And the winner is..
Monica Swahn, associate vice president of research for Georgia State University and professor of public health, won first place for the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health Best Paper Award 2013. Swahn is one of four authors of the award winning article “Tobacco Smoke Exposure and Levels of Urinary Metals in the U.S. Youth and Adult Population: The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 1999–2004.”
The article examines the assessment of 12 metals found in tobacco among National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey participants exposed to smoke as well as participates not exposed. More than 4,000 chemicals are inhaled by smokers; non-smokers exposed to second hand smoke receive relatively similar doses. The metals in tobacco smoke are detrimental to the health of all those exposed to first or secondhand smoke and are a major cause of cardiovascular and renal disease and impaired lung function among smokers.
“A nice epidemiological study that establishes a correlation between tobacco smoke and heavy metals exposure while providing a comprehensive analysis of the link between exposure and health disparities,” merits the prize award committee of the journal.
Prior to joining the Institute of Public Health, Swahn worked for the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for more than nine years. In 2006, she was awarded the prestigious Dixie Snider fellowship in the Office of the Chief Science Officer, CDC. She has also chaired several interdisciplinary workgroups on secondary analyses of large and complex databases and has supervised fellows and Epidemic Intelligence Services (EIS) officers.
Swahn received her Ph.D. in psychiatric epidemiology from the University of Pittsburgh. The bulk of her research examines the prevalence and correlates of risk behavior among adolescents and young adults in urban settings in the United States and more recently in the sub-Saharan Africa.
Learn more about Monica Swahn's research at the Institute of Public Health at Georgia State University.