CONGRESS PROGRAM
Meet the Speakers
Learn from Leaders in Behavioral Medicine
Meet the ICBM 2025 Speakers
Discover the diverse lineup of esteemed speakers and experts who will be sharing their insights, research findings, and experiences at the 18th International Congress of Behavioral Medicine.
Annette L Stanton
UCLA
Urte Scholz
University of ZurichUrte Scholz is a Professor of Applied Social and Health Psychology in the Department of Psychology at the University of Zurich in Switzerland. Her research aims to understand and capitalize on the role of social relationships in the health behaviors of individuals and dyads in their everyday lives.
Michael A. Hoyt
University of California, IrvineMichael Hoyt is a professor in the Department of Population Health & Disease Prevention and Director of the Behavioral Medicine Research Lab at the University of California, Irvine. His research is focused on biobehavioral processes associated with quality-of-life in those facing chronic illness.
Julian F. Thayer
University of California, IrvineDr. Thayer is Distinguished Professor of Psychological Science at the University of California, Irvine and the Ohio Eminent Scholar Professor in Health Psychology Emeritus at The Ohio State University. He has published over 500 research papers and is one of the world’s leading experts on heart rate variability.
Odette Wegwarth
Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin
Odette Wegwarth is the Heisenberg Professor of Medical Risk Literacy and Evidence-Based Decision-Making at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin and a Senior Researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin.
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In recognition of her research and expertise in the fields of medical risk literacy and risk communication, she has received the prestigious Early Investigator Award from the American Society of Behavioral Medicine (USA) and the Dr. Lothar Beyer Prize from the German Society of General and Family Medicine (DEGAM). She regularly advises the World Health Organization (WHO) and other political institutions, including the German Federal Chancellery, on matters related to educating doctors and patients about medical risks. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she was appointed as an expert to the social-science expert panel for pandemic preparedness by the Senate of Berlin. In 2020, Odette Wegwarth was appointed to the esteemed Heisenberg Excellence Program of the German Research Foundation (DFG) and awarded a Heisenberg Professorship for her outstanding contributions to advancing the understanding of medical risk literacy and evidence-based decision-making.
Philippa Diedrichs
Professor of Psychology, Centre for Appearance Research, UWE Bristol
Winnie Mak
Department of Psychology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Winnie W. S. Mak is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at The Chinese University of Hong Kong.
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She obtained her PhD in clinical psychology at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, Association for Psychological Science, Society for Community Research and Action, and Hong Kong Psychological Society. Her research focuses on stigma and diversity, digital mental health, and application of Buddhist psychology for well-being and social equality. Her talk will discuss how digital technology can be leveraged to reduce stigma, integrate self-care into our everyday lives to promote and maintain one’s mental wellness, and augment existing mental health services to create a more comprehensive and personalized service system, especially in places where mental health resources are scarce and evidence-based services are inaccessible.