Kimberly Hieftje, PhD
Cards
About
Titles
Associate Professor of Pediatrics (General Pediatrics)
Co-Director, XR Pediatrics at Yale School of Medicine, General Pediatrics; Co-Director/Co-Founder, PediatricsBiography
Kimberly Hieftje, PhD, is an Assistant Professor at Yale Pediatrics and co-director/co-founder of XRPeds and the Yale Center for Immersive Technologies in Pediatrics, which focuses on the development and evaluation of videogame interventions using extended reality (virtual reality, augmented reality, etc) for health prevention and promotion, behavior change, and education in adolescents and young adults. She is currently involved in the development and testing of several health behavior change XR and game-based interventions and has published frequently on developing, evaluating, and implementing serious games. She has worked on games that have focused on topics including vaping/e-c-cigarette prevention, tobacco use prevention, risk reduction in adolescents, HIV/STI prevention, HIV/STI testing, empowering girls around healthy decision making, bystander intervention, LGBTQ bullying, school climate, and alcohol harm reduction.
Dr. Hieftje was a K12 Scholar in the Yale Implementation Science program (YSIS), where she focused on understanding the factors associated with successful implementation of videogame interventions in schools.
Dr. Hieftje is also the editor-in-chief at the Games for Health Journal.
Appointments
General Pediatrics
Associate Professor on TermPrimary
Other Departments & Organizations
Education & Training
- Postdoctoral Associate
- Yale School of Medicine (2011)
- PhD
- Indiana University (2009)
- MS
- Indiana University (2007)
- BS
- Indiana University (1999)
Research
Academic Achievements and Community Involvement
Links & Media
News
- June 12, 2024Source: Yale New Haven Health
Yale New Haven Health and Yale University celebrate Innovation Awards
- February 08, 2024Source: Fox 61
Video game created in Connecticut to combat teen vaping
- November 20, 2023
Marijuana and Nicotine Vaping Prevention Videogame Coming to Three CT Middle Schools
- June 13, 2023Source: M Health Intelligence
Yale Center Aims to Improve Pediatrics with Immersive Technologies
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Contacts
Locations
XRPeds Lab
Lab