The Addictive and Health Behaviors Research Institute is the premiere addictive and health behavior research center dedicated to the development of cost-effective, efficacious and easily adaptable strategies for preventing harm and promoting health among youth in our community, state and nation.

Located in the major metropolitan area of Jacksonville, Fla., AHBRI is uniquely situated to effectively access a broad range of urban, suburban and rural populations located within easily accessible settings, including schools, universities, health clinics, hospitals, health departments, businesses, and other institutions and agencies serving youth.

AHBRI is dedicated to improving the health, well-being and positive development of children, adolescents and young adults most vulnerable to harm caused by addictive and other health-damaging behaviors.

Since AHBRI’s establishment in 2004, the institute has been awarded more than $7 million in National Institutes of Health funding to conduct research examining strategies to prevent harm and promote health among adolescents and young adults, and is poised to receive significant additional NIH funding to develop and test effective health behavior interventions for youth.

Since its inception, AHBRI has co-hosted three annual symposia on Addictive and Health Behaviors Research, providing a forum for the multi-disciplinary exchange of both scientific and application knowledge in health behavior intervention. The 2007 symposium was AHBRI’s first to be open to national participation and was co-hosted by the American Academy of Health Behavior.

The Institute also provides graduate student fellowships and post-doctoral appointments in health behavior and prevention intervention research.

The AHB Research Institute is directed by Chad Werch, Ph.D., and is home to a range of health behavior researchers and practitioners, including Research Coordinators and Assistants, Research Communications Specialists, Trained Health Behavior Interventionists, and Collaborating Research Scientists. The Institute is part of the University of Florida's Department of Health Education & Behavior in the College of Health & Human Performance.