Herpreet Thind

Herpreet Thind, Ph.D., MPH, MBBS is an Associate Professor in the Zuckerberg College of Health Sciences at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, affiliated with the Public Health department and the Health Assessment Laboratory (HAL). Her research focuses on physical activity and yoga interventions for chronic disease prevention, with a particular emphasis on diabetes and health disparities. Dr. Thind has conducted multiple NIH-funded studies, including a landmark project examining yoga's feasibility for managing type 2 diabetes. She has extensive experience in randomized controlled trials and mHealth interventions, such as the TMAP alcohol risk reduction program and the Healthy Active and in Control (HA1C) study. In 2019, she received the Teaching Excellence Award from UMass Lowell.

Dr. Thind's educational background includes a MBBS from Rajiv Gandhi Medical College (India), an MPH from Western Kentucky University, and a Ph.D. in Health Education from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Her postdoctoral training was completed at Brown University.

Her research outputs span topics like yoga's role in smoking cessation, the impact of figurative language on healthy eating, and the sociocultural factors influencing physical activity among African-American adolescents. She has secured over $2 million in grant funding, including roles as Principal Investigator and Co-Investigator in multi-site trials. Dr. Thind collaborates across disciplines, engaging in projects like the BreathEasy smoking cessation trial and the WalkMore just-in-time intervention.

• Key Grants:
  • NIH-NCCIH-U01AT011184: Yoga Feasibility for Diabetes Management (2021)
  • Manning School of Business Grant: Figurative Language in Health Messaging (2018)
  • Zuckerberg College Grant: Total Student Health Initiative (2016)
• Lab Affiliations: Health Assessment Laboratory (HAL)
• Professional Activities: Peer review for journals like Health Communication and Preventive Medicine