Georges Khalil, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
About Georges Khalil
Georges Khalil is a cancer prevention scientist and health communication specialist in the Department of Health Outcomes and Biomedical Informatics. Prior to his appointment at the University of Florida, Dr. Khalil served as a Postdoctoral Fellow and then Instructor faculty at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. He earned a Master of Public Health from the University of Southern California (2010) and a Doctoral degree in Communication from the State University of New York at Buffalo (2015).
Dr. Khalil’s research interests are cancer prevention, digital technologies, and social interactivity. His work primarily focuses on the design and evaluation of entertainment programs and technology-based interventions that aim to improve clinical and behavioral outcomes related to cancer prevention and control among youths. He is particularly passionate about the application of games for health to bring about behavior change.
Most recently, his research has focused on tobacco prevention, exploring adolescents’ reactions to ASPIRE, a web-based smoking prevention program, and the study of young adults’ experience with a mobile health campaign for tobacco-risk communication. He has also conducted studies on Re-Mission, a video game designed to improve medication adherence among pediatric cancer patients and cancer-risk communication among young-adult college students. Funded by an R00 grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, Dr. Khalil is currently developing and testing social influence strategies for tobacco prevention and cessation among adolescents.
Dr. Khalil has presented at both national and international conferences including the World Cancer Congress and has been recipient of a variety of awards including the Early Career Investigator Award from the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco and a New Investigator Workshop Award from the American Society of Preventive Oncology.
Accomplishments
NIH Travel Award for Collaborative Research on Addiction
2019
·
National Institute on Drug Abuse
Outstanding Trainee Award Nomination
2019
·
Division of Cancer Prevention & Population Sciences of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Early Career Investigator Award
2018
·
Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco – Europe
New Investigator Workshop Award
2016
·
American Society of Preventive Oncology
NCI R25T Postdoctoral Fellowship Award in Cancer Prevention Research
2015
·
University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Top Student Paper Award in Health Communication
2014
·
National Communication Association, Health Communication Division
Competitively Selected Research at the Games for Health Europe Conference
2013
·
Foundation of Applied Games
NCI R25T Pre-Doctoral Fellowship Award in Cancer Prevention Research
2013
·
University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Teaching Assistantship Stipend
2012
·
University at Buffalo, Department of Communication
Graduate Student Employee Union Doctoral Retention Enhancement Award
2011
·
University at Buffalo, Department of Communication
Teaching Profile
Courses Taught
2021-2025
GMS6812 Health Outcomes Research in Cancer
2022
MMC6936 Special Topics in Mass Communication
Publications
Academic Articles
2024
Developing a text-message library for tobacco prevention among adolescents: A qualitative study
PLOS ONE.
19(1)
[DOI] 10.1371/journal.pone.0296503.
[PMID] 38175835.
2024
Risk Perception and Knowledge Following a Social Game-Based Tobacco Prevention Program for Adolescents: Pilot Randomized Comparative Trial.
JMIR serious games.
12
[DOI] 10.2196/63296.
[PMID] 39499912.
2024
Social influence and advocacy pathways during a web-based program for adolescent smoking prevention
Addictive Behaviors Reports.
19
[DOI] 10.1016/j.abrep.2024.100529.
[PMID] 38283066.
2023
Identifying adolescents’ gaming preferences for a tobacco prevention social game: A qualitative study
PLOS ONE.
18(7)
[DOI] 10.1371/journal.pone.0289319.
[PMID] 37506112.
2023
Mixed methods evaluation of vaping and tobacco product use prevention interventions among youth in the Florida 4-H program.
Addictive behaviors.
141
[DOI] 10.1016/j.addbeh.2023.107637.
[PMID] 36753933.
2023
Racial and Ethnic Differences in Initiation of Menthol Tobacco Smoking and Subsequent Tobacco Use in the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health Study, Waves 1-4 (2013-2018).
Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco.
25(8):1440-1446
[DOI] 10.1093/ntr/ntad055.
[PMID] 37058132.
2022
A novel method for evaluating physician communication: A pilot study testing the feasibility of parent-assisted audio recordings via Zoom.
PEC innovation.
1
[DOI] 10.1016/j.pecinn.2022.100020.
[PMID] 36212508.
2022
Cancer disparities related to poverty and rurality for 22 top cancers in Florida.
Preventive medicine reports.
29
[DOI] 10.1016/j.pmedr.2022.101922.
[PMID] 35928594.
2021
Examining proximity exposure in a social network as a mechanism driving peer influence of adolescent smoking.
Addictive behaviors.
117
[DOI] 10.1016/j.addbeh.2021.106853.
[PMID] 33578104.
2021
Friendship influence moderating the effect of a web-based smoking prevention program on intention to smoke and knowledge among adolescents.
Addictive behaviors reports.
13
[DOI] 10.1016/j.abrep.2020.100335.
[PMID] 33521230.
