Giovanni Appolon, A Joint Doctoral Program scholar at SDSU/UCSD, has been awarded with the Tobacco Related Disease Research Program (TRDRP) Predoctoral Grant for his dissertation titled “Evaluation of California Tobacco Control Policies and Their Influence on Tobacco Use Among Youth”.
Giovanni Appolon, a scholar in the Joint Doctoral Program at SDSU/UCSD, has been recently awarded the Tobacco Related Disease Research Program (TRDRP) Predoctoral Grant for his dissertation on tobacco policy in California. The TRDRP’s maximum stipend is up to $60,000 per year. His research evaluates whether all California policies provided by the American Lung Association equitably serve individuals from diverse socio-demographic backgrounds. The policies are regarding smoke-free areas, tobacco retailer licensing, and flavored tobacco bans.
Giovanni’s natural and early interest in helping others led him to work as a respiratory therapist in the pediatric emergency room. Primarily, he administered medications and provided patients with respiratory therapy. Due to the fact that he had already been seeing the patients, the physicians asked him for extra assistance with data collection. There, he noticed a higher level of readmission rates for patients from BIPOC communities. As a first generation Haitian American, Giovanni has a heightened understanding of health disparities affecting these communities, which inspired him to pursue a degree in public health.
The goal for Giovanni’s dissertation project is to ensure that policies effectively reduce tobacco use across any and all communities. He stated that his dream project would, “…involve developing a comprehensive framework to guide policymakers in implementing tobacco control strategies that are both effective and equitable, addressing the unique needs of underserved populations.”
Giovanni collaborates with Dr. Eric Leas at the UCSD Tobacco E-Commerce Lab, and works closely with his primary mentor, Dr. Eyal Oren at SDSU. In his role, he assists with the occasional data-related analysis questions from interns, and contributes to projects assessing the impact of current tobacco control measures on marginalized communities and youth. He stated his excitement for his receipt of the TRDRP grant and how it will help him to lead his own project.
Giovanni noted that he has gained valuable experience from grant writing. His involvement in other projects has strengthened his ability as a researcher. Since starting the JDP program, he has had a total of four publications. Two of them look at racial disparities in pharmacy access. The other two are clinical trials assessing whether there are any risks when individuals switch from filtered to unfiltered cigarettes. He stated that these two, “…primarily aim to determine if a ban on filtered cigarettes would be helpful or harmful to the population.”
Regarding his passion in research, he stated, “I realized that effective healthcare isn’t just about treating individual cases and that it’s also about addressing the broader social and structural factors that shape health outcomes.”
