Tom Kirchner

Dr. Thomas Kirchner is a clinical-health psychologist and methodologist interested in the analysis and graphical representation of longitudinal and geographic data, including methodologies that link individual behavior to the real-time context in which it occurs. Dr. Kirchner’s research targets momentary influences on the maintenance of health-related behavior utilizing both field-based (ecological momentary assessment) and laboratory-based paradigms. These geographic information systems and analytical methods can then inform public health, research, and policy.

As the Director and Principal Investigator of the mHealth (mobile health) Lab, Dr. Kirchner uses GIS to understand health-related behavior and decision-making in real time (e.g., how people make decisions about what they eat and drink, the places they go to exercise in their neighborhoods, the amount of time they spend outdoors, and whether they smoke cigarettes and/or marijuana). In the Lab, students apply mHealth tools to explore geospatial systems, technology, research, and community advocacy. Students learn how to leverage the power of their cell phones to collect data about neighborhoods and experiences. In the POSSE (Point-of-sale Surveillance and Exposure) study, data is used to understand how tobacco-use behaviors are influenced in real-time by socio-contextual factors in real-world settings. Another initiative is exploring the link between marijuana and electronic vaporizers and the way legalization, decriminalization, and medicalization policies influence attitudes and decision-making about marijuana use in Colorado.

At CUSP - a public-private research center that observes, analyzes, and models cities to optimize outcomes, prototype new solutions, formalize new tools and processes, and develop new expertise/experts - Dr. Kirchner actively engages students and mentors projects.