{"id":17900,"date":"2025-11-17T13:36:30","date_gmt":"2025-11-17T18:36:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/psych\/?page_id=17900"},"modified":"2026-03-12T10:38:38","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T14:38:38","slug":"bridge-laboratory","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/psych\/research\/psychiatry-department-research-programs\/bridge-laboratory\/","title":{"rendered":"BRIDGE Laboratory"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Patrick
Dr. Patrick J. Smith is a clinical psychologist and biostatistician with expertise in behavioral medicine and neuropsychology. He also directs the BRIDGE Laboratory.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

BRIDGE: B<\/u>iobehavioral R<\/u>esilience I<\/u>nterventions using D<\/u>iet and G<\/u>raduated E<\/u>xercise<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The BRIDGE Laboratory<\/strong> has ready access to phlebotomy and blood sample processing facilities, laboratory space dedicated to neuropsychological testing, source materials for neuropsychological assessments and normative measures, biobehavioral assessment materials (including actigraphy, physical frailty, and ambulatory cognition assessments) and physical space for behavioral intervention delivery.<\/p>\n

Dr. Smith is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Neurology at UNC-CH, where he began his current appointment in 2022. Prior to this, he had spent nearly 20 years working and training at Duke University and DUMC, beginning as a research assistant in 2003 and then PhD graduate student in Clinical Health Psychology in 2005. After obtaining his PhD at Duke in 2010, he completed dual-postdoctoral trainings in behavioral medicine and clinical neuropsychology at DUMC. He also completed an MPH in biostatistics at UNC-CH in parallel.<\/p>\n

His research is focused on using biobehavioral interventions to improve cognitive function and mental health outcomes among adults with chronic medical conditions, with a particular focus on targeting cardiometabolic treatment mechanisms. He has been continuously funded by the NIH over the past 15 years, including from the NHLBI and NIA, as well as from foundation and industry sponsors. He was previously a standing member of one of the NIH\u2019s primary behavioral medicine study sections: Biobehavioral Medicine and Health Outcomes (BMHO). He also serves as the co-lead for the UNC clinical core on the Duke-UNC Alzheimer\u2019s Disease Research Center and is the sole UNC neuropsychologist.<\/p>\nPublications<\/a>\n

\n

Current Studies<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Dr. Smith’s current projects include the use of time-restricted eating to improve cognitive functioning, remotely-delivered telehealth interventions to improve physical frailty in solid organ transplant candidates, the use of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) telehealth interventions among individuals with chronic medical conditions, precision approaches to enhance prediction of dementia, and examining cardiovascular mechanisms of improved sleep quality using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I).<\/p>\n

Affiliated Collabroators<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n
\n

Erik Hanson<\/a> (UNC)<\/p>\n

Lisa Kanser<\/a> (UNC)<\/p>\n

Zev Nakamura<\/a> (UNC)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Kim Huffman<\/a> (Duke)<\/p>\n

Heather Whitson<\/a> (Duke)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Virginia O\u2019Hayer<\/a> (Thomas Jefferson University)<\/p>\n

Jonathan Singer<\/a> (UCSF)<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n

\n\n
\n\n
\n\n

\n\n