Erik M. Augustson

Biography

Erik Augustson, Ph.D., M.P.H., is currently a Behavioral Scientist and Program Director in the Tobacco Control Research Branch (TCRB) within the Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences (DCCPS)at the National Cancer Institute (NCI). He holds a doctorate in Clinical Psychology from the University of New Mexico and is licensed as a clinical psychologist in Maryland. Dr. Augustson is a former Cancer Prevention Fellow and received a Master of Public Health degree, with a focus on Epidemiology, from Johns Hopkins University. Before starting the NCI fellowship in 2000, he also completed a Fellowship in Behavioral Medicine, specializing in psychological factors affecting chronic pain disorders, and was on faculty at the University of Alabama School of Medicine. Following completion of the NCI fellowship, he was employed as a Behavioral Scientist within TCRB via a contract with Scientific Applications International Corporation (SAIC). Dr Augustson's current primary lines of research involve studies considering the use of psychological principles and functionality of emerging technologies to improve reach and engagement of interventions for health behaviors and ultimately improved treatment outcomes. He has also performed research in the areas of the epidemiology of tobacco use and nicotine dependence, tobacco use among individuals with comorbid mental health and substance abuse, perceived risk, chronic pain, cancer screening, sun safety, obesity, and health communication topics. He has more than 90 scientific publications and has made more 190 scientific presentations. For more than a decade Dr. Augustson has worked on eHealth/mHealth interventions, and he serves as the Lead of the Smokefree.gov Initiative, which since 2003 has grown to encompass six websites, 15 text message programs, two smartphone apps, and multiple social media platforms. An estimated 3-6 million smokers interact with Smokefree.gov resources annually. Additional duties within TCRB include program management of grants, independent research, facilitation of dissemination of information, and supervision and training of fellows. He serves on a number of national and international committees associated with Department of Health & Human Services and World Health Organization tobacco control initiatives.

Research Interest

Smoking cessation, Emerging technologies for cessation, mHealth, Health communication, Nicotine dependence, Co-morbid conditions