Lauren Dutra

Lauren Dutra’s research lies at the intersection of public health policy, the social epidemiology of tobacco use, cannabis, and health disparities. She directs complex mass media campaign evaluations, formulates research questions, evaluates business and grant opportunities, coordinates data analyses, and synthesizes the results of analyses into presentations, reports, and peer-reviewed publications. Dr. Dutra currently leads the evaluation of a mass media tobacco control campaign. In addition, she is conducting research to establish the relationship between residence in rural areas of the US, other psychosocial, economic, and environmental factors, and tobacco use and tobacco-related outcomes. She is also currently researching the impact of cannabis legalization on public health outcomes, particularly among racial/ethnic minorities and low socioeconomic status individuals. Dr. Dutra has written several grants based on this work and recently obtained a Personal Development Award to conduct research on cannabis. Dr. Dutra also serves on RTI International’s Social Policy, Health, and Economics Research Diversity and Inclusion Committee. Prior to joining RTI International, Dr. Dutra’s research as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California, San Francisco focused on e-cigarette use among youth and longitudinal trajectories of cigarette smoking, with a particular emphasis on vulnerable populations. Dr. Dutra’s doctoral research focused on the impact of discrimination and human rights violations on tobacco use in South Africa and the impact of worksite safety on tobacco use and safety behaviors among American blue collar workers.