Research Summary

Dr. Apollonio is Professor in the Department of Clinical Pharmacy at the University of California, San Francisco. She has served as an instructor and research mentor in the UCSF School of Pharmacy since 2004, and has earned multiple teaching awards. Her research focus is the translation of research into policy. She is particularly interested in the political and marketing activities of industries implicated in the spread of non-communicable diseases, which include tobacco, pharmaceuticals, cannabis, alcohol, and food. Her recent work addresses tobacco control in vulnerable populations, the combined use of tobacco and cannabis, the spread of laws addressing new tobacco and cannabis delivery systems, and policies that allow substitution of cannabis for opiates. Her research also considers the ways that clinical findings are used in developing policy interventions and communicating knowledge from scientists to the public, and identifies methods to increase the role of evidence in making public health policy decisions. The analysis underlying these findings relies on multiple data sources (including clinical research findings, surveillance datasets, internal industry documents, administrative datasets, and interviews) and uses both qualitative and quantitative methods to identify how policies affecting public health are made. Her work has been published in journals across disciplines, including law, medicine, pharmacy, political science, public health, and public policy. Her training includes a postdoctoral appointment at the UCSF Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education, a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Master in Public Policy from Harvard University.

Research Funding

  • July 1, 2023 - June 30, 2028 - Postdoctoral Training in Tobacco Control , Multiple Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH/NIDA, Sponsor Award ID: T32DA057216
  • August 1, 2022 - July 31, 2027 - Addressing disparities in tobacco-related diseases by understanding the tobacco industry strategies , Co-Investigator . Sponsor: NIH/NCI, Sponsor Award ID: R01CA268491
  • July 1, 2023 - June 30, 2026 - Improving pharmacy-based tobacco cessation services in California’s Central Valley , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: California Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program, Sponsor Award ID: T33IR6471
  • September 1, 2021 - August 31, 2023 - California cannabis poisonings under Proposition 64 , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: California Department of Cannabis Control, Sponsor Award ID: RG-1603070583-553
  • July 1, 2020 - June 30, 2023 - Effect of minimum floor price laws on tobacco consumption , Co-Investigator . Sponsor: California Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program, Sponsor Award ID: 31KT-1894
  • January 1, 2022 - December 31, 2022 - Characterizing online tobacco product marketing , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: US Food and Drug Administration Tobacco Centers of Regulatory Science, Sponsor Award ID: U54CA180890 (pilot)
  • January 1, 2021 - December 31, 2021 - Effect of local tobacco flavor bans on consumption , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: US Food and Drug Administration Tobacco Centers of Regulatory Science, Sponsor Award ID: U54CA180890 (pilot)
  • July 1, 1994 - June 30, 2021 - Effect of Tobacco Advocacy at the State Level , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH/NIDA, Sponsor Award ID: R01DA043950
  • February 1, 2019 - January 31, 2021 - Linking local variation in marijuana and opioid policies to health outcomes , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R21DA046051
  • July 1, 2017 - June 30, 2019 - Effects of California’s 2016 tobacco policies on initiation, use, & quitting , PI . Sponsor: California Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program, Sponsor Award ID: 26IR-0014
  • November 1, 2016 - June 30, 2019 - Measuring combined tobacco, e-cigarette, and marijuana use in California , Co-PI . Sponsor: California Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program, Sponsor Award ID: 25IR-0025
  • July 1, 2016 - June 30, 2019 - San Francisco Cancer Initiative (SF-CAN) , Co-investigator . Sponsor: UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, Sponsor Award ID:
  • July 1, 2015 - December 1, 2016 - Uses of evidence in health policy , PI . Sponsor: UCSF Research Allocation Program, Sponsor Award ID:
  • September 13, 2011 - August 31, 2016 - Translating Research into Systemic Interventions for Tobacco Cessation , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: K07CA140236
  • October 1, 2014 - September 3, 2015 - State and local policies addressing the use and sale of non-cigarette tobacco products , Co-investigator . Sponsor: NIH/NCI, Sponsor Award ID: U01 CA 154240
  • January 1, 2014 - December 31, 2014 - Partnership to Advance Breast Cancer Research , Co-investigator on subaward . Sponsor: California Breast Cancer Research Program, Sponsor Award ID:
  • July 1, 2010 - December 31, 2011 - Creating systemic tobacco control interventions in marginalized populations , PI . Sponsor: American Cancer Society, Sponsor Award ID: A114962

Education

Macalester College, St. Paul, MN, BA, 1992, Political Science, History
Harvard Kennedy School, Cambridge, MA, MPP, 1994, Health Policy
University of California, Berkeley, CA, PhD, 2003, Political Science
University of California, San Francisco, CA, Postdoctoral, 2003-2006, Health Policy

Honors & Awards

  • 1995
    Henry Robert Braden Fellowship, UC Berkeley
  • 2000-2001
    Graduate Dissertation Fellowship, UC Berkeley
  • 2003-2005
    American Legacy Foundation Fellowship, UCSF School of Medicine
  • 2005
    Certificate in Health Services Research, UCSF School of Medicine
  • 2008
    Academic Senate Travel Grant, UCSF
  • 2008
    Dean's Recognition for Excellence in Teaching Award, UCSF School of Pharmacy
  • 2009
    Regulation and Governance Prize for the best article published in the journal in 2007 or 2008

