Thomas K Houston

Dr. Thomas K Houston is an Adjunct Professor at UMass Chan Medical School in the Department of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences. He holds dual appointments within the T.H. Chan School of Medicine (Division of Health Informatics And Implementation Science) and UMass Chan Programs, Centers and Institutes (Department of Bioinformatics and Integrative Biology). His research program focuses on the intersection of health informatics, communication, and behavioral science, with particular emphasis on developing and evaluating digital health interventions for smoking cessation and chronic disease management.

Dr. Houston received his BS in Biology from Wake Forest University and his MD from Bowman Gray School of Medicine, both in Winston-Salem, NC. His academic trajectory has positioned him as a leading researcher in health informatics, with a focus on leveraging technology to improve health outcomes and reduce disparities.

Dr. Houston's research primarily centers on developing innovative digital health solutions including web-based platforms, mobile applications, and machine learning algorithms to personalize health interventions. His work spans multiple domains including public health, medical informatics, and behavioral science, with a particular focus on:

• Smoking cessation interventions using digital platforms
• Machine learning applications for personalized health messaging
• Implementation science for health technology adoption
• Health communication and patient engagement
• Addressing the digital divide in healthcare
• Global health applications of mHealth technologies

His publication record shows consistent productivity with over 50 publications spanning from 1998 to 2025, with particular emphasis on randomized controlled trials testing technology-assisted interventions. His work frequently addresses health disparities and aims to develop interventions accessible to diverse populations, including socioeconomically disadvantaged groups and rural communities. Recent research includes machine learning-based adaptive systems for smoking cessation and digital divide risk assessment tools.

Dr. Houston has established extensive collaborations, particularly with Dr. Rajani Sadasivam and other colleagues at UMass Chan Medical School. His research has been supported by various grants focused on developing and testing innovative digital health solutions. He has conducted international research in Vietnam on peer texting for smoking cessation and has developed multiple digital tools including the 'Share2Quit' peer marketing system and 'Crave-Out' mobile application for smoking cessation support.

His laboratory work focuses on interdisciplinary collaboration between computer scientists, clinicians, behavioral scientists, and public health researchers to develop and implement effective health technologies. Dr. Houston continues to be actively engaged in cutting-edge research at the intersection of technology and healthcare delivery.