Debra Lieberman

Current

• Director, Health Games Research, an RWJF-funded national program at UC Santa Barbara
• Communication Researcher, ISBER; and Lecturer, Dept. of Communication at UC Santa Barbara
• Interactive Media Research & Design Consultant at various companies and organizations

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Past

• VP of Research at Click Health (previously Raya Systems)
• Director of Education Systems at InterPractice Systems
• Assistant Professor, Department of Telecommunications at Indiana University, Bloomington

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Education

• Stanford University
• Harvard University
• Swarthmore College

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Recommended

2 people have recommended Debra

Connections

42 connections

Industry

Computer Games

Websites

• My vita and research interests
• Health Games Research

Debra Lieberman’s Summary

Background in academe and industry with a focus on developing interactive entertainment and video games for learning and health behavior change. Experienced research director, educator, university instructor, writer, and media research & design consultant. Widely published in the areas of serious games, behavioral health, and communication research.

Debra Lieberman’s Specialties:

Research and instructional design of interactive media and games -- for health, leisure-time learning; K-12 education, and family entertainment.

Debra Lieberman’s Experience

• Director, Health Games Research, an RWJF-funded national program

  UC Santa Barbara

  (Computer Games industry)

  2007 — Present (1 year)

  Health Games Research is a national program funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Pioneer Portfolio and located at the University of California, Santa Barbara. The program funds and supports research to improve the design and effectiveness of interactive games intended to improve people's health behaviors and health outcomes. The program also provides information and resources about health games and convenes meetings that bring together researchers, medical experts, game publishers, community leaders, and other decision-makers involved in creating, funding, buying, recommending, or implementing health games. To learn more, and to see the Call for Proposals for research funding, visit http://www.healthgamesresearch.org

• Communication Researcher, ISBER; and Lecturer, Dept. of Communication

  UC Santa Barbara

  (Educational Institution; Higher Education industry)

  2001 — Present (7 years)

  I'm a communication researcher at UC Santa Barbara's Institute for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Research (ISBER), where I direct research projects investigating processes of learning and health behavior change with video games, the web, and other interactive media. I also teach in the university's Department of Communication. My courses include Health Communication, Interactive Media Theory and Design, Media and Children, Persuasion, Interviewing Theory and Practice, and Research Methods.

• Interactive Media Research & Design Consultant

  various companies and organizations

  (E-Learning industry)

  1974 — Present (34 years)

  I work for media and technology companies, education agencies, and health organizations to help research, design, and evaluate interactive products for learning, skill development, and behavior change. I have consulted on the development of interactive media for leisure-time learning and entertainment, children's learning, consumer health, and disease management. I enjoy bridging academe and industry, applying theory and research evidence to the design of interactive products that are engaging, fun, age-appropriate, and educationally effective.

• VP of Research

  Click Health (previously Raya Systems)

  (Computer Games industry)

  1993 — 1999 (6 years)

  I contributed to the design of health video games for the Nintendo platform and directed user studies and NIH-funded clinical trials testing the games' effectiveness. We developed behavior-change video games about smoking prevention, diabetes, asthma, and other health topics, and research found that the games were very effective at improving players' health behaviors and health outcomes. For example, our diabetes self-management video game reduced diabetic players' urgent care and emergency visits by 77 percent.

• Director of Education Systems

  InterPractice Systems

  (Hospital & Health Care industry)

  1988 — 1991 (3 years)

  I directed a team that developed components of an electronic medical record system, to provide health information, symptom analysis, and triage to patients at home via an online network.

• Assistant Professor, Department of Telecommunications

  Indiana University, Bloomington

  (Educational Institution; Higher Education industry)

  1986 — 1988 (2 years)

  I taught courses and conducted research on the psychology and design of interactive media.

Debra Lieberman’s Education

• Stanford University

  Ph.D., Communication Research, 1982 — 1986

• Harvard University

  Ed.M., Media and Learning, 1973 — 1974

• Swarthmore College

  B.A., Psychology, 1969 — 1973

Additional Information

Debra Lieberman’s Websites:

• My vita and research interests
• Health Games Research

Debra Lieberman’s Contact Settings

Interested In:

• consulting offers
• new ventures
• expertise requests
• getting back in touch