Maddock named 2026 American Academy of Health Behavior Research Laureate

Regents Professor Jay Maddock, PhD, of the Texas A&M University School of Public Health, has been named the 2026 American Academy of Health Behavior (AAHB) Research Laureate in Health Behavior Research. He will receive the award on Sunday, March 29 at the 2026 AAHB Scientific Meeting in Austin, Texas.

The Research Laureate is the highest member award given by AAHB to honor an individual who has made a significant and inveterate contribution to the understanding of health behavior change through research.

Maddock is an internationally recognized expert in health behavior and the effect of natural and built environments on human health. He is the holder of the Coneway Family Centennial Endowed Chair at Houston Methodist and serves as the director of the Center for Health & Nature, a joint initiative of Texas A&M Health and Houston Methodist. He is the immediate past-chair of the Nature and Health Alliance and previously served as president of AAHB and chair of the Hawaii Board of Health. His research has been featured in several national and international media outlets, including The Today Show, CNN, Le Monde, the BBC, Scientific American, USA Today, Eating Well, Prevention and Good Housekeeping.

Maddock has authored over 175 scientific articles. He has received numerous awards from the American Public Health Association, the Surgeon General, the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services and many others. He joined Texas A&M in 2015 and served as dean of the School of Public Health from 2015–2019. Prior to that he served as chair of the Department of Public Health Sciences at the University of Hawaii at Manoa from 2006–2014.