Meet the Industry Connections Committee (ICC)

Cynhia Castro Sweet, PhD (Chair); Michelle Cardel, PhD, RD; Leanne Kaye, PhD, MPH; Robin Anthony Kouyate, PhD; Jason Ong, PhD; & the Industry Connections Committee

What is the ICC?  In the last decade, we’ve seen a proliferation of behavioral solutions emerging in all sectors of health care, and an increased presence of behavioral scientists working in companies that are developing and launching these solutions. SBM saw a need to include these behavior scientists in the Society’s work, and formed the ICC in 2022. The ICC is not a Special Interest Group; they are a committee formed to support the SBM Membership Council. Specifically, the ICC connects the society and its members to industry professionals and careers relevant to behavioral medicine. This committee’s tasks may include recruiting society members from industry, connecting society members who work in industry, advancing member careers in industry, sharing members’ science with industry professionals, and helping identify prospective industry sponsors for society events and programs. Industry professionals are dispersed throughout SBM, and it’s the job of the ICC to know who they are, bring them together, and connect them with SBM.

Who is the ICC? The ICC consists of a chairperson and committee members, and the chairperson reports to the Membership Council Chair. The ICC members are: Dr. Michelle Cardel, Senior Director of Global Clinical Research and Nutrition at WW, Dr. Leanne Kaye, Director of Behavioral Research and Digital Insights at ResMed, Dr. Robin Anthony Kouyate, Senior Director of Behavioral Science and Engagement at Walgreens Health, and Dr. Jason Ong, Director of Behavioral Sleep Medicine at Nox Health. The committee chairperson is Dr. Cynthia Castro Sweet, Senior Director of Clinical Research at Modern Health. These members represent the varied scientific specialties, roles, and types of companies where SBM industry members work.

What does the ICC do? This year, the ICC chair co-wrote the Outlook article in Winter 2022 on “Launching a career in the private sector”. In March 2023, the ICC will host an SBM Webinar called “Corporation Boot Camp for Behavior Scientists”. At the 2023 annual meeting, you’ll see us organizing an industry speed networking event, hosting a symposium on real world implementation of evidence-based programs, and teaching a pre-conference workshop on Academic-Industry Partnerships. We’ll also present original research findings from our respective companies, and provide career development and mentoring support for the Professional Advancement Council (formerly known as the Education, Training and Career Development Council). In the future, we have big plans to host peer networking events for industry professionals within SBM, conduct webinars to educate SBM members on digital health work in the corporate world, and connect more digital health companies to SBM to support each others’ work. If you are working in industry and want to stay connected, let us know who you are, and if you’re in the academic world, keep an eye out for us at the annual meeting and yearly programming!