starting, and sustaining HIV antiretroviral therapy: a mixed-methods exploration among African American/Black and Latino long-term survivors of HIV in an urban context

The Multiphase Optimization Strategy (MOST) in Child Maltreatment Prevention Research

Understanding Medical Distrust Among African American/Black and Latino Persons Living With HIV With Sub-Optimal Engagement Along the HIV Care Continuum: A Machine Learning Approach

A Factorial Experiment to Optimize Remotely Delivered Behavioral Treatment for Obesity: Results of the Opt-IN Study

itMatters: Optimization of an online intervention to prevent sexually transmitted infections in college students

Predictors of smoking cessation attempts and success following motivation-phase interventions among people initially unwilling to quit smoking

Understanding long-term HIV survivorship among African American/Black and Latinx persons living with HIV in the United States: A qualitative exploration through the lens of symbolic violence

Achieving the goals of translational science in public health intervention research: The multiphase optimization strategy (MOST)

Developing a Psychological-Behavioral Intervention in Cardiac Patients Using the Multiphase Optimization Strategy: Lessons Learned from the Field

Effects of motivation phase intervention components on quit attempts in smokers unwilling to quit: A factorial experiment

The selection of comparators for randomized controlled trials of health-related behavioral interventions: recommendations of an NIH expert panel

A randomized controlled trial of an optimized smoking treatment delivered in primary care

Healthy Campus Trial: A multiphase optimization strategy (MOST) fully factorial trial to optimize the smartphone cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) app for mental health promotion among university students: Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Just-in-time adaptive interventions (JITAIs) in mobile health: Key components and design principles for ongoing health behavior support

Multilevel factorial designs with experiment-induced clustering

Optimization of a technology-supported physical activity intervention for breast cancer survivors: Fit2Thrive study protocol

Optimizing a Positive Psychology Intervention to Promote Health Behaviors after an Acute Coronary Syndrome: The Positive Emotions after Acute Coronary Events III (PEACE-III) Randomized Factorial Trial

Tobacco dependence treatment in the emergency department: A randomized trial using the Multiphase Optimization Strategy

An Overview of Research and Evaluation Designs for Dissemination and Implementation

Implementing Clinical Research Using Factorial Designs: A Primer

The Positive Emotions after Acute Coronary Events behavioral health intervention: Design, rationale, and preliminary feasibility of a factorial design study