2021
Mobile Text Messaging for Tobacco Risk Communication Among Young Adult Community College Students: Randomized Trial of Project Debunk
JMIR mHealth and uHealth.
9(11)
[DOI] 10.2196/25618.
[PMID] 34822339.
2020
Unusually High Prevalence of Cosecretion of Ambler Class A and B Carbapenemases and Nonenzymatic Mechanisms in Multidrug-Resistant Clinical Isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in Lebanon.
Microbial drug resistance (Larchmont, N.Y.).
26(2):150-159
[DOI] 10.1089/mdr.2019.0040.
[PMID] 31424353.
2019
Pilot study to inform young adults about the risks of electronic cigarettes through text messaging.
Addictive behaviors reports.
10
[DOI] 10.1016/j.abrep.2019.100224.
[PMID] 31828203.
2019
Revealing users’ experience and social interaction outcomes following a web-based smoking prevention intervention for adolescents: A qualitative study
PLOS ONE.
14(10)
[DOI] 10.1371/journal.pone.0223836.
[PMID] 31622397.
2019
The presence and stability of nicotine dependence symptoms among adolescents after the implementation of a smoking prevention program.
Tobacco induced diseases.
17
[DOI] 10.18332/tid/100556.
[PMID] 31582920.
2018
Development and initial testing of the brief adolescent smoking curiosity scale (ASCOS)
Addictive Behaviors.
78:67-73
[DOI] 10.1016/j.addbeh.2017.11.008.
[PMID] 29127786.
2018
Microencapsulation of a Staphylococcus phage for concentration and long-term storage
Food Microbiology.
76:304-309
[DOI] 10.1016/j.fm.2018.06.002.
2018
Mobile Phone Text Messaging for Tobacco Risk Communication Among Young Adult Community College Students: Protocol and Baseline Overview for a Randomized Controlled Trial
JMIR Research Protocols.
7(10)
[DOI] 10.2196/10977.
[PMID] 30322833.
2018
Validation of mobile phone text messages for nicotine and tobacco risk communication among college students: A content analysis.
Tobacco prevention & cessation.
4
[DOI] 10.18332/tpc/84866.
[PMID] 29888338.
2017
A Pilot Study for Linking Adolescent Patients to an Interactive Tobacco Prevention Program.
Health services research and managerial epidemiology.
4
[DOI] 10.1177/2333392817703208.
[PMID] 28516127.
2017
Developing mobile phone text messages for tobacco risk communication among college students: a mixed methods study.
BMC public health.
17(1)
[DOI] 10.1186/s12889-017-4027-z.
[PMID] 28143432.
2017
From the Experience of Interactivity and Entertainment to Lower Intention to Smoke: A Randomized Controlled Trial and Path Analysis of a Web-Based Smoking Prevention Program for Adolescents
Journal of Medical Internet Research.
19(2)
[DOI] 10.2196/jmir.7174.
[PMID] 28209560.
2017
Testing the nicotine dependence measure mFTQ for adolescent smokers: A multinational investigation
The American Journal on Addictions.
26(7):689-696
[DOI] 10.1111/ajad.12583.
[PMID] 28708935.
2016
A Video Game Promoting Cancer Risk Perception and Information Seeking Behavior Among Young-Adult College Students: A Randomized Controlled Trial
JMIR Serious Games.
4(2)
[DOI] 10.2196/games.5793.
[PMID] 27470927.
2016
Design of classroom intervention for teaching preschoolers to identify and avoid inhaling secondhand tobacco smoke
.
1(1)
2016
Efficacy of two Staphylococcus aureus phage cocktails in cheese production.
International journal of food microbiology.
217:7-13
[DOI] 10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2015.10.001.
[PMID] 26476571.
2015
Effects of readiness to change, quit history, and health perceptions on depressive symptoms among young adult smokers
.
1(1)
2015
Effects of readiness to change, quit history, and health perceptions on depressive symptoms among young adult smokers.
International journal of psychology and psychoanalysis.
1(1)
[PMID] 26457334.
2014
A televised entertainment-education drama to promote positive discussion about organ donation.
Health education research.
29(2):284-96
[DOI] 10.1093/her/cyt106.
[PMID] 24399264.
2012
When Losing Means Winning: The Impact of Conflict in a Digital Game on Young Adults’ Intentions to Get Protected from Cancer.
Games for health journal.
1(4):279-86
[DOI] 10.1089/g4h.2012.0017.
[PMID] 26191631.
Grants
Jun 2020
ACTIVE
Social Influence Strategies during a Web-based Smoking Prevention Intervention for Adolescents
Role: Principal Investigator
Funding: NATL INST OF HLTH NIDA
Contact Details
Emails:
- Business:
- gkhalil@ufl.edu
Addresses:
- Business Mailing:
-
PO Box 100147
GAINESVILLE FL 32610 - Business Street:
-
1889 Museum Rd, Suite 7000
GAINESVILLE FL 32611