Shu-hong Zhu

Shu-Hong Zhu, Ph.D., is a Professor of Family Medicine and Public Health and Director of the Center for Research and Intervention in Tobacco Control (CRITC) at the University of California San Diego. He has been the Principal Investigator for the California Smokers’ Helpline since 1992, renowned for its innovative approaches to tobacco cessation. His research focuses on smoking cessation strategies, population-level interventions, and the intersection of social norms and tobacco use.

Dr. Zhu holds academic appointments in the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health & Human Longevity Science and the Department of Family Medicine and Public Health. He has led numerous NIH-funded studies, including projects on hospital-based cessation programs, multilingual quitlines, and the impact of smoke-free laws. His work emphasizes reducing health disparities through tailored interventions for diverse populations.

Key research interests include:

• Behavioral interventions for smoking cessation
• E-cigarette and emerging tobacco product dynamics
• Policy impacts on smoking rates
• Health equity in tobacco control

He has published over 200 peer-reviewed articles, with high-impact work on quitline effectiveness, e-cigarette trends, and Medicaid smokers. Notable awards include the APHA Excellence Award and the California Wellness Foundation/UC Wellness Lecture Award.

Current initiatives include:

• Proactive outreach for low-income smokers
• Analysis of cannabis-tobacco co-use
• Implementation science for health system interventions

Dr. Zhu collaborates with the Asian Smokers’ Quitline and the Consortium of Hospitals Advancing Research on Tobacco (CHART). His team develops scalable solutions to address smoking-related disparities and advocates for evidence-based tobacco control policies.