Dr. Amy Shirong Lu serves as an associate professor at Northeastern University, holding joint appointments in communication studies as well as public health and health sciences. Her academic and scientific foundation bridges multiple disciplines, uniquely situating her to lead a journal focused on emerging technologies that aim to promote positive health outcomes through gaming and interactive digital media platforms. Her cross-disciplinary collaborations enable a holistic approach to the study of serious games, attentive to both behavioral mechanisms and technological innovation.

At the helm of the Health Technology Lab at Northeastern University, Dr. Lu directs pioneering research that integrates psychological and physiological measurement tools with the design and implementation of cutting-edge digital health interventions. These encompass active video games, extended reality (XR) modalities—including virtual and augmented reality—and mobile application frameworks. Her research focuses on how these innovative platforms can be optimized to encourage sustained physical activity, cognitive enhancement, and overall health improvement throughout the human lifespan.

A central theme in Dr. Lu’s work is the integration of theory-driven intervention research with practical, empirical designs. Employing interdisciplinary methodologies, her research incorporates experimental design paradigms combined with physiological monitoring, behavioral assessments, and qualitative data insights. This comprehensive approach provides a robust understanding of how narrative structures, interactivity features, and embodied engagement mechanisms within digital games can act synergistically to motivate behavior change and foster measurable health benefits.

Dr. Lu’s investigations have contributed significantly to unraveling the psychological processes underlying health behavior adoption and maintenance when mediated through digital health technologies. By elucidating how motivational narratives and immersive interactivity enhance user engagement, her research informs the development of tailored digital interventions that address chronic disease prevention, mental health challenges, and cognitive decline mitigation. Her work sits at the nexus of communication, health sciences, and computer science, offering vital insights into digital health’s transformative potential.

JMIR Serious Games stands as an influential open-access journal dedicated to publishing high-quality research on the design, evaluation, and application of serious games in health contexts. This editorial leadership change brings a new wave of expertise that aligns with JMIR’s commitment to advancing multidisciplinary research that leverages game-based solutions for real-world health challenges. Under Dr. Lu’s vision, the journal is expected to deepen its impact on understanding and optimizing digital health technologies for diverse populations.

JMIR Publications, the parent organization, is recognized as a leading independent publisher specializing in digital health research. Their innovative approach to academic publishing emphasizes openness, author support, and technological integration throughout the research dissemination lifecycle. By appointing Dr. Lu, JMIR underscores its strategic focus on fostering groundbreaking research that merges the scientific rigor of health studies with the creative dynamism of interactive media technologies.

Dr. Lu’s appointment arrives at a pivotal moment in digital health innovation, as the adoption of XR, wearable devices, and mobile health applications rapidly expands. Her leadership is anticipated to guide the journal in curating scholarship that addresses both the technological intricacies of serious games and their empirical evaluation in clinical and community settings. This dual emphasis ensures that theoretical advancements translate into practical, impactful health interventions that can be scaled globally.

The integration of wearable sensors and electronic devices in digital health games forms a critical axis of Dr. Lu’s research interests, offering real-time physiological feedback that personalizes user experiences and enhances intervention adherence. This sophisticated biofeedback loop represents a key frontier in digital game design, where technology dynamically adapts to user states, promoting greater efficacy in health behavior modification and therapeutic outcomes.

Furthermore, Dr. Lu’s work highlights the importance of a narrative-driven approach within serious games to enhance engagement and emotional investment. By crafting compelling storylines and interactive scenarios, serious games can transcend entertainment to function as immersive health communication tools that effectively convey behavior change messages and foster long-term user retention.

Her leadership thus aligns with broader trends in digital publishing and open science, where transparency, reproducibility, and collaborative knowledge-building are paramount. JMIR Serious Games, under Dr. Lu’s editorial guidance, is expected to champion these principles, supporting a research ecosystem that accelerates innovation while maintaining rigorous peer-review standards and accessibility.

The journal’s future directions will likely incorporate advancements in peer review methodologies and digital publishing technologies, reflecting JMIR Publications’ commitment to enhancing scholarly communication. Tools and resources that facilitate data sharing, multimedia integration, and interactive publication formats will serve to amplify the journal’s reach and researcher engagement under the new editorial leadership.

In sum, Dr. Amy Shirong Lu’s appointment as Editor-in-Chief of JMIR Serious Games marks a transformative moment for the field of digital health gaming research. Her multidisciplinary expertise, combined with her innovative research trajectory, positions the journal to become a leading platform for pioneering studies that harness digital interactive technologies to improve public health outcomes worldwide.

Subject of Research: Digital health technologies and serious games for health behavior change and cognitive enhancement.

Article Title: JMIR Publications Appoints Dr. Amy Shirong Lu as Editor-in-Chief of JMIR Serious Games

News Publication Date: April 1, 2026

Web References:

• JMIR Publications: https://jmirpublications.com/
• JMIR Serious Games: https://games.jmir.org/

Image Credits: JMIR Publications

Keywords

Video games, virtual reality, user interfaces, wearable devices, scientific writing, academic publishing, academic journals, scientific journals, publishing industry, open access, digital publishing, peer review

The research focuses on an innovative model that positions community pharmacists as critical players in behavioral health support systems. As healthcare providers often stationed at the frontline of patient interaction, pharmacists are uniquely positioned to identify individuals in need of behavioral health interventions. The study aims to evaluate the feasibility of such an approach under the hybrid effectiveness-implementation framework, a dual strategy that seeks to measure both outcomes and the means of achieving them.

Over the past few years, the landscape of mental health care has undergone significant changes, with an evident shift from institutional care to community-based interventions. This transition has intensified the need for versatile health care professionals who can bridge the gap between various facets of health services. Live et al.’s evaluation reveals how community pharmacists’ interventions could provide timely behavioral health services, ultimately improving patient outcomes and optimizing the existing healthcare frameworks.

One of the critical components of this study is its emphasis on collaboration. The research outlines how partnerships between pharmacists, healthcare professionals, and community organizations can create knowledge-sharing platforms vital for addressing mental health issues effectively. By leveraging their accessible positions, pharmacists can serve as liaisons between patients and more specialized mental health services, building a continuum of care that encourages patient engagement and adherence to treatment plans.

The hybrid approach adopted in this study goes beyond mere intervention; it critically assesses how these initiatives can be implemented by community pharmacists, focusing on barriers, facilitators, and the overall scalability of the program. This comprehensive evaluation is crucial in understanding the real-world applicability of integrating behavioral health services into community pharmacy settings. Importantly, the researchers provided insights into the training and support that pharmacists will require to effectively undertake this expanded role, highlighting the necessity of ongoing professional development.

Furthermore, the research underscores existing disparities in healthcare accessibility. Many individuals dealing with behavioral health issues encounter barriers such as stigma, transportation, and lack of resources. Community pharmacists are found to be a more accessible point of care for those individuals, often facilitating improved access to necessary mental health support. The findings suggest that incorporating behavioral health services within pharmacy practice could significantly reduce reliance on emergency services, thus easing pressure on overburdened healthcare systems.

In assessing the impact of community pharmacists as behavioral health extenders, the study not only measures effectiveness but also the implementation process. Measuring both aspects is essential for understanding how such programs can succeed and replicate in diverse settings. Over the short and long term, this dual focus may lead to improved patient satisfaction, better health outcomes, and ultimately, enhanced quality of life for countless individuals navigating the complexities of mental health.

Reflecting on the results of the feasibility evaluation, the authors posited that the positive reception of the community pharmacy model indicates a profound opportunity to reshape how behavioral health services are delivered. They envision a future where pharmacists are integral health professionals within multidisciplinary teams, prepared to address a wide range of health and wellness challenges.

The team acknowledged challenges encountered during the study, particularly in engaging pharmacy professionals and ensuring consistent quality of care across different community settings. These considerations are essential for refining the model and improving its broader implementation across diverse locales. The authors reiterated the importance of tailoring programs to fit the unique needs of individual communities to achieve meaningful impacts.

In conclusion, the study presents a compelling case for the reimagined role of community pharmacists in behavioral health. It highlights the need for innovation in healthcare delivery models, especially in the wake of a growing mental health crisis. Livet et al.’s research stands as a beacon for exploring new pathways to enhance the accessibility and effectiveness of behavioral health interventions. The hybrid type II feasibility evaluation shines a light on a collaborative and integrated approach to care, reinforcing the vital contributions pharmacists can make outside their traditional roles.

As the healthcare community reflects on this study’s findings, the future appears increasingly promising. By fostering greater collaboration among healthcare providers and empowering pharmacists to extend their roles in behavioral health, we can aspire to create a more effective, inclusive, and responsive healthcare system that meets the diverse needs of the population.

Subject of Research: The role of community pharmacists in behavioral health support.

Article Title: Community pharmacists as behavioral health extenders: an effectiveness-implementation hybrid type II feasibility evaluation.

Article References:

Livet, M., Watson, A., Pathak, S. et al. Community pharmacists as behavioral health extenders: an effectiveness-implementation hybrid type II feasibility evaluation. BMC Health Serv Res (2026). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-025-13400-6

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-025-13400-6

Keywords: community pharmacists, behavioral health, feasibility evaluation, health care access, mental health interventions.

Methamphetamine dependence is notoriously difficult to treat, largely due to intense craving experiences that often precipitate relapse. Traditional assessment methods have struggled to capture the nuanced interplay between withdrawal-induced craving—the aversive state during abstinence—and craving triggered by environmental cues associated with drug use. The study in question leverages VR technology to simulate highly controlled, yet lifelike, drug-related scenarios in order to evoke and measure craving responses with unprecedented precision.

The study recruited 150 male participants diagnosed with MUD, all of whom underwent comprehensive evaluations that encompassed demographic profiling as well as addiction severity assessments. Withdrawal craving levels were quantitatively measured using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), a well-validated psychometric tool capturing subjective craving intensity. The VR paradigm exposed participants to three distinct environments: a neutral setting devoid of drug stimuli, a scene featuring methamphetamine paraphernalia, and finally, a drug-use scenario designed to closely mimic real-life consumption contexts.

Remarkably, participants exhibited significantly elevated craving responses in the drug-use VR setting compared to both the neutral and paraphernalia scenes. The intensity of cue-induced craving in this immersive environment surpassed even the baseline withdrawal craving reported before VR exposure. This finding underscores the potent role of contextual cues in amplifying craving, and it validates the VR paradigm as an effective method for eliciting authentic craving experiences that may be difficult to capture in traditional laboratory settings.

Further analysis revealed a positive correlation between withdrawal craving scores and cue-induced craving across all virtual environments. Such a relationship implies that the subjective experience of craving during abstinence is closely intertwined with reactivity to external triggers. These data support theoretical models positing that withdrawal states do not act in isolation but rather interact dynamically with environmental cues to exacerbate the risk of drug-seeking behaviors.

Additionally, both types of craving—withdrawal and cue-induced—were positively associated with scores on a standardized MUD severity scale. This correlation suggests that individuals with more severe addiction profiles are prone to experiencing heightened craving responses regardless of the context, emphasizing the importance of craving as a central construct in addiction pathology. Intriguingly, withdrawal craving also correlated positively with methamphetamine dosage and the duration of abstinence, indicating a complex, possibly bidirectional relationship between physiological dependence and craving phenomenology.

The implications of these findings extend well beyond theoretical enrichment. The VR-based cue exposure paradigm offers a powerful translational platform for developing and refining behavioral interventions. By precisely identifying which scenarios elicit the strongest craving responses, clinicians can tailor immersive therapies aimed at desensitizing patients to high-risk cues, thus potentially reducing relapse likelihood. The immersive nature of VR allows for safe and controlled exposure, circumventing ethical concerns related to real-world drug cue confrontations.

Moreover, this approach aligns with the growing trend in psychiatry and addiction medicine towards personalized, technology-driven treatments. By harnessing VR’s capacity for creating customizable, repeatable scenarios, clinicians can monitor craving trajectories over time, adjust therapeutic intensity, and enhance patient engagement. Such real-time data collection could facilitate adaptive treatment algorithms that respond to individual craving patterns and addiction severity.

The study also contributes to a nuanced understanding of the addiction cycle. By elucidating the bidirectional links between withdrawal craving and cue-induced craving, it highlights the multifactorial nature of relapse triggers. Addiction cannot be effectively addressed without appreciating that internal physiological states and external environmental factors operate conjointly to maintain drug-seeking behavior. This recognition is critical for designing holistic treatment regimens that target both domains simultaneously.

Importantly, the use of male participants exclusively in this study raises considerations regarding the generalizability of findings across genders. Future research would benefit from including diverse participant demographics to explore potential sex differences in cue reactivity and craving dynamics. Such expanded research could tailor interventions even further, acknowledging biological and psychosocial variability.

The technical execution of the VR paradigm also merits attention. By integrating high-fidelity visual cues with interactive scene elements, the researchers ensured that participants experienced a level of immersion sufficient to provoke robust craving responses. This level of sensory engagement marks a significant advancement over traditional cue exposure methods that often rely on static images or verbal scripts, which fail to fully capture the complexity of real-world triggers.

Beyond clinical implications, this study paves the way for experimental research that systematically manipulates specific cue variables to dissect their individual contributions to craving. VR allows for granular control over environmental parameters such as time of day, presence of social actors, and availability of drug paraphernalia, enabling hypothesis-driven investigations into the cognitive and emotional substrates of craving.

In conclusion, the innovative employment of a VR cue exposure paradigm to investigate craving in MUD individuals represents a major stride forward. This approach provides robust evidence of the potent synergistic effects between withdrawal and cue-induced craving and offers tangible pathways for enhancing treatment strategies. As the opioid and stimulant crises continue to challenge public health systems worldwide, such technological integrations into addiction medicine herald a new frontier in combating substance use disorders through precision and personalization.

Subject of Research: The interplay between withdrawal craving and cue-induced craving in individuals with methamphetamine use disorder (MUD), examined through a virtual reality drug cue exposure paradigm.

Article Title: Exploring the relationship between cue-induced craving and withdrawal craving in MUD individuals based on a virtual-reality cue exposure paradigm

Article References: Huang, Q., Chen, X., Tang, Y. et al. Exploring the relationship between cue-induced craving and withdrawal craving in MUD individuals based on a virtual-reality cue exposure paradigm. BMC Psychiatry 25, 525 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-025-06986-y

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-025-06986-y