Grantee: Alana M. Rojewski, PhD
Alana M. Rojewski, PhD
- Medical University of South Carolina
Current Title
Associate Professor of Public Health Sciences
Describe your scientific identity.
I am an experimental psychologist conducting research on tobacco treatment interventions for populations with medical comorbidities (e.g., cancer, HIV) and implementing tobacco treatment interventions in the healthcare system.
What are your research interests?
Tobacco treatment, implementation, and health effects of smoking cessation.
What is the significance of your current research project?
My current study is a type 1 hybrid effectiveness-implementation trial to evaluate the impact of a proactive, opt-out smoking cessation intervention on smoking cessation outcomes and advance understanding of key barriers and facilitators of implementation processes. By optimizing the delivery of effective tobacco treatments for people living with HIV, I hope to increase the number of people receiving tobacco treatment, increase tobacco cessation rates, and reduce the risk of morbidity and mortality from smoking-related causes.
What motivated you to work in tobacco control research?
My guiding mission in my work is to help people quit smoking to improve their quality of life and reduce their risk of cancer.
Describe something that had a profound influence on your program of research or scientific interests (an "ah-ha!" moment).
All the individuals who smoke that I have encountered have inspired me in different ways. I have learned something from each of them – the struggle to quit smoking, the health impacts of smoking, barriers they have faced in accessing evidence-based treatment, and suggestions for how we can improve upon existing treatment options. I continue to advance my program of research to successfully treat as many people as possible.
Selected training, awards, and honors:
I received my PhD in psychology from the University of Florida and completed a National Institute on Drug Abuse postdoctoral fellowship at Yale School of Medicine. In 2022, I received the honor of Eminent Scholar in Public Health Sciences at MUSC
The first time I saw a patient with an IV pole smoking on the sidewalk outside of the hospital, it stopped me in my tracks. Here was a person who was facing significant health challenges from their smoking and still could not quit. If this health event was not enough of a motivation, then I would make it my mission to design interventions to help them successfully quit.”
Selected Grants
| Project Title | Grant Number | Program Director |
|---|---|---|
| Optimizing Tobacco Treatment Delivery for People Living with HIV | 1R01CA261232-01 | Annette Kaufman |
To request edits to this profile, please contact us at ncidccpsbrpadvances@mail.nih.gov.