Jeff Stein

Jeff Stein, PhD, is an Assistant Professor at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC and the Department of Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise at Virginia Tech. He serves as Associate Director of the Center for Health Behaviors Research and Interim Co-director of the Center for Transformative Research on Health Behaviors. His research focuses on behavioral economic mechanisms underlying health decisions, targeting chronic disease prevention through interventions addressing delay discounting and decision-making biases.

Education: PhD in Behavioral Psychology (Utah State University, 2016), MA in Applied Behavioral Science (University of Kansas, 2010), BA in English Literature (University of Kansas, 2002).

Research interests include type 2 diabetes management, tobacco cessation, cancer prevention, and behavioral economics. Recent studies investigate financial scarcity impacts, tobacco market regulation, and colorectal cancer screening barriers.

Key awards include the Walter R. Borg Scholarship (2012) and Experimental Analysis of Behavior Fellowship (2010). His lab includes researchers like Chesley Ammermann and Grace Casado, focusing on translating behavioral economics into public health solutions.