Category: Danielle McCarthy

Study: E-Referral to Quit Line Works

New technology can improve the ways in which people who smoke get connected with quitting services; one of the most promising developments has been e-referrals, an electronic referral system that uses secure electronic health records to help people on the road to quitting. A new study in American Journal of Preventive Medicine takes a deep …

Med Students Learn Online about Tobacco Treatment 

Fourth-year UW medical students learned about tobacco treatment when they recently completed a public-health elective class led by UW-CTRI Researchers Drs. Megan Piper and Jessica Cook. In past years, the students would get to shadow UW-CTRI experts in person but, due to the pandemic, this year that wasn’t possible. So Kay Lera, Assistant to the UW-CTRI …

UW-CTRI Staff Well Represented at First All-Virtual SRNT Annual Meeting

Dr. Megan Piper, UW-CTRI Associate Director of Research, took her place Sunday as SRNT President (release the SRNT-shirt canons!). Before that, she participated in the Presidential Symposium, specifically as part of the Racial Equity Task Force. “Working towards racial equity is a goal that benefits all of the members, and society at large,” Piper said. …

Zwaga Investigates How Providers Differ in Treating Patients’ Tobacco Use

Even with training and support, healthcare providers vary markedly in how they address smoking by their patients. New approaches are needed to help them. UW-CTRI Biostatistical Analyst Deejay Zwaga is studying exactly that. It’s thanks to the diversity grant program from the National Cancer Center, a supplement to the R35 Grant held by UW-CTRI Director …

C3I Expands Consortium to Help Cancer Patients Quit Smoking

UW-CTRI staff and collaborators attended the virtual 2020 grantee meeting of the nationwide Cancer Center Cessation Initiative (C3I), part of the National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) Cancer Moonshot Initiative, with the goal of helping cancer patients to quit tobacco use. The meeting included representatives from NCI, UW-CTRI, C3I, and 52 C3I cancer centers. This included: Typically …

BREATHE 2 Study Re-Launches at Pilot Clinic with COVID-19 Precautions

The Breaking Addiction to Tobacco for Health 2 (BREATHE 2) study re-launched at Aurora St. Luke’s Medical Center on November 11. “We all worked so hard to get here once in March 2020, stopped for COVID and then retooled,” said UW-CTRI Director of Research Administration Amy Conlon. “Our staff have done monumental good work in developing …

Study Finds Varenicline Best Before Quitting, Combo Meds During a Quit Attempt

It is difficult to quit smoking, but, building on the discoveries of Dr. Tim Baker, a new study has shown that taking the right medication at the right time can make a difference. According to new research in the journal Addiction, when compared to only using a nicotine patch, varenicline significantly reduced craving and anticipated …

Dr. Baker’s Novel Treatment Can Improve Craving and Anhedonia

A novel treatment can suppress significant withdrawal symptoms more effectively than the usual care, according to a UW-CTRI paper published in the journal Addiction. This innovative approach, developed by UW-CTRI Research Director Dr. Tim Baker, suggests the process of quitting smoking can be divided into phases, each with different opportunities for intervention. Starting treatment while …

Tobacco: A Dual Risk to Black Lives

Wisconsin African American Tobacco Prevention Network Director Lorraine Lathen (right) and UW-CTRI Associate Director of Research Dr. Danielle McCarthy (below) penned a letter to the editor on the risks of tobacco to African Americans, published in the Cap Times, a weekly paper in Madison, Wisconsin. Edgar Mendez of the Wisconsin Tobacco Prevention and Poverty Network pitched …

NCI Grants Supplement Award to Deejay Zwaga

Deejay Zwaga, MPH, UW-CTRI Biostatistical Analyst, has been awarded grant funding from the National Cancer Center as part of their diversity program. The award is a supplement to the R35 Grant held by UW-CTRI Director Dr. Michael Fiore in partnership with Group Health Cooperative of South Central Wisconsin. “I am very excited about this opportunity,” …