Health Innovation Professor Jacinda Dariotis
Jacinda Dariotis
Health Innovation Professor, Biomedical and Translational Sciences
dariotis@illinois.edu
Risk-taking | Prevention | Participatory | Survey research | Biosocial determinants | Mixed methods | Mindfulness
Projects Available for Carle Illinois College of Medicine Student Participation
List of Projects - (1) HOrmone and NEurological Study of Texting Youth project, HONESTY project and (2) Mixed Methods COVID-19 Study. Currently, six papers based on the HONESTY and COVID-19 data are underway. These papers are at various stages of development and provide opportunities for CI MED student involvement and co-authorship. Taken together, my work on risk-taking determinants and behaviors has shown that impulsivity proclivity, perceived likelihood of consequences (e.g., unintended pregnancies, STIs), level of attraction, sexual networks, and stress reactivity are associated with risk-taking behaviors. Some factors promote risk-taking (e.g., low perceived risk; impulsivity; discounting) while other factors protect against risk (e.g., low attraction; emotional regulation; cognitive control) and these factors are characteristic of some people and not others.
Why I'm Motivated to be a HIP Faculty Member:
I have a background in public health and investigate biosocial determinants of health, which are topics that should and need to be explored in the college of medicine. My lab and active collaborations will provide timely research and training opportunities for CI MED students to fulfill their capstone, IDEA (Innovation, Design, Engineering and Analysis), and data science projects as well as collaborate on scientific presentations and publications. By training the next generation of physicians in precision prevention, participatory methods, and complementary and integrative health approaches like mindfulness, the need for more aggressive and invasive treatments may be mitigated.
Carle Illinois College of Medicine Related Research
By investigating how risk-reward motivations differentially predict public health, medical, and prevention recommendation adherence and leveraging these findings for adaptive interventions that optimize uptake, Professor Dariotis' research is particularly valuable for training CI MED’s physician innovators.
Professor Dariotis' expertise in participatory research, precision prevention, and related methods emphasizes how to authentically engage multiple partners – patients, peers, families – to consider contextual influences in the design of and messaging related to interventions. Investigating what is acceptable, for whom, in what contexts, and how it works is essential for optimizing health and meeting people where they are. For example, if a medical device is developed but people with the targeted health condition do not adopt it or adhere to regimens, the innovation’s utility is compromised.