Nicole Gravina, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Psychology
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Nicole Gravina is working to better understand why injuries happen at work and how they can be prevented. Gravina studies how people behave in workplace settings and how those actions are shaped by systems, training and organizational culture. Her work is rooted in the idea that improving safety requires more than policies alone — it means understanding how the environment influences people’s behavior and choices.
The goal, she says, is to identify factors that contribute to occupational safety and health and use that knowledge to design practical interventions that improve both safety and well-being.
Her research spans settings such as health care, manufacturing and behavioral health, where risks and the consequences of errors can be significant. More recently, Gravina has begun incorporating new technologies into this effort, including using artificial intelligence and computer vision to assess workplace ergonomics and provide real-time feedback. In one current project, her team is working with surgeons to better understand and reduce the physical strain associated with long procedures.
Gravina’s work extends beyond injury prevention to broader questions about workforce stability and well-being. She is currently co-leading research on the shortage of behavior therapists in Florida, examining how stress, burnout and turnover affect employees and the quality of care they provide. Her contributions also include work on wearable technologies that track patient- reported data over time, seeking to understand factors that influence engagement and user experience.
A defining feature of Gravina’s research is its real-world impact. Her projects are designed not only to generate knowledge but also to be implemented in practice, making her work directly relevant to organizations and communities.
Gravina is also a committed educator and mentor. She has helped build a growing area of emphasis in organizational behavior management at UF, developed new courses and guided students into successful careers across academia, healthcare and industry.
In her nomination, department chair Julia Graber described Gravina’s research as “an exemplar of translational science,” noting that it applies core principles of behavior analysis to produce real-world improvements in safety and health. Through her research and mentorship, Gravina is helping make workplaces safer while improving the lives of the people within them.