Research Interests
Keywords: real-world data, wearables, machine learning, mental health, digital phenotyping
My research focuses on early detection and enhanced monitoring of disease leveraging multimodal real-world data. My work draws on several data sources, including wearables, electronic health records, and self-reported phenotyping for biostatistical and machine learning analysis. I am especially interested in applications related to mental health and digital phenotyping, with the goal of translating passive data collection into tools that support early intervention and personalized care.
Mentor Training:
Training Program Affiliations:
Publications
Eric Hurwitz in UNC Genetics News
July 31, 2026
Hurwitz Secures NSF I-Corps Award
Dr. Eric Hurwitz (Assistant Professor, Genetics) received a new NSF award (Dr. Melissa Haendel, PI) for his project titled “I-Corps: Translation potential of machine learning algorithms for early postpartum depression detection”.
July 31, 2026
Welcome New Faculty in Genetics
Dr. Jieun Esther Park and Dr. Eric Hurwitz were appointed as Assistant Professors in the Department of Genetics, effective July 2026.
May 12, 2026
Department of Genetics Publications for March 2026
Department of Genetics faculty, postdocs, students and collaborators published 35 papers in March 2026.
March 6, 2026
Haendel Publishes Health Data Policy Paper in Science
Dr. Melissa Haendel (Distinguished Professor, Genetics) is first author on a newly published paper in Science titled “Governing real-world health data as a public utility”.
November 5, 2025
Department of Genetics Publications for October 2025
Department of Genetics faculty, postdocs, students and collaborators published 40 papers in October 2025.
September 29, 2025
Dr. Eric Hurwitz Recognized with Postdoctoral Award for Research Excellence
Each year, the Postdoctoral Awards for Research Excellence (PARE) are given in recognition of the research promise demonstrated by individual postdoctoral scholars.
August 8, 2025
Department of Genetics Publications for June 29th – August 2nd, 2025
Department of Genetics faculty, postdocs, students and collaborators published 39 papers during June 29th - August 2nd 2025.
June 3, 2025
Department of Genetics Publications for April 27th – May 31st, 2025
Department of Genetics faculty, postdocs, students and collaborators published 42 papers during April 27th - May31st 2025.
May 28, 2025
Haendel Lab Publishes New Paper in JMIR Formative Research
Dr. Eric Hurwitz, postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Dr. Melissa Haendel (Distinguished Professor, Genetics), is the first author on a new paper titled “Unlocking the potential of wear time of a wearable device to enhance postpartum depression screening and detection: cross-sectional study”, published in the journal JMIR Formative Research.
May 3, 2024
Haendel Lab Publishes Postpartum Depression Paper
A new paper from the laboratory of Dr. Melissa Haendel was published in JMIR MHealth UHealth.