Johannes Thrul

Johannes Thrul, PhD, is an Associate Professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, specializing in mobile health (mHealth) research to study substance use, mental health, and digital well-being. His work focuses on leveraging smartphones and social media to develop interventions for substance use and mental health disorders. He holds affiliations with the ALACRITY Center for Health & Longevity in Mental Illness, the Center for Global Digital Health Innovation, and the Johns Hopkins P.O.E. Total Worker Health® Center.

Education:

• PhD in Psychology, Friedrich Alexander University (2013)
• MS in Psychology, Dresden University of Technology (2010)
• BS in Psychology, University of Regensburg (2006)

Research Interests: Dr. Thrul investigates digital technologies for behavioral health interventions, including ecological momentary assessment (EMA), cannabis policy, and tobacco harm reduction. He emphasizes culturally adapted interventions for diverse populations, such as the Saudi Arabian digital well-being project.

Awards:

• Multiple Excellence in Teaching Awards (2020–2022)
• Golden Apple Award for Online Teaching (2022)
• Fulbright Fellowship (2008–2009)

Grants & Projects:

• NIH-funded studies on digital health interventions for opioid and cannabis use
• Testing smartphone-based messaging for smoking cessation
• Impact of public health communication on tobacco product risk perception

Labs & Teams: Leads the Thrul Lab, collaborating on projects like the Cannabis & Health Research Initiative and the Yale Innovation to Impact Program.