Arturo Durazo

Dr. Arturo Durazo is an Assistant Professor of Public Health at the University of California, Merced, affiliated with the School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts. As Director of UC Merced’s Nicotine & Cannabis Policy Center, he leads two Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program (TRDRP) Smoke & Vape Free Scholars Initiative grants in collaboration with California State Universities. His community-engaged research focuses on health equity for immigrant people of color, LGBTQ+ communities, and under-resourced populations through culturally affirming tobacco control and cancer prevention interventions.

Dr. Durazo serves as elected co-chair of Out with Big Tobacco: Central Valley, advocating for LGBTQ+-inclusive tobacco policies, and advises the California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus on health policy. His work spans behavioral medicine, public health advocacy, and health disparities among vulnerable groups.

Research interests include:

• Community-partnered tobacco control
• Culturally tailored smoking cessation programs
• Health equity for marginalized populations
• Policy development for nicotine and cannabis regulation
• Intersectionality in public health interventions

His publications address tobacco use among LGBTQ+, homeless, and Latine/x populations, with methodological diversity across intervention trials, qualitative studies, and policy analyses. Recent work emphasizes:

• Graphic warning label effectiveness
• Citizen science for tobacco waste tracking
• Empowerment theory-based cessation
• Smoke-free housing interventions
• Cancer risk perceptions in vulnerable groups