Suchitra Krishnan-Sarin

Dr. Suchitra Krishnan-Sarin is the Albert E. Kent Professor of Psychiatry at the Yale University School of Medicine and Professor of Chronic Disease Epidemiology at the Yale School of Public Health. She serves as Chair of the Human Investigations Committee (IRB) for the Human Research Protections Program and maintains extensive affiliations across Yale's research ecosystem including the Cancer Prevention and Control Program, Center for Nicotine and Tobacco Use Research at Yale (CENTURY), and Yale Tobacco Center of Regulatory Science.

• PhD from Purdue University (1992)
• Postdoctoral fellowship at Indiana University Purdue University at Indianapolis (1995)
• Postdoctoral Fellow at Yale University (1996)

Dr. Krishnan-Sarin's research program focuses on developing a bio-behavioral understanding of substance use behaviors in adolescents and adults, with the goal of creating optimal prevention and cessation interventions. Her work spans tobacco regulatory science, adolescent vaping behaviors, and pharmacological treatments for alcohol use disorders. She examines the appeal and abuse potential of tobacco products, develops behavioral and pharmacological cessation approaches, and investigates behavioral and neural predictors of use and cessation behaviors.

Her recent publications demonstrate a strong emphasis on e-cigarette flavors (particularly 'ice' components), youth vaping patterns across different demographic groups, and the development of evidence-based cessation interventions. Her work bridges basic science, clinical research, and policy implications, with numerous publications in top journals including Nicotine & Tobacco Research, Drug and Alcohol Dependence, and the Journal of the American Heart Association.

• Young Investigator Award from Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco (1997)
• President of Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco (2020-present)

Dr. Krishnan-Sarin is actively involved in national tobacco regulatory efforts as Co-PI of the NIH/FDA-funded Yale Tobacco Centers Of Regulatory Science and leader of the American Heart Association-funded ENACT initiative. Her work has directly informed policy through contributions to Surgeon General's reports, service on the FDA's Tobacco Product Scientific Advisory Committee, and current membership on the CDC's Interagency Commission on Smoking and Health. She supervises a multidisciplinary research team examining youth vaping behaviors, tobacco product regulation, and intervention development.

Through the Yale Tobacco Centers Of Regulatory Science and ENACT initiative, Dr. Krishnan-Sarin leads research teams investigating tobacco product use behaviors, developing cessation interventions, and informing regulatory policy. Her work brings together expertise from psychiatry, public health, neuroscience, and policy domains to address the evolving landscape of youth nicotine and substance use, with particular attention to how product design elements like flavors influence youth appeal and use patterns.