معرفی
Robert Jakob is a postdoctoral researcher at the Chair of Information Management at ETH Zurich and Co-Director of the Agentic Systems Lab. He completed his PhD in Applied Machine Learning at the Centre for Digital Health Interventions at ETH Zurich, where his doctoral research focused on user churn prediction and prevention in digital health interventions using machine learning methods.
His academic journey includes international research experiences at Harvard University's John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences with Prof. Susan Murphy's Statistical Reinforcement Learning Lab and at the SEC Future Health Technologies Lab at the National University of Singapore. His collaborative work extends to major public health institutions including the Federal Office of Public Health of the Swiss Confederation (BAG), the Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office (BLV), and the Swiss Research Institute for Public Health and Addiction (ISGF), as well as private sector partners like Pathmate Technologies AG and WayBetter Inc.
Robert's research interests center on digital health interventions, with a particular focus on understanding factors that influence user adherence, developing machine learning models to predict user churn, and evaluating strategies to prevent nonadherence. His work spans multiple health domains including nutrition, weight management, mental health, and chronic disease management, bridging the fields of computer science, behavioral science, and public health.
His publication record demonstrates a strong emphasis on systematic reviews of factors influencing mHealth app adherence, development of predictive models for user churn, and evaluation of behavior change techniques in digital health interventions. His research has been published in high-impact journals including Journal of Medical Internet Research, Annals of Behavioral Medicine, and Computers in Human Behavior Reports, with multiple publications in 2022-2024 showing consistent research productivity.
- ETH Doc.Mobility Fellowship (Harvard University) 2023
- KITE Award Nominee - Digital Health Project 2022
- BayStartUp Award - Jury price for 'Bavaria's best founders' 2017
- EXIST Business Startup Grant - German Government Stipend 2017
- Volkswagen Foundation Grant for 'aspiring young academics' 2013
Robert's educational background combines technical and business perspectives, with a PhD in Applied Machine Learning from ETH Zurich, a master's degree in Technology and Management from Technical University of Munich, and a bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. His pre-academic career included founding a mobile games startup and professional experience at major corporations including Accenture, Fortiss, Infineon, and Volkswagen, providing him with practical industry insights that inform his academic research.
As Co-Director of the Agentic Systems Lab, Robert contributes to cutting-edge research at the intersection of artificial intelligence, human-computer interaction, and digital health, with a mission to develop more adaptive, effective, and engaging health interventions through data-driven approaches that can address the global challenge of noncommunicable diseases.
