Dr. Hasmeena Kathuria will become the next director of the Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.
Kathuria is a pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine physician with expertise in clinical care, research and policy regarding tobacco dependence in communities disproportionally affected by tobacco use.
Kathuria will join the school on July 1, 2024, from the Boston University School of Medicine, where she was the founding director of the Boston Medical Center’s Tobacco Treatment Center, which included establishing both outpatient and inpatient treatment programs to help patients stop smoking.
The Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention (UW-CTRI) at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health is nationally recognized for its work in tobacco research and its commitment to translating findings into patient care, outreach programming and policy advocacy. Among other notable accomplishments, members of UW-CTRI led a successful nationwide effort starting in 1991 through the early 2000s to designate tobacco use as one of the essential “vital signs” collected on all patients who seek health care. The UW center outreach professionals also created and manage the Wisconsin Tobacco Quit Line, which since 2001 has helped more than 250,000 smokers in their goal to quit using tobacco.
“I am excited and motivated to advance the efforts of UW-CTRI and work with the center’s incredible members,” Kathuria said. “UW-CTRI has been the impetus for the development of our program at Boston Medical Center and my work thus far. I am dedicated to continuing its legacy and to fostering the generation of exemplary leaders in the field.”
Kathuria brings extensive experience leading teams to advance tobacco treatment and research, implementation science, and tobacco policy and advocacy, particularly with an eye toward ensuring that programs and initiatives are scalable and sustainable, said Dr. Robert N. Golden, dean of the UW School of Medicine and Public Health.
“Dr. Kathuria’s outstanding leadership, clinical and research skills make her the perfect individual to lead UW-CTRI,” Golden said. “I am excited for the continued flourishing of this incredibly vital center that has saved countless lives.”
Kathuria’s research focuses on patient outcomes, the advancement of health equity through improved access to care and the impact of new and emerging tobacco products on individual and population health. Fueled by her passion for advocacy and health equity, she currently serves on numerous New England-based and national committees devoted to synthesizing research, clinical, educational, advocacy and policy activities so findings can be used to improve patient care and influence policy. For example, she currently chairs the American Thoracic Society Tobacco Action Committee. She has also contributed to tobacco-related policy statements, clinical guidelines, articles, book chapters and a forthcoming United States surgeon general report.
Kathuria earned her bachelor’s degree at Northwestern University and her medical degree from Loyola University Chicago’s Stritch School of Medicine. She completed her residency and chief residency in internal medicine at Indiana University and a fellowship in pulmonary and critical care at Boston University Medicine Center. She joined the Boston University School of Medicine faculty in 2004. Her numerous honors include a fellowship in the American Thoracic Society, the Clinical Innovations Award from the Evans Foundation at Boston University School of Medicine and the American Lung Association Lung Cancer Discovery Award.
