Victor J. Strecher, Ph.D.

Professor, Health Behavior & Health Education

Director, Health Media Research Laboratory

Director, Cancer Prevention and Control

Chairman & Founder of HealthMedia, Inc.

Cancer Center
5D04 N. Ingalls
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-0482

(734) 763-6099

E-mail: strecher@umich.edu

Website(s): Center for Health Communications Research (CHCR)

Professional Summary

Dr. Victor J. Strecher graduated in 1983 with an M.P.H. and Ph.D. in Health Behavior & Health Education from the University of Michigan. After positions as Assistant and Associate Professor in the School of Public Health at the University of North Carolina, Dr. Strecher moved back to the University of Michigan, where he became Professor of Health Behavior & Health Education and Director of Cancer Prevention and Control in the University of Michigan's Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Dr. Strecher also founded the University of Michigan's Center for Health Communications Research (CHCR): a multidisciplinary team of behavioral scientists, physicians, computer engineers, instructional designers, graphic artists, and students from a wide variety of disciplines. For over a decade, Dr. Strecher's center has conducted research studies and demonstration projects of computer-tailoring and interactive multimedia programs.

In 1998, Dr. Strecher founded HealthMedia, Inc.-- a company designed to create interactive health communications solutions for medical care, employer, pharmaceutical, and government settings. The intention of HealthMedia, Inc. is to bring the highest quality science, operational capabilities and creativity to the marketplace. The company now has over 35 employees and has secured a significant client base.

Education

Ph.D., Health Behavior & Health Education, University of Michigan, 1983
M.P.H., Health Behavior & Health Education, University of Michigan, 1980
B.S., Science and Math, Michigan State University, 1977

Research Interest & Projects

Dr. Strecher's academic interests include evaluative research of health behavior change interventions for health promotion, disease prevention and disease management; he has been principal investigator on over $10 million in research grants. Grant-funded studies have included, among others, several computer-tailored print interventions, including tailored materials to callers of the National Cancer Institute's Cancer Information Service (CIS); tailored materials for cigarette smoking cessation, mammography, and dietary fat reduction; tailored materials for patients in the emergency room; and tailored materials to HMO members based on a comprehensive health risk appraisal. Computer-based interactive multimedia interventions include a program for genetic counseling on BRCA1 and BRCA2 (breast cancer genes) and programs to teach women about their risks of breast cancer.