FACULTY SPOTLIGHT

Julie Bobitt, PhD, is a faculty member in the Center for Dissemination and Implementation Science and a Research Investigator at Hines Veterans Affairs. Dr. Bobitt is a highly productive scholar who is bringing implementation science to the fields of aging, chronic pain, and dementia. With funding from the Midwest Roybal Center for Health Promotion and Translation, she is delivering and evaluating a cognitive health program, Wits Workout, for underserved (i.e., rural, racialized, low-income) older adults and leads several projects on cannabis and opioid use in persons living with dementia.

She is actively engaged in Illinois statewide initiatives for the aging, serving on key committees and advisory boards to develop a strategic plan for older adults in Illinois and through her appointment by Governor Pritzker to the Illinois Council on Aging. Dr. Bobitt engaged two top policy and aging journals to publish special issues (on which she will serve as co-editor) on implementation science. Her scholarship comes at a critical time as the need to reduce opioid use is front and center in the country, and the US population is aging. Finally, Dr. Bobitt is a highly collaborative and important contributor to the CDIS, leading UIC’s first course in implementation science and the CDIS colloquium series featuring experts in implementation science and health equity.