Nhung Nguyen, PhD
Principal Investigator
Dr. Nguyen is a behavioral scientist and an Assistant Professor of Medicine at UCSF. She founded and leads the HEARTY lab. Her work centers on preventing and reducing the co-use of tobacco and cannabis. Dr. Nguyen has received research funding from the California Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program (TRDRP) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH)/National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). Currently, she is a Principal Investigator in two projects that harness mobile health technology and machine learning to investigate real-time predictors of tobacco and cannabis vaping behaviors and to develop smartphone-based interventions to reduce the co-use of these substances among young adults.
Christine Tran, BS
Research Coordinator
Christine Tran received her BS degree with a major in Health Science from California State University, East Bay. Her research interest includes exploring how to leverage technology in healthcare to achieve health equity and reduce health disparities. She has worked on a project to increase access to and satisfaction with end-of-life care among minorities and volunteered as a Program Coordinator for the UCSF Orthopedic Trauma Institute Junior Academy Mentorship Program. Her skills include coding qualitative data, conducting user experience interviews, and using Canva to create infographics, message designs, and advertisements. Her ideal day is doing jigsaw puzzles or building Legos, with a cup of iced hojicha latte and her favorite music playing in the background.
Deanna Halliday, PhD
Postdoctoral Scholar
Deanna M. Halliday, PhD, received her doctorate in Psychological Sciences (Health Psychology) from the University of California, Merced. Prior to joining the UCSF, she was awarded a TRDRP pre-doctoral fellowship for her dissertation work on tobacco and cannabis co-use. Her work examines the multi-level factors that contribute to tobacco and cannabis use spanning from internal psychological factors to social and community-level factors. Dr. Halliday hopes to further explore the phenomena of co-use in under-resourced, rural, or otherwise vulnerable communities.
Vuong Do, PhD
Postdoctoral Scholar
Vuong Do received his doctorate in Public Health (Epidemiology) from the School of Public Health, Georgia State University. As a postdoctoral fellow at the UCSF Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education, Vuong examines tobacco and cannabis co-use patterns among young adults, risk perceptions, and contextual factors to inform cessation programs. In addition, he is interested in studying tobacco and cannabis use and health disparities among racial/ethnic minority groups.
Allison A. Temourian, PhD
Postdoctoral Scholar
Dr. Allison A. Temourian received her doctorate in Psychological Sciences (Health Psychology) from the University of California, Merced. Her current research examines 1) cognitions as they relate to addictive behavior and 2) antecedents to health risk behaviors. Specifically, her work aims to address the psychosocial factors that may put youth and young adults at risk of using tobacco and/or cannabis products. During her postdoctoral training, Dr. Temourian will continue her work examining perceptions of nicotine addiction and their overlap with the clinical dimensions of tobacco use disorder.
Grace Cho
Student intern
Grace is a Cupertino High School student. As part of the Santa Clara County Peer Advocate Advisory Council and the California Youth Advocacy Network Youth Board, she is dedicated to spreading awareness of the issue of tobacco and vape addiction and the manipulative tactics the tobacco industry uses to target youth. She has presented at the Teens Tackle Tobacco Conference and the Stanford Cannabis Conference and worked on a handbook educating tobacco retailers on state policies restricting sales to youth. She is also interested in building technology-based intervention tools for adolescents addicted to tobacco and vapes.
Vincent Cao
Undergraduate Student
Vincent is a Human Biology and Society B.S. student studying at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Well versed in graphing multivariable nonlinear systems for populations and behaviors using Python and Sagemath, he supports students with mathematical modeling as a Learning Assistant. He also conducts hypertension screenings for underserved populations in Orange County and plays piano for senior homes nearby UCLA. On the fun side of things, Vincent is part of UCLA Fencing, enjoys oil/acrylic painting, practicing martial arts, arranging music on the piano by ear, and writing novels in his spare time.
Lab Alumni
Aliyyat Afolabi, BS
Research Coordinator
Aliyyat Afolabi received her Bachelor of Science from California State University Long Beach, CA. Her research interest includes exploring marketing strategies used by the tobacco industry in communities of color and smoking prevention in young adults.
Natalie Nguyen
Undergraduate Student
Natalie Nguyen is a Biology major student at the University of California Santa Barbara. Her research interest includes exploring strategies that can be used to educate youth in communities of color on tobacco risks and better smoking prevention in young adults. She is the cofounder of For Future Lungs, a nonprofit that focuses on spreading education on the risks of tobacco use in order to prevent a generation of tobacco users and build healthy habits.
Jason Ni
Undergraduate Student
Jason Ni is a student studying computer engineering at the UC Santa Barbara. His interest lies in the intersection of computer science and medicine, promoting health in our youth through technology. Fun fact: Jason was once ranked in the top 550 players of the game Valorant.
Sara Perez
PhD student
Sara is a first-year PhD student, specializing in Social and Behavioral Health. She is a tobacco control researcher, primarily focusing on commercial determinants of health in low-and-middle-income countries. Her research interests include health policy, tobacco control, and global health. She has been published in Nicotine & Tobacco Research and the Pan American Journal of Public Health. In her free time, Sara enjoys yoga, reading, and volunteering at Amplify Life, a non-profit serving adults with disabilities.
Lisbeth Lund
PhD student
Lisbeth is in the third year of her PhD program at the University of Southern Denmark. Her focus is nicotine product use among young people, using latent class analysis/latent transition analysis to explore use patterns and evaluate different tobacco prevention interventions.
Jessica Hernandez Castaneda, BA
Research Coordinator
Jessica received her BA in Public Health from the University of California, Merced. Jessica brings experience in qualitative research and community engagement. Her research interests include community-based participatory research, health education and promotion. She is passionate about destigmatizing sexual and reproductive health and well-being within communities of color.