# Columbia University Science of Behavior Change Resource and Coordinating Center renewal

> **NIH NIH U24** · COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES · 2020 · $1,249,563

## Abstract

The Columbia University Science of Behavior Change (SOBC) Resource and Coordinating Center (RCC) has
been highly successful in coordinating SOBC research efforts, developing digital tools to promote the
experimental medicine approach, and disseminating SOBC research practices and products. We now propose
to expand on the tools we have developed, to create novel opportunities for basic and applied/clinical science to
converge on mechanisms of behavior change. Further, we will continue to serve as a hub for scientists within
and outside the SOBC Network to collect, organize, evaluate, discuss, and disseminate rigorous behavioral
science. In close collaboration with NIH and the SOBC Network we will:
-Expand the SOBC Measures Repository to include both intervention materials and measures of
behavioral outcomes—alongside measures of mechanisms. Open the Repository for curation by all
scientists, and promote self-sustaining user engagement through delivery of digital tools to (a)
organize constructs into visual taxonomies and (b) leverage systematic review data to identify novel
opportunities for mechanistic research. Rapidly test and optimize Repository tools and features.
-Bring basic and applied/clinical scientists together to promote discovery and improve measurement
tools and practices, through collaboration, research syntheses, and support of pilot research.
-Conduct outreach and dissemination of the SOBC experimental medicine approach and mechanistic
research broadly, through drafting and disseminating best practice guidelines, and developing tools
for incorporating and communicating mechanisms-focused research. We will also continue to create
engaging conference workshops, webinars, educational video/web/podcast content, and engage with
national and international scientific organizations through meetings and joint communications.
-Integrate SOBC with related efforts, and detail the role of SOBC/early phase mechanism-focused
optimization in the ORBIT framework, NIH Stage Model, and the RE-AIM model.
-Conduct systematic reviews and/or meta-analyses of the behavior change literature, to test the
impact of applying the experimental medicine approach on research products, and to identify
additional potential targets for future validation or research.
The SOBC program has begun a profound shift in how behavioral scientists think about behavior
change. Over the past 5 years, we played a key role in shaping the SOBC message and building tools to
help researchers apply it. Now we propose to ensure its lasting impact by making those tools more
rigorous, intuitive, and usable—and by making them accessible to the broader field. Our goal is to make
the case for behavioral science to adopt the experimental medicine approach by showing that it
improves research impact, and by making adoption so simple that it becomes the default approach.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10046157
- **Project number:** 2U24AG052175-06
- **Recipient organization:** COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES
- **Principal Investigator:** Donald Edmondson
- **Activity code:** U24 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $1,249,563
- **Award type:** 2
- **Project period:** 2015-09-30 → 2025-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10046157

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10046157, Columbia University Science of Behavior Change Resource and Coordinating Center renewal (2U24AG052175-06). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10046157. Licensed CC0.

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