Adam Leventhal, PhD
Professor of Population and Public Health Sciences; Director of the Institute for Addiction Science
Biography
Adam Leventhal, Ph.D., Professor of Preventive Medicine and Psychology at the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine and USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, is an addiction psychologist and public health scientist. Dr. Leventhal is the Founding Director of the USC Health, Emotion, & Addiction Laboratory (USC-HEAL; heal.usc.edu), a group of six faculty investigators and 30 staff and trainees who study the causes, consequences, treatment, and prevention of addiction and mental illness across the lifespan. Having been awarded more than $40M in grant funding from the NIH and other agencies, USC-HEAL's current areas of focus are: (1) adolescent and young adult use of tobacco, cannabis, and opioids; (2) the co-occurrence of addiction and mental illness; (3) the development of new medications to promote smoking cessation; (4) science to inform public policies for regulating tobacco and other consumer products; and (5) cancer and cardiovascular disease prevention.
Dr. Leventhal is also the Founding Director of the USC Institute for Addiction Science (USC-IAS; ias.usc.edu), a university-wide initiative that supports transdisciplinary science and education for a network of 40+ faculty addiction experts across 5 schools and colleges at USC.
Dr. Leventhal has authored over 200 peer-reviewed scientific articles, including publications in JAMA, New England Journal of Medicine, and other journals. His work has been covered by the Associated Press, NBC Nightly News, New York Times, and other media outlets. Dr. Leventhal is active in policy arenas, having served on expert panels on the health effects of e-cigarettes and tobacco products for the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and the US Surgeon General. He is an elected fellow of the American Academy of Health Behavior and American Psychological Association and recipient of awards for early and mid-career contributions to science and mentoring. His personal interests include running, playing guitar, watching football, and spending time with friends and family.
Publications
Association between e-cigarette use and future combustible cigarette use: Evidence from a prospective cohort of youth and young adults, 2017-2019.
Addict Behav. 2021 Jan;112:106593. doi: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2020.106593. Epub 2020 Jul 31. PubMed PMID: 32927247;
Bidirectional associations between e-cigarette use and alcohol use across adolescence.
Drug Alcohol Depend. 2021 Mar 1;220:108496. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2020.108496. Epub 2020 Dec 31. PubMed PMID: 33461153;
Association of Political Party Affiliation With Physical Distancing Among Young Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic.
JAMA Intern Med. 2021 Mar 1;181(3):399-403. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2020.6898. PubMed PMID: 33315091; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7737150.
Developmental patterns of tobacco product and cannabis use initiation in high school.
Addiction. 2021 Feb;116(2):382-393. doi: 10.1111/add.15161. Epub 2020 Jul 7. PubMed PMID: 32533801; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7736052.
Weight Status and Effects of Non-Tobacco Flavors on E-Cigarette Product Appeal.
Subst Use Misuse. 2021;56(6):848-853. doi: 10.1080/10826084.2021.1899229. Epub 2021 Mar 23. PubMed PMID: 33754940;