VYTP Partners:
Institutions, Principal Investigators, and Research Projects

George Mason University
PI: Robert F. Smith, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychology
Chair, Department of Psychology
Project: A Rodent Model of Adolescent Nicotine Effects

James Madison University
PI: Steven W. Evans, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Psychology
Director, Human Development Center
Projects:

1. Smoking and ADHD
2. Dieting Behavior, Weight Concerns, and Smoking Initiation among Adolescents
3. Breathing for Life: A Smoking Cessation Program using Complimentary and Alternative Health Practices

PI: Zewelanji N. Serpell, Ph.D.
Faculty of the Attention and Learning Disabilities Center
Project: Social Factors Related to Smoking Among Middle and High School Students with ADHD

The University of Virginia
PI: Richard J. Bonnie, L.L.B.
John S. Battle Professor of Law
Director, Institute of Law, Psychiatry, and Public Policy
Projects:

1. Retailer Compliance Study
2. Enforcement of the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement: A New Paradigm?
3. The Role of Emotion in Youths’ Reactions to Tobacco Counter-Advertising
4. Relation between Tobacco Policy and Smoking-Induced Low Birthweight

PI: Bruce P. Dembling
Senior Research Scientist, Department of Health Evaluation Sciences
Project: Youth Tobacco Control Policy Research: Behavioral and Biological Factors

PI: Pamela A. Kulbok, R.N., D.N.Sc
Associate Professor of Nursing
Project: Protective Factors and Youth Nonsmoking Behavior

Virginia Commonwealth University
PI: Faye C. Belgrave, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychology
Project: Protective Factors for Tobacco Use Among African American Adolescents

PI: Thomas E. Eissenberg, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Psychology
Director, Clinical Behavioral Pharmacology Laboratory
Project: Preventing Addiction in Adolescent Smokers

PI: Elizabeth A. Fries, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Psychology
Director, Cancer Control Program
Project: Youth Tobacco Evaluation Project

PI: Kenneth S. Kendler, M.D.
Rachel Brown Banks Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry
Director, Virginia Institute of Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics
Projects:

1. The Role of Genetic, Family Environmental, and Individual-Specific Environmental Risk Factors in the Etiology of Tobacco Initiation and the Progression to Nicotine Dependence
2. Molecular Genetic Identification of Individual Genes that Influence Vulnerability to Tobacco Initiation and the Progression to Nicotine Dependence

PI: Julie Linker, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Psychiatry
Project: Smoking Habits of Adolescent Outpatients with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders

PI: Billy R. Martin, Ph.D.
Louis and Ruth Harris Professor of Pharmacology and Toxocology
Chair, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology
Projects:

1. Gene Microarray Analysis of Nicotine Effects on Brain Tissue
2. Nicotine Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics
3. Acute Behavoral Effects of Nicotine Administration in Adolescent Mice
4. Effects of Prenatal Exposure to Nicotine on Vulnerability to Addiction
5. Nicotine Self-Administration and Place Preference Behavior in Rats

PI: Donna R. Miles, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Human Genetics
Project: Genetic and Environmental Factors in the Transition from Tobacco Use to Nicotine Dependence

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
PI: Peggy S. Meszaros
William E. Lavery Professor of Human Development
Director, Center for Information Technology Impacts on Children, Youth, and Families
Project: Psychosocial Risk Factors and Prevention Strategies for Adolescent Female Smokers in Virginia

The College of William and Mary
PI: Joshua A. Burk, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Psychology
Project: Adolescent Nicotine and Alcohol Administration and Cognition

The following grants fund research at VCU in the areas of youth and tobacco use: Listing to come.