Biography

NOTE: Dr. Walls will be accepting new doctoral graduate students for the 2026-2027 academic year.

Dr. Theodore Walls is a tenured full professor in the Behavioral Science program of the Department of Psychology at the University of Rhode Island. His research focuses on the application and development of applied statistical methods in the area of intensive longitudinal data analysis. He specializes in advanced stochastic models such as multilevel modeling, time series, machine learning models, mixture models, dynamical systems models, state space models, functional data analysis, and several other advanced statistical models. His work involves developing and applying statistical methods, particularly those which can be used to analyze data from passive sensing approaches of underlying biomechanical processes. In addition to his work on intensive longitudinal studies, he routinely enjoys working on a great diversity of scientific questions that his substantive collaborators pursue in a team science format. In these collaborations, self-regulation, passive sensing and digital feedback are key focus areas especially as digital health interventions advance rapidly in health fields. In a related vein, he has recently pursued scholarship in citizen health science, focused on self-tracking and self-experimentation. He maintains an active extramurally funded research program in the areas of alcohol use, smoking, and eating behavior. He is the recipient of a career award from the American Cancer Society, and is an active principal investigator funded by the National Institute of Digestive and Digestive and Kidney Diseases at NIH. He is currently editing a Special Issue on Digital Health for the journal Nutrients and is an incoming associate editor for Frontiers in Psychology as well as a special issue editor for methods on intensive longitudinal data.