PhD, Health Behavior
Expected May 2029UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health
Faculty advisor: Dr. Vivian Go
Dorothy Dunn ScholarBenjamin R. Westlund — PhD student in Health Behavior at UNC Gillings, with applied experience in human-centered design, qualitative research, and community health programs.
UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health
Faculty advisor: Dr. Vivian Go
Dorothy Dunn ScholarUNC Gillings School of Global Public Health
Dorothy Dunn ScholarWake Forest University
Major: Sociology, Social Determinants of Health and Well-being · Minor equivalent: Health and Exercise Science
Cum Laude · Honors & Distinction in SociologyDepartment of Health Behavior, UNC Gillings
Rural opioid harm-reduction research (OHOP), provider alcohol use in Vietnam, implementation strategy tracking, and emergency preparedness planning. Qualitative coding and analysis in NVivo and Dedoose, survey instrument development, theory-driven memo writing, and mixed-methods integration.
TABLE, Orange County NC (semester engagement)
Led a full HCD cycle with a local food-security nonprofit: designed and facilitated listening sessions and card sorts with 17 participants, built empathy maps and insight statements, ran co-ideation workshops, and prioritized concepts with a value/effort matrix. Presented three validated concepts and an assumption-testing plan to TABLE leadership.
NC Formerly Incarcerated Transition Program (NC FIT), UNC Family Medicine
Supported clinical reentry navigation for formerly incarcerated individuals through care coordination, data tracking, and Medicaid suspension/reactivation. Contributed to program evaluation, qualitative interviews, county stakeholder communication, and strategic partnership development.
Wake Forest University
Designed and led an independent qualitative study on the intersection of COVID-19 and opioid use disorder. Conducted interviews, completed thematic analysis, and authored a grant-winning thesis.
Center for Health Policy and Inequalities Research (CHPIR)
HRV intervention research, literature reviews, qualitative memo development, and data management.
Wake Forest University — Undergraduate Sociology
Supported course design, graded writing assignments, and led mini lectures for an undergraduate sociology seminar.
Human-centered design facilitation · Listening sessions · Card sorting · Empathy mapping · Insight synthesis · How-Might-We framing · Co-ideation workshops · Value/effort prioritization · Storyboarding · Assumption testing · Miro
Thematic analysis · Grounded theory · Framework Method · Codebook development · Intercoder reliability · Memo writing · NVivo · Dedoose
Survey design · Data management · Stata · Joint displays · Mixed-methods integration · Hybrid designs
CFIR · ERIC · Barrier/strategy matrices · Implementation strategy tracking · Hybrid effectiveness-implementation designs
UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health
Wake Forest University
Westlund B & Brewer A (advisor). The Intersection of the Opioid Crisis and the COVID-19 Pandemic. $200, funded.
American Public Health Association (APHA) — Early Career Professional
North Carolina Public Health Association
Society for Implementation Research Collaboration (SIRC) — 2026 presenter