Kelvin Choi, Ph.D., M.P.H

Tobacco use remains a public health problem in the US. Introduction of e-cigarettes and other novel tobacco products further complicates tobacco control efforts. There are also significant disparities in tobacco use by demographics and socioeconomic characteristics. Therefore, it is important to address tobacco use disparities as a means to reduce health disparities in the US.

Our research uses a multi-disciplinary perspective to better understand tobacco use and develop interventions to reduce and eliminate such disparities. This perspective integrates social and behavioral epidemiology, economics, health communication/advertising, and consumer research to gain in-depth understanding of different populations. It allows the expansion of social and behavioral research from the individual to the dynamics between all involved parts of society. It also has clear action strategies to promote social and behavioral changes.

The goal of our research lab is to reduce health disparities through evidence-based strategies to promote behavioral changes. Our lab will pursue the following objectives to achieve this goal:

1. Understanding inter-relationships between demographic factors and tobacco use
   Rationale: The relationships between demographic factors and tobacco use behaviors are complex. We leverage population-based databases to investigate these relationships, especially on how demographic factors influence tobacco use, and how tobacco use influences some of these demographic factors.
2. Investigate mechanisms that explain tobacco use and its disparities
   Rationale: Knowing the factors that explain the interrelationships between demographic factors and tobacco use behaviors offers insights into how to break these interrelationships. One key factor is tobacco marketing.
3. Use a multi-disciplinary perspective to reduce tobacco use disparities
   Rationale: We group investigate how to leverage multidisciplinary approaches to reduce tobacco-use disparities. These approaches include facilitating cessation, developing effective public health messages, and evaluating state and local tobacco control strategies.
4. Investigate the impact of tobacco use patterns on health outcomes
   Rationale: We examine how different tobacco use patterns influences health outcomes such as sleep quality, asthma, and mortality. The expected findings will enable us to communicate the precise risks associated with different tobacco products to the public.

Dr. Kelvin Choi is a Senior Investigator at the Division of Intramural Research, National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD). He was recruited to NIMHD as an Earl Stadtman Investigator. Prior to joining NIMHD, he was an Assistant Professor at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Choi received his MPH in Community Health Education, and PhD in Social and Behavioral Epidemiology from the University of Minnesota. He was an invited attendee of the 2011 NIH Institute on Systems Science and Health, and 2012 NIH Training Institute for Dissemination and Implementation Research in Health. Dr. Choi’s research has been published in over 80 articles in peer-reviewed journals and presented at over 50 conference oral presentations. He has been recognized by Tobacco Control and Nicotine & Tobacco Research as Reviewer of the Year, and current serve on the Editorial Advisory Board for Tobacco Control. In 2019, Dr. Choi received the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco (SRNT) Jarvik-Russell Early Stage Investigator Award as a recognition of his extraordinary contributions to the field of nicotine and tobacco research within seven years after his terminal degree. Dr. Choi currently serves as the Co-chair of the SRNT Health Disparities Network, and a member of the California Tobacco Control Program Evaluation Task Force.