More events, more conversations, and more opportunities to connect and collaborate are on the way, so stay tuned!
If you are not a part of the APRICOT CoP yet, we'd love to have you join our growing international community: accelerate-basso-discourse.regenstrief.org/invites/b4CQ...
We held the first webinar of the APRICOT Community of Practice, and what a way to kick things off!
A huge thank you to @jannahastings.bsky.social, for launching our webinar series with such an engaging and insightful session.
And thank you to everyone who joined us.
Today’s the day!
Join us today at 3:00 PM (GMT+1) for the first webinar of the APRICOT Community of Practice: 'Introduction to Ontologies for the Behavioural and Social Sciences'.
Register here: ucl.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
We’re looking forward to this upcoming session in the APRICOT Community of Practice Webinar Series!
If you’re interested in how ontologies can support behavioural and social science research, this webinar is a great place to start!
👇 See details below and register here: ucl.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
And if you haven’t joined our Community of Practice yet, now is a great time to get involved:
👉 Join the CoP: accelerate-basso-discourse.regenstrief.org/invites/b4CQ...
Our first session will introduce how ontologies can support research and practice, from improving transparency and reproducibility to enabling data interoperability and systematic evidence synthesis.
💬 The session will include a live Q&A, so bring your questions!
As part of the APRICOT Community of Practice, we’re planning a range of activities, including a new webinar series exploring key topics at the intersection of ontologies and behavioural and social science!
🌐 APRICOT Community of Practice Webinar Series
Title: Introduction to Ontologies for the Behavioural and Social Sciences
Speakers: @jannahastings.bsky.social and @mayabraun.bsky.social
🗓 April 22, 2026
⏰ 3:00 PM (GMT+1)
Register here: ucl.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
Huge thanks to Jack Beadle and Oscar Lofts for leading the study and being such wonderful collaborators 🙌
👥 Co‑authors: Jack Beadle, Oscar Lofts, @lisazhang.bsky.social , @carolinacsilva.bsky.social , @susanmichie.bsky.social , @paulinaschenk.bsky.social
🛠️The findings offer insights into how these tools can be improved and provide a roadmap for improving digital tools across behavioural science more broadly.
🧠📱 In this study, we explored the barriers and enablers to applying the Behaviour Change Intervention Ontology and the Theories and Techniques Tool in intervention development and specification.
🎉 New preprint available!
Our study, “Usability of Digital Behavioural Frameworks for Intervention Development: A Think‑Aloud and Interview Study,” is now available as a preprint in the Journal of Medical Internet Research.
👉 preprints.jmir.org/preprint/96622
📢 New paper alert!
Our article on specifying delivery schedules in the Behaviour Change Intervention Ontology supports greater clarity and consistency in intervention reporting.
Now with over 200 views 👏
Read it here 👉 wellcomeopenresearch.org/articles/9-7...
📢 Paper update!
A revised version of “Predicting outcomes of smoking cessation interventions in novel scenarios using ontology-informed, interpretable machine learning” is now published.
Read it here 👉 wellcomeopenresearch.org/articles/8-5...
Many thanks to everyone who contributed!
🚀 APRICOT Project at @ehps2025.bsky.social! 🌍
📸 A packed room, vibrant discussions, and rich exchanges at our symposium:
“Making ontologies useful and usable for behaviour change research”, chaired by Prof. Susan Michie.
Grateful to all speakers, contributors & attendees!
🚀 New Pre-Print from the Apricot Project!
Discover our Ontology of Engagement with Behaviour Change Interventions, now available on Wellcome Open Research.
💡Understanding this engagement helps improve intervention design and effectiveness.
Read it here: wellcomeopenresearch.org/articles/10-...
🚀 New Pre-Print from the Apricot Project!
Discover “OntoSpreadEd: Developing Ontologies with a Dedicated Online Template Spreadsheet Editor,” now available on Wellcome Open Research.
Read it here: wellcomeopenresearch.org/articles/10-...
🔔 APRICOT Project Launch Recording Available!
Missed our launch? Watch the APRICOT Project's event online to learn how ontologies shape the future of behaviour change science!
📽️ Watch the recording: www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2Gf...
📊 Access the slides: drive.google.com/file/d/1ede3...
Authors: Paulina Schenk, @robertjwest.bsky.social, Ostra Castro, Emily Eymery, @jannahastings.bsky.social, @mariejohnston.bsky.social, @martamarques.bsky.social, @elizabethcorker.bsky.social, Alison Wright, Gabriella Stuart, Lisa Zhang, Mcaela Santilli & @susanmichie.bsky.social
🛠️ What’s new in this version?
✅ Refinements based on peer review
✅ Improved alignment with other lower-level ontologies in the Behaviour Change Intervention Ontology
✅ Enhanced representation of behavioural constructs from theories of behaviour and behaviour change
💡 Why this matters?
Understanding and integrating behavioural evidence across disciplines has been limited by fragmented classification systems. The HBO offers an extensive, computer-readable framework to clearly and consistently describe and synthesise evidence about human behaviours.
🧠 What’s included?
The Human Behaviour Ontology (HBO) includes 230 classes covering types of behaviours (e.g., communication, physical activity and delivering healthcare), behavioural characteristics (e.g., duration and frequency) and specifies relationships between these.
🔔 New Version Alert🔔
Our paper “An ontological framework for organising and describing behaviours: The Human Behaviour Ontology” has been updated following peer review and is now available on Wellcome Open Research!
📄 Read the updated paper and reviewer responses:
🔗 lnkd.in/dcuj5DgA
More below:
Less than two hours until the APRICOT launch! It's not too late to register using the link below.
Looking forward to seeing many of you there!
Meet Janna Hastings, a CO-PI of the APRICOT project with expertise in ontologies and AI, who will be speaking at our online launch event later today.
Not yet signed up? Don't worry!
🗓️ 17 June 2025
⏰ 3:30 PM (UK Time)
🎥 Online & free to attend!
👉 Register now: lnkd.in/eJyRUvHn
Interested in ontologies, but not sure how to get started? Marta Marques will speak about a global community of practice at our online launch event next week - and you can already get a preview now!
🗓️ 17 June 2025
⏰ 3:30 PM (UK Time)
🎥 Online & free to attend!
👉 Register now: lnkd.in/eJyRUvHn
Are you already signed up for the official online launch of the APRICOT Project? 🧠🍑
If not, don’t miss our very own explaining why you won't want to miss out on this one!
🗓️ 17 June 2025
⏰ 3:30 PM (UK Time)
🎥 Online & free to attend!
👉 Register now: ucl.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
What can you expect from the online launch of APRICOT? 🍑
You'll meet the collaborators from different disciplines that are involved in the project! Below, you can already get a first idea of Bill Hogan and his role in APRICOT.
🗓️ 17 June 2025, 3:30 PM
👉 Register now: lnkd.in/eJyRUvHn
Only a few more days to register for our online launch event. At the event, you will hear from Rick Moser from the National Cancer Institute on his perspectives on ontologies.
Want to know more?
👉 Register now: lnkd.in/eJyRUvHn
🗓️ 17 June 2025
⏰ 3:30 PM (UK Time)
🎥 Online & free to attend!
Please share: @robertjwest.bsky.social @susanmichie.bsky.social @jannahastings.bsky.social @carolinacsilva.bsky.social @mayabraun.bsky.social @martamarques.bsky.social @mindandmatter.bsky.social @ucl-cbc.bsky.social
