David B Abrams

Professor of Social and Behavioral Sciences

Professional overview

Dr. David Abrams' career focuses on systems and social learning frameworks to inform population health enhancement. He has experience in testing theory, research design, measuring mechanisms of behavior change and outcome, and evaluating clinical trials (behavioral and pharmacological). His interests span topics from basic bio-behavioral mechanisms and clinical treatments to policy across risk factors and behaviors (e.g. tobacco/nicotine; alcohol, obesity, co-morbidity of medical and mental health), disease states (cancer; cardiovascular; HIV-AIDS), levels (biological, individual, organizational, worksite, community, global, and internet based), populations and disparities. His interests converge in the domain of implementation science to cost-efficiently inform evidence-based public health practice and policymaking.

Through transdisciplinary and translational research strategies, Dr. Abrams provides scientific leadership in tobacco control. His current focus is in strengthening global and United States tobacco and nicotine management strategies. Deaths of 1 billion smokers are estimated by 2100 caused overwhelmingly by use of combustible (smoked) tobacco products, not nicotine. Harm minimization is a key overarching systems strategy to speed the net public health benefit of emergent disruptive technologies for cleaner nicotine delivery. The goal is more rapid elimination of preventable deaths, disease burdens, and the widening gap in health disparities driven disproportionately by disparities in smoking.

Dr. Abrams was a professor and founding director of the Centers for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine at Brown University Medical School. He then directed the Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Until 2017, he was Professor of Health Behavior and Society at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the founding Executive Director of the Schroeder National Institute of Tobacco Research and Policy Studies at Truth Initiative (formerly the American Legacy Foundation).

Dr. Abrams has published over 250 peer reviewed scholarly articles and been a Principal Investigator on numerous NIH grants. He is lead author of The Tobacco Dependence Treatment Handbook: A Guide to Best Practices. He has served on expert panels at NIH and National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine on Obesity, Alcohol Misuse and Ending the Tobacco Problem: A Blueprint for the Nation. He has also served on the Board of Scientific Advisors of the National Cancer Institute (NIH-NCI) and was President of the Society of Behavioral Medicine.

For a complete list of Dr. Abrams' published work, click here.

Education

BSc (Hons), Psychology and Computer Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa

MS, Clinical Psychology, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ

PhD, Clinical Psychology, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ

Postdoctoral Fellow, Brown Medical School, Providence, RI

Honors and awards

Research Laureate Award, American Academy of Health Behavior (2014)

Joseph W. Cullen Memorial Award for Tobacco Research, American Society for Preventive Oncology (2008)

Distinguished Alumni Award: Rutgers University, The Graduate School, New Brunswick, NJ (2007)

The Musiker-Miranda Distinguished Service Award, American Psychological Association (2006)

Distinguished Service Award, Society of Behavioral Medicine (2006)

Outstanding Research Mentor Award, Society of Behavioral Medicine (2006)

Book of the Year Award: Tobacco Dependence Treatment Handbook. American Journal of Nursing (2005)

Distinguished Scientist Award, Society of Behavioral Medicine (1998)

Areas of research and study

Behavioral Science

Chronic Diseases

Evaluations

Implementation and Impact of Public Health Regulations

Implementation science

Population Health

Public Health Pedagogy

Public Health Systems

Research Design

Systems Integration

Systems Interventions

Tobacco Control

Translational science

Publications

Publications

Addressing NRT Contraindications during Enrollment in a Smoking Cessation Trial.

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Contraindications during Enrollment in a Smoking Cessation Trial.

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Effectiveness of Nicotine Vape Products (E-cigarettes) as a Smoking Cessation Aid for US Adults --A Narrative Review of Findings from the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health Study.

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Repeat Behavioral Counseling, With and Without Combination Nicotine Replacement Therapy, for Smoking Cessation Among People With HIV in South Africa

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Repeat treatment of behavioral counseling with and without combination nicotine replacement therapy for smoking cessation among people with HIV in South Africa. 

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Smoking Reduction in a Randomized Trial of Phone-Based Smoking Cessation Treatment Among Lung Cancer Screening Patients.

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The Potential Benefits of Broad Inclusion Criteria in a Randomized Cessation Trial: Lower Readiness to Quit Smoking is Associated with Greater Interest in Cessation Medication Use.

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A randomized trial for combination nicotine replacement therapy for smoking cessation among people with HIV in a low-resourced setting

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A randomized trial for combination nicotine replacement therapy for smoking cessation among people with HIV in a low-resourced setting

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Corrigendum to "Associations of risk factors of e-cigarette and cigarette use and susceptibility to use among baseline PATH study youth participants (2013-2014)" [Addict. Behav. 91 (2019) 51-60]

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The Nicotine Metabolite Ratio and Response to Smoking Cessation Treatment Among People Living with HIV Who Smoke in South Africa

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Erratum : Incomplete Conflict of Interest Disclosures (American Journal of Preventive Medicine (2017) 52(2) (e33–e66), (S0749379716305736), (10.1016/j.amepre.2016.10.036))

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Changes in Tobacco Dependence and Association With Onset and Progression of Use by Product Type From Waves 1 to 3 of the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study

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Glasser A,..et l ..(Abrams DB)... et al…"Indicators of tobacco dependence among youth: Findings from Wave 1 (2013-2014) of the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study"

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Indicators of Tobacco Dependence Among Youth : Findings From Wave 1 (2013-2014) of the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health Study

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Keke C, Wilson Z, Lebina L, Motlhaoleng K, Abrams DB… et al, & Elf JL. A cross-sectional analysis of the nicotine metabolite ratio and its association with sociodemographic and smoking characteristics among people with HIV who smoke in South Africa.

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Retraction : Changes in Tobacco Dependence and Association with Onset and Progression of Use by Product Type from Wave 1 to Wave 3 of the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study (Nicotine & Tobacco Research (2022) (ntac167) DOI: 10.1093/n

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Williams RM, Cordon M, Eyestone E, Smith L, Luta G, McKee BJ, Regis SM, Abrams DB, Niaura RS, Stanton CA, Parikh V, Taylor KL; on behalf of the Lung Screening, Tobacco, and Health Trial. Improved motivation and readiness to quit shortly after lung cancer

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A Randomized Trial of Telephone-Based Smoking Cessation Treatment in the Lung Cancer Screening Setting

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Factors associated with changes in flavored tobacco products used : Findings from wave 2 and wave 3 (2014–2016) of the population assessment of tobacco and health (PATH) study

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Improved motivation and readiness to quit shortly after lung cancer screening : Evidence for a teachable moment

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Change in amount smoked and readiness to quit among patients undergoing lung cancer screening

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E-cigarettes and Cessation : Asking Different Questions Requires Different Methods

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Estimating the population health impact of recently introduced modified risk tobacco products : A comparison of different approaches

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Intensive Longitudinal Study of the Relationship between Cigalike E-cigarette Use and Cigarette Smoking among Adult Cigarette Smokers without Immediate Plans to Quit Smoking

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