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Moon, Tae Joon PhD

Contact

moontj@uthscsa.edu

Departments & Divisions

Tae Joon Moon, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Dr. Tae Joon Moon is an Assistant Professor of Public Health who has expertise in health technologies (e.g., remote biosensors, mobile health technologies), the development and design of remote interventions, and health communication/promotion for behavioral change. His skills and research are focused on the area of the development of technology-enhanced interventions to address health-related challenges among underserved populations in terms of geographic locations, socioeconomic status, and race. Dr. Moon had multi-disciplinary research experiences. His earlier research at the Center for Health Enhancement Systems Studies at the University of Wisconsin, Madison focused on the development of remote health support systems for people with chronic health challenges. After this, he completed postdoctoral training in behavioral psychopharmacology at the Addiction Research, Treatment, and Training Center of Excellence and the Neurobehavioral Research Lab and Clinic at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSCSA). Since he was appointed as an Assistant Professor at the UTHSCSA, he has successfully administered NIH-funded research projects as a PI or a CO-I and produced several peer-reviewed publications.

  • Professional Background

    Education

    • 2017 - Ph.D. - Journalism and Mass Communication - School of Journalism & Mass Communication, University of Wisconsin, Madison
    • 2003 - MA - Communication - Department of Communication, Seoul National University, South Korea.
    • 2001 - BA - Communication - Department of Communication, Seoul National University, South Korea

    Highlights

    PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS:

    • 2004 - Present, Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication
    • 2009 - Present, International Communication Association
    • 2018 - Present, Texas Research Society on Alcoholism

    Appointments

    • 2023 - Assistant Professor - UT School of Public Health San Antonio
    • 2020 - Assistant Professor - UT Health San Antonio, Psychiatry, San Antonio

  • Research & Grants

    RESEARCH INTEREST:

    • Health communication
    • Communication technologies
    • Interpersonal health communication
    • Advanced research method

    Grants

    CURRENT GRANTS

    • 2021 - present, Contingency Management Using Deposit Contract to Reduce Drinking (R01 AA014988; PI: Donald M. Dougherty, Ph.D.). Role: Principal Investigator of Subcontract. This project explores whether our contingency management protocols can be translated into a user-funded procedure by using deposit contracts.
    • 2022 - present, Pilot Project for Improving Remote Breathalyzer Procedures (R01 AA014988; PIs: Donald M. Dougherty, Ph.D. & Nathalie Hill-Kapturczak, Ph.D.). Role: Co-InvestigatorThis project evaluates breathalyzers, examining the possibility of off-cycle drinking (between bedtime and the next morning) and determining if the measurement of an alcohol biomarker (phosphatidylethanol) can identify individuals engaging in patterns of alcohol use to avoid detection.
    • 2021 - present, Competitive Revision to: Leveraging Transdermal Alcohol Monitoring to Reduce Drinking Among DWI Defendants (3R01 AA014988-15-S1; PIs: Nathalie Hill-Kapturczak, Ph.D. & Donald M. Dougherty, Ph.D.). Role: Co-investigatorThis project identifies the clinical utility of a new alcohol biomarker (i.e., phosphatidylethanol) and determines how it can be used to confirm abstinence and better identify patterns of drinking.2020 – present, Consequences of Substance Use on The Development of Impulse Control (R01 DA026868; PI: John D. Roache, Ph.D.). Role: Co-investigatorThis study examines how preadolescent impulse control and sensation-seeking predict substance use involvement and how substance use involvement alters the development of adolescent impulse control.
    • 2020 - present, Leveraging Transdermal Alcohol Monitoring to Reduce Drinking Among DWI Defendants (R01 AA014988; PI: Donald M. Dougherty, Ph.D.). Role: Co-investigatorThe study examines the efficacy of interventions aimed at reducing heavy drinking among the unique population of risky drinkers. The proposed study provides fundamental information on underlying cognitive-behavioral mechanisms related to the ability to reduce alcohol use, which can be used to develop more cost-effective methods to prevent DWI within the criminal justice system.

  • Publications