Research Summary

Dr. Nguyen is a substance use researcher whose research program focuses on the co-use of tobacco/nicotine and cannabis. Her team develops innovative digital and mobile health interventions to reduce nicotine and cannabis vaping. Her research integrates ecological momentary assessment (EMA), just-in-time adaptive interventions (JITAIs), AI-powered chatbots, wearable technologies, and machine learning to deliver personalized, context-sensitive interventions. Her work has been supported by the National Institutes of Health, the California Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program, the US Department of Veterans Affairs Health Services Research and Development, and the Hellman Fellows Program.

Dr. Nguyen is the founder and director of the HEARTY Lab, where she leads a multidisciplinary team dedicated to advancing technology-enabled solutions that reduce substance use and improve public health.

As a committed mentor, Dr. Nguyen has mentored trainees at every stage of the research pipeline, including undergraduate students, master's and PhD students, medical students, and postdoctoral fellows, fostering the next generation of scientists and health researchers.

Research Funding

  • February 15, 2024 - January 31, 2029 - V-QUIT project: Developing a smartphone-based intervention targeting high-risk situations of nicotine vaping among young adults , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH/NIDA, Sponsor Award ID: K01DA056693
  • July 1, 2026 - June 30, 2028 - D-QUIT project: An AI-powered chatbot targeting nicotine and cannabis dual vaping cessation in young adults , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: California Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program - Pilot Award, Sponsor Award ID: T36IP10313
  • July 1, 2024 - June 30, 2027 - L-QUIT project: Feasibility and acceptability of a smartphone-based geofencing intervention for vaping cessation among young adults , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: UCSF Hellman Foundation Fellowship, Sponsor Award ID: unknown
  • August 1, 2022 - July 31, 2026 - CO-VAPING project: Real-time predictors of nicotine and cannabis vaping among young adults , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: California Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program - New Investigator Award, Sponsor Award ID: T32KT5071
  • July 1, 2022 - June 30, 2023 - DUAL-TOBACCO project: Developing a smartphone-based tobacco cessation intervention for young adults who use both cigarettes and e-cigarettes , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: UCSF RAP-CTSI Pilot Award, Sponsor Award ID: UL1 TR001872-06
  • July 1, 2020 - June 30, 2023 - CO-USE project: Tobacco and cannabis co-use among young adults: A multi-method analytic approach , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: California Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program - Postdoctoral Fellowship Award, Sponsor Award ID: T31FT1564
  • September 1, 2020 - August 31, 2021 - VAPING project: Impact of new e-cigarette devices and harm perception on tobacco use among young adults , Leader of Rapid Response Project . Sponsor: UCSF Tobacco Center of Regulatory Science, Sponsor Award ID: U54HL147127

Education

2023 - Innovations for Substance Use Disorders, Johns Hopkins Carey Business School
2021 - mHealth Training Institute, University of California, Los Angeles
PhD, 2014 - Epidemiology, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
BS, 2008 - Pharmacy, Hanoi University of Pharmacy, Vietnam

Honors & Awards

  • Robert H. Crede Award for Excellence in Research, UCSF Division of General Internal Medicine, 2026
  • Excellence in Teaching Award, UCSF Haile T. Debas Academy of Medical Educators, 2026
  • DigiStars Scholar, University of Utah Digital Health Initiative, 2025
  • Hellman Fellowship, Hellman Fellows Program, 2024
  • Research in Implementation Science for Equity (RISE) Fellowship, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, 2024
  • Diversity Institute for Emerging Leaders, Society of Behavioral Medicine, 2024
  • Outstanding Abstract Award, Society of Behavioral Medicine, 2023
  • Emerging Health Equity Scholar Award, UCSF Multiethnic Health Equity Research Center, 2023
  • NIDA Diversity Scholars Network Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2021
  • Meritorious Abstract Award, Society of Behavioral Medicine, 2021
  • T32 Postdoctoral Fellowship, National Cancer Institute, 2018-2020
  • International Fellowship, American Association of University Women, 2012
  • Predoctoral Fellowship, Vietnam Education Foundation, 2010-2012

Selected Publications

  1. Han JJ, Desjardins MR, McQuoid J, Devkota J, Waring JJC, Lopez-Paguyo K, Nguyen N, Ling PM, Thrul J. Detecting spatiotemporal clusters of tobacco and cannabis use and co-use to inform smartphone-based interventions. Exp Clin Psychopharmacol. 2025 Dec; 33(6):645-654. View on PubMed
  2. Do VV, Núñez ER, Wilder FG, Nguyen N. Negative social determinants of health are linked to lung cancer screening underutilization. View on PubMed
  3. Tran TPT, Tran C, Ling PM, Popova L, Nguyen N. Applying Human-Centered Design to Develop Smartphone-Based Intervention Messages to Help Young Adults Quit Using E-Cigarettes and Cigarettes: A Remote User Testing Study. JMIR Hum Factors. 2025 09 18; 12:e76503. View on PubMed
  4. Do VV, Ta Park VM, Nguyen N, Ling PM, Tzuang M, Nam B, Dougan MM, Meyer OL, Tsoh JY. Use of Cigarettes, Cannabis, and Alcohol Among Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Adults: Community-Based National Survey Analysis. JMIR Public Health Surveill. 2025 08 20; 11:e76465. View on PubMed
  5. Do VV, Ling PM, Keyhani S, Marcus GM, Thrul J, Nguyen N. Real-Time Antecedents of Young Adults' Vaping and Co-Vaping of Nicotine and Cannabis: An Ecological Momentary Assessment Study. J Med Internet Res. 2025 Aug 14; 27:e75695. View on PubMed
  6. Temourian AA, Ling PM, Do VV, Nguyen N. Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Cannabis Use Among U.S. Youth Who Use Tobacco: Findings From the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health Study. AJPM Focus. 2025 Oct; 4(5):100392. View on PubMed
  7. Regan T, Devkota J, McQuoid J, Lopez-Paguyo K, Nguyen N, Meacham MC, Ling PM, Thrul J. Real-time antecedents of cannabis use among young adults: An Ecological Momentary Assