Megan Oser, PhD

• Director, Behavioral Medicine in Digestive Health

Dr. Oser is a licensed clinical psychologist specializing in behavioral medicine, gastroenterology/hepatology, and acceptance- and mindfulness-based behavioral therapies at the intersection of medical and behavioral health. Dr. Oser earned her PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Nevada, Reno. She completed a health services research fellowship at VA Palo Alto Health Care System and Stanford University School of Medicine.

Prior to joining UCLA, Dr. Oser held leadership positions at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, and in digital health technology companies, where she led the clinical and scientific strategy.

Dr. Oser was director of the CBT and Behavioral Medicine Program in the Department of Psychiatry at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, where she advanced cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) clinical services and research. Her work focused on transdiagnostic CBTs for co-occurring medical and behavioral health conditions. She developed and tested novel CBTs including mindfulness-based treatments and e-health/mobile applications, integrating this work across specialty medical settings (GI/hepatology, cardiology, transplant, neurology and infectious disease). She treated patients with co-occurring psychiatric conditions, including patients with IBS, IBD and liver disease. These treatments included acceptance and commitment therapy, mindfulness-based behavioral therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, behavioral activation and exposure and response prevention.

Within the digital health industry, Dr. Oser was the director of research for a start-up company providing cognitive behavioral programs for a range of conditions delivered via mobile app. She led the company’s efforts to demonstrate clinical effectiveness and economic impact.  In her role as VP of Clinical Innovation at a GI-focused digital therapeutics company, Dr. Oser was part of the first group to obtain FDA authorization for software-as-a-medical-device within gastroenterology to prescribe a digital therapeutic.

Dr. Oser has published over 25 peer-reviewed articles, authored several book chapters, delivered national and international presentations and invited clinical trainings and served as a reviewer for scientific journals. She previously served on the editorial board of the Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science.

Dr. Oser joined UCLA to lead the Integrative Digestive Health and Wellness Program and develop a comprehensive GI Behavioral Medicine Program. She is a faculty member in the Vatche and Tamar Manoukian Division of Digestive Diseases and serves as director of Behavioral Medicine in Digestive Health.