My Ph.D. was in behavioural psychology with Professors Michael Davison and Douglas Elliffe at The University of Auckland and I was fortunate that my work was recognized for its quality by the American Psychological Association. I then undertook Post-Doctoral work at the Liggins Institute of The University of Auckland with Professor Bernhard Breier studying the effects of early-life nutrition on learning and development. That work was cut short by an occupational illness, and I moved to a policy and research role with the New Zealand Ministry of Health developing the Ministry's initial problem gambling research strategy. I then spent a year at MIT primarily working on Maori and Pasifika student retention and success, prior to joining Auckland University of Technology (AUT). In my time at AUT I have served the University in several capacities – as Psychology Programme Leader, on Faculty and Conjoint Boards of Studies, Faculty Committees, and now as Head of the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience. I am a member of AUT's Gambling and Addictions Research Centre and have served in editorial roles with several international journals. My research interests are broad, spanning a range of applied and experimental areas of psychology and public health. I collaborate on research projects with colleagues within AUT, at The University of Auckland, and internationally at The University of Lincoln (United Kingdom).  

My research uses theory to solve real-world social problems. It concerns the question of how people think about addiction and why and how they engage in behaviour change. Spanning a number of areas including implementation intentions, goal setting, self-regulation, self-control and help-seeking I am particularly interested in developing interventions that are accessible to sub-clinical populations. I am the founder of the Change Strategies Project (www.changestrategies.ac.nz) which investigates implementation planning and goal setting for reductions in alcohol, internet pornography, internet gaming, overeating, sugar, gambling and caffeine. The underpinning program philosophy is self-determination theory and interventions developed to especially bridge the intention-behaviour gap.  

He is a professor in the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Sciences and Innovative Learning at Humber College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning. Dr. Zangeneh is the founding editor of the International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, editor of the book series Advances in Mental Health & Addiction, and founding editor of the Journal of Concurrent Disorders. He also serves as a consultant to numerous scientific journals and universities for interdisciplinary, multi-cultural research and development addressing mental health, addiction, and resilience among marginalized populations.