CURRENT AFFILIATIONS

Research Scientist, MIT
Assistant Professor, UMass Medical School, Department of Psychiatry

BACKGROUND

Rich Fletcher directs the Mobile Technology Group within the MIT Mechanical Engineering Department (www.mobiletechnologylab.org) which develops a variety of mobile sensors, analytic tools, and diagnostic algorithms to study problems in public health and behavior medicine. Over the past 20 years, Dr. Fletcher has done extensive work in India, collaborating with organizations serving the rural and urban poor, with ongoing research studies funded by NIH, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, USAID, Vodafone and the Tata Trust. In the US, Dr. Fletcher works in the area of behavior medicine and public health, addressing health disparities and important issues such as drug addiction and mental health. Bridging together the fields of engineering and medicine, Dr. Fletcher’s research utilizes a variety of mobile technologies, wearable sensors, and Internet of Things for use in behavior monitoring as well as psychological and behavioral interventions. Dr. Fletcher holds undergraduate degrees in Physics and Electrical Engineering from MIT, and also received his Masters and PhD from MIT in the area of Information Technology with a concentration in Physics. Prior to focusing on health, Dr. Fletcher worked in the area of wireless sensors and RFID for 20 years, including 5 years with the US Air Force Research Lab and 20 years at the MIT Media Lab, producing over a 20 US patents and several spin-off companies. In 2009, working with Prof. Roz Picard, Dr. Fletcher patented one of the first mHealth “Just In Time Intervention” (JITAI) systems, which has provided a basic framework for future behavioral intervention designs. Dr. Fletcher is currently an investigator on several clinical studies with partner hospitals in the US and India exploring ways that mobile technology, Internet of Things and Artificial Intelligence can be used for diagnostic guidance as well as to predict and guide human behavior in the context of health. Dr. Fletcher also holds a faculty appointment at University of Massachusetts Medical School, Department of Psychiatry, specializing in technologies for mental health monitoring and wellness. Dr. Fletcher has family roots in Colombia, South America.