The Tobacco Cessation Policy Research Center and the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center's GOLD Award offers financial support to UC Davis graduate students, residents, and postdoctoral or clinical fellows to conduct tobacco-related policy research and engage with local/state policymakers and community stakeholders in California.
GOLD Award - Year 1
Title: Psychological Distress Levels and Youth Tobacco Screening and Advice by a Health Professional: National Youth Tobacco Survey, 2022
Congratulations to TCPRC's first GOLD Award recipient, Dr. Shichen Zheng! As one of her PhD dissertation chapters in epidemiology, Dr. Zheng analyzed the 2022 National Youth Tobacco Survey and showed that youth with psychological distress were more likely to receive screening but not advice about tobacco from health professionals. Her findings were published in Pediatrics Open Science.
GOLD Award - Year 2
Title: Mixed Methods Evaluation of the Sacramento Healthy Foods Exemption
TCPRC's second GOLD awardee, Dr. Alexandria Reimold, will examine the unintended consequences of Sacramento’s Healthy Food Exemption that allows retailers selling “healthy” foods and beverages to circumvent Sacramento’s tobacco retailer density restrictions.
GOLD Award - Year 3
TCPRC distributed 2 GOLD Awards in 2026.
GOLD Awardee, Mr. Ya Yang
Title: Integrating Tobacco Cessation into Behavioral Health Systems for People with Serious Psychological Distress (SPD)
The goal of this study is to understand how California’s county health system can support behavioral health people with SPD to stop using tobacco. Mr. Yang will conduct quantitative analyses of California Health Interview Survey data to better understand the SPD population, their healthcare access, and whether they are receiving the treatment they need.
GOLD Awardee, Ms. Yemisi Obasemo
Title: The Impact of Tobacco-Free Pharmacy Policies on Tobacco Sales and Purchases in California
Ms. Obasemo will help examine the impact of tobacco-free pharmacy policies on tobacco products and over-the-counter (OTC) product sales and purchases in California using data obtained from the Nielsen Consumer Panel and Retail Scanner datasets, with a data record stretching from 2007 to 2024, accessed through the Kilts Center for Marketing Data at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.