Suzanne Colby

About

Suzanne M. Colby is an Associate Director of Applied Learning for the MPH Program and a Professor of Behavioral and Social Sciences at Brown University, with a joint appointment in the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at the Alpert Medical School. She is also the Deputy Director of the Center for Alcohol & Addiction Studies (CAAS). Her research expertise is nationally recognized in adolescent tobacco use, focusing on enhancing methodological approaches for conducting tobacco research among young people, developing effective cessation interventions, and evaluating their impact. Dr. Colby has held leadership roles including President of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco (SRNT), and has served as SRNT Member Delegate for North America, Annual Meeting Program Chair, and Founding Chair of the Adolescent Research Network. She is involved in training and mentoring, serving on the Mentoring Steering Committee and as a Mentor Training Facilitator for the Advance RI Clinical Trials Research, a statewide translational research hub. Her professional affiliations include Fellowships with the Society for Research on Nicotine & Tobacco and the American Psychological Association's divisions on Addiction Psychology and Psychopharmacology and Substance Abuse. Her research areas encompass addictive behaviors, alcohol, nicotine, smoking, tobacco, and treatment, with numerous publications contributing to the field.

Research topics

• Psychology
• Medicine
• Clinical psychology
• Psychiatry
• Environmental health

Selected publications

• Balancing Consideration of the Risks and Benefits of E-Cigarettes

  American Journal of Public Health · 2021 · 314 citations

  The topic of e-cigarettes is controversial. Opponents focus on e-cigarettes' risks for young people, while supporters emphasize the potential for e-cigarettes to assist smokers in quitting smoking. Most US health organizations, media coverage, and policymakers have focused primarily on risks to youths. Because of their messaging, much of the public-including most smokers-now consider e-cigarette use as dangerous as or more dangerous than smoking. By contrast, the National Academies of Science, E…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Reduced nicotine in cigarettes in a marketplace with alternative nicotine systems: randomized clinical trial

  The Lancet Regional Health - Americas · 2024-06-03 · 22 citations

  articleOpen access

  Background: Reducing cigarette addictiveness has the potential to avert millions of yearly tobacco-related deaths worldwide. Substantially reducing nicotine in cigarettes decreases cigarette consumption, but no large clinical trial has determined the effects of reduced-nicotine cigarettes when other nicotine-containing products are available. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of reduced-nicotine cigarettes in the context of the availability of alternative nicotine delivery systems…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• A qualitative analysis of adolescents' perspectives on peer and influencer alcohol‐related posts on social media

  Drug and Alcohol Review · 2023-08-02 · 14 citations

  articleOpen access

  INTRODUCTION: Adolescent exposure to alcohol-related content on social media is common and associated with alcohol use and perceived norms; however, little is known about how exposure differs by the source of the content (e.g., peer or 'influencer'). The purpose of this study was to utilise qualitative methods to compare adolescent perspectives on peer- versus influencer-generated alcohol content on social media. METHODS: Nine virtual semi-structured focus groups were conducted with adolescents…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Effects of mint, menthol, and tobacco-flavored e-cigarettes on tobacco withdrawal symptoms in adults who smoke menthol cigarettes: A laboratory pilot study

  Drug and Alcohol Dependence · 2024-01-25 · 4 citations

  articleOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Associations Among Enacted Stigma, Perceived Chances for Success, Life Satisfaction, and Substance Use Among Sexual Minority and Heterosexual Youth

  Substance Use & Misuse · 2023-05-22 · 4 citations

  articleOpen access

  Background: Sexual minority youth report high rates of substance use compared to heterosexual youth. Stigma can diminish perceptions of future success and life satisfaction and contribute to elevated substance use. This study examined whether experiences of enacted stigma (i.e., discrimination) and substance use among sexual minority and heterosexual youth were indirectly associated through perceived chances for success and life satisfaction. Method: In a sample of 487 adolescents who indicated…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• NIH Grant R01AA016000

  NIH · $1.1M · 2012

• NIH Grant R01CA080255

  NIH · $872k · 2003

• Addressing alcohol misuse in HIV prevention and care: The Brown University Alcohol Research Center on HIV (ARCH)

  NIH · $39.3M · 2010–2026

Frequent coauthors

• Peter M. Monti

  592 shared

• Damaris J. Rohsenow

  Brown University

  352 shared

• Nancy P. Barnett

  John Brown University

  299 shared

• Jennifer W. Tidey

  Brown University

  191 shared

• John E. Schulenberg

  145 shared

• Mary E. Larimer

  University of Washington

  145 shared

• Jennifer L. Maggs

  Pennsylvania State University

  145 shared

• Rebekka S. Palmer

  145 shared

Education

• Ph.D., Behavioral and Social Sciences

  Brown University

• M.S., Behavioral and Social Sciences

  Brown University

• B.A., Behavioral and Social Sciences

  Brown University

Awards & honors

• Fellow of the Society for Research on Nicotine & Tobacco
• Fellow of the American Psychological Association's Division…
• Fellow of the American Psychological Association's Division…

Similar researchers at Brown University

• Kate Careyh-100
• Christopher Kahlerh-96