He is most known for integrating Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) into AI-based chatbots, smartphone apps, websites, and telehealth interventions for preventing major causes of cancer: cigarette smoking and obesity.

[1] He and his research lab have conducted large randomized clinical trials testing these interventions, including a nationwide study of over 2500 participants funded by the National Institutes of Health which showed that the iCanQuit app was efficacious for quitting smoking.

[8] His research career began with the development and testing of a tool to measure air travel stress, followed by discoveries on the efficacy of proactive coaching to help teenagers stop smoking[9] and on the long-term influences of parental behavior on their children's tobacco use.

His early research at the Fred Hutch focused on conducting longitudinal cohort studies examining social and psychological influences on youth and young adult smoking initiation and cessation.

[9] In 2007, he began work on translating an intensive in-person clinical intervention called Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) into a brief program delivered through technologies.

He and his HABIT research lab have designed and tested, through large randomized clinical trials, ACT-based programs delivered in brief telephone coaching,[16] website,[17] smartphone,[18] and chatbot formats.

[34] He has presented his research to the US Surgeon General, Centers for Disease Control, the First Lady of China (Madame Peng Liyuan),[35][36] and the comedian and writer Trevor Noah.

[40] In 2019, he testified before the Washington State Legislature regarding House Bill 1074, advocating for raising the minimum age for purchasing cigarettes and vaping products to 21.