Selected Publications

  1. Azad A, Su J, Nguyen M, Ly M, Wu I, Tracy D, Song A, Apollonio DE. Pharmacist furnishing of hormonal contraception in California's Central Valley. J Am Pharm Assoc (2003). 2023 Aug 16.  View on PubMed
  2. Rotering T, Bialous S, Apollonio D. Cannabis industry campaign expenditures in Colorado, 2005-2021. Int J Drug Policy. 2023 Aug 07; 119:104156.  View on PubMed
  3. Matthay EC, Mousli L, Apollonio DE, Schmidt LA. Alignment in local approaches to alcohol and cannabis control policy: A case study of California cities and counties. Int J Drug Policy. 2023 Jul 11; 119:104114.  View on PubMed
  4. Ghai A, Sabour E, Salonga R, Ho R, Apollonio DE. Associations between the COVID-19 pandemic and exposures to bleach, peroxide, disinfectants, antimalarials, and ivermectin reported to the California Poison Control System (CPCS). Public Health Reports. 2023; (in press).  View on PubMed
  5. De Los Reyes G, Ng A, Valencia Chavez J, Apollonio DE, Kroon L, Lee P, Vijayaraghavan M. Evaluation of a Pharmacist-Linked Smoking Cessation Intervention for Adults Experiencing Homelessness. Subst Use Misuse. 2023; 58(12):1519-1527.  View on PubMed
  6. Gac B, Yakubi H, Apollonio DE. Issues arising from the study design, conduct, and promotion of clinical trials funded by opioid manufacturers: a review of internal pharmaceutical industry documents. Evidence & Policy. 2023; (in press).  View on PubMed
  7. Chu E, Cocos G, Lee HJ, Go J, Lewis J, Apollonio DE. Trends in concomitant and single opioid and benzodiazepine exposures reported to the California Poison Control System following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention release of opioid guidelines in 2016. Clin Toxicol (Phila). 2023 04; 61(4):305-311.  View on PubMed
  8. Wakefield T, Bialous S, Apollonio DE. Clearing cannabis criminal records: A survey of criminal record expungement availability and accessibility among US States and Washington DC that decriminalized or legalized cannabis. Int J Drug Policy. 2023 04; 114:103983.  View on PubMed
  9. Orta J, Barton C, Ilao P, Apollonio DE. A review of policies on the involuntary use of psychotropic medications among persons experiencing incarceration in the United States. Health Justice. 2023 Feb 18; 11(1):9.  View on PubMed
  10. Banawis M, Mah G, Mohsin R, Pobre J, Tracy D, Song AV, Apollonio DE. An observational study of the extent of naloxone furnishing in California Central Valley community pharmacies. J Am Pharm Assoc (2003). 2023 Mar-Apr; 63(2):566-573.  View on PubMed
  11. Yakubi H, Gac B, Apollonio DE. Industry strategies to market opioids to children and women in the USA: a content analysis of internal industry documents from 1999 to 2017 released in State of Oklahoma v. Purdue Pharma, L.P. et al. BMJ Open. 2022 11 02; 12(11):e052636.  View on PubMed
  12. Apollonio DE. Marketing Antipsychotics to Correctional Facilities: A Review of Pharmaceutical Industry Documents. J Correct Health Care. 2022 10; 28(5):325-328.  View on PubMed
  13. Matthay EC, Mousli LM, Fu C, Zhang S, Ponicki WR, Gruenewald P, Apollonio DE, Schmidt LA. Equity in Coverage of Local Cannabis Control Policies in California, 2020‒2021. Am J Public Health. 2022 11; 112(11):1640-1650.  View on PubMed
  14. Wakefield T, Glantz SA, Apollonio DE. Content Analysis of the Corporate Social Responsibility Practices of 9 Major Cannabis Companies in Canada and the US. JAMA Netw Open. 2022 08 01; 5(8):e2228088.  View on PubMed
  15. Yakubi H, Gac B, Apollonio DE. Marketing Opioids to Veterans and Older Adults: A Content Analysis of Internal Industry Documents Released from State of Oklahoma v. Purdue Pharma LP, et al. J Health Polit Policy Law. 2022 08 01; 47(4):453-472.  View on PubMed
  16. Caleb Alexander G, Mix LA, Choudhury S, Taketa R, Tomori C, Mooghali M, Fan A, Mars S, Ciccarone D, Patton M, Apollonio DE, Schmidt L, Steinman MA, Greene J, Ling PM, Seymour AK, Glantz S, Tasker K. The Opioid Industry Documents Archive: A Living Digital Repository. Am J Public Health. 2022 08; 112(8):1126-1129.  View on PubMed
  17. Matthay EC, Mousli L, Ponicki WR, Glymour MM, Apollonio DE, Schmidt LA, Gruenewald P. A Spatiotemporal Analysis of the Association of California City and County Cannabis Policies with Cannabis Outlet Densities. Epidemiology. 2022 09 01; 33(5):715-725.  View on PubMed
  18. Choi AJ, Hean AC, Lee JK, Tran ND, Lin TK, Apollonio DE. A Retrospective Global Assessment of Factors Associated With COVID-19 Policies and Health Outcomes. Front Public Health. 2022; 10:843445.  View on PubMed
  19. Carlson Z, Pham S, El-Sokkary J, Apollonio DE. Cannabis use prevalence among Baby Boomers before and after implementation of recreational retail sales in California. Subst Abuse Treat Prev Policy. 2022 03 05; 17(1):17.  View on PubMed
  20. Hartman-Filson M, Chen J, Lee P, Phan M, Apollonio DE, Kroon L, Donald F, Vijayaraghavan M. A community-based tobacco cessation program for individuals experiencing homelessness. Addict Behav. 2022 06; 129:107282.  View on PubMed

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