Science AMA Series: We’re Deborah Ossip, Ph.D., and Scott McIntosh, Ph.D., directors of the Smoking Research Program at the University of Rochester in Rochester, New York. We study tobacco use and interventions to quit. AMA!

Abstract

Hi Reddit! I’m Dr. Deborah Ossip and I have been studying smoking behavior in teens and adults for more than 30 years. My research focus has included e-cigarettes and I am principal investigator on two NIH-funded projects around tobacco use, including one striving to engage underserved populations to call quitlines. I direct the University of Rochester Medical Center’s Smoking Research Program. I am also a Member Delegate for North America for the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco and a member of various other local, state, national, and international committees, working groups, and advisory boards for tobacco prevention and control issues. I’m Dr. Scott McIntosh and I have been studying nicotine addiction and stop-smoking interventions for approximately 20 years. I have been involved with e-cigarette research in recent years and am the principal investigator of an NCI clinical trial investigating the use of web-assisted tobacco interventions (WATI) for community college students. I serve as Associate Director of the Smoking Research Program at the University of Rochester Medical Center and am Director of the Center for a Tobacco-Free Finger Lakes. We’re here to answer questions about e-cigs based on the latest research. We can also answer questions about nicotine addiction and what current research says about strategies to quit smoking. We’ll start answering questions at 1 p.m. EST.