Congratulations, Dr. Liu!

Congratulations to GHELI collaborator Dr. Jessica Liu  for successfully defending her dissertation, "Adolescent Product Vaping: Multiple Product Use & Implications for School-Based Approaches,” on Friday, February 17, 2023, at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

During her defense, Liu discussed the findings of her three dissertation papers in front of an audience of peers and her committee, Dr. Vaughan Rees, Dr. Andy Tan, and Dr. Jonathan Winickoff. Liu’s first paper focused on the prevalence of sole-, dual-, and poly-use of e-cigarettes, cannabis, and tobacco among high school students in Massachusetts. Her second study focused on the prevalence of dual vaping and cannabis use among adolescents in New England; it is the first study of its kind to investigate adolescent dual vaping during the COVID-19 pandemic. Her third study examined the barriers to addressing vaping in schools and identified existing prevention approaches and potential initiatives to tackle student vaping, such as peer-led initiatives, increased parental involvement, and alternatives to suspension.

Jessica has worked with GHELI for the last two years and is currently the Head Teaching Fellow for the Gen Ed 1063 class, World Health: Challenges and Opportunities taught by Faculty Director Sue J. Goldie. Under the collaborative efforts of the Gen Ed 1063 teaching fellows and learning design staff, the undergraduate course is used as a “teaching and learning laboratory” for piloting innovative pedagogy.

Professor Goldie describes Jessica as a “passionate educator who fell in love with both teaching and public health” and a “rising public health star working on one of the most critical public health challenges facing our youth.” Goldie adds, “I have no doubt that the quality of her research and her ability to communicate will propel her career forward—I predict she will be a change agent in public health.”

Prior to her doctoral studies at Harvard, Liu received her MPH from the Yale School of Public Health. She hopes to pursue a career in academia, bolstered by her passion for adolescent health and substance use research.

Learn More about E-cigarette use in U.S. youth:

• Cooper M et al. Notes from the Field: E-cigarette Use Among Middle and High School Students — United States, 2022. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 2022; 71(40): 1283–1285.
• More than 2.5 Million Youth Reported E-Cigarette Use in 2022. Press Release. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2022.

Learn More about Dr. Liu’s research:

• Liu J et al. How Age and E-cigarette Use Status Interact to Influence E-cigarette Ad Perceptions. Substance Use & Misuse 2023; 58: 257-265.
• Liu J et al. Effects of Brief Exposure to Misinformation Bbout E-Cigarette Harms on Twitter on Knowledge and Perceptions of E-Cigarettes. Digital Health 2022.
• Liu J et al. Youth Tobacco Use Before and After Flavoured Tobacco Sales Restrictions in Oakland, California and San Francisco, California. Tobacco Control 2022.
• Liu J et al. School-Based Programs to Prevent Adolescent E-Cigarette Use: A Report Card. Current Problems in Pediatric and Adolescent Health Care 2022.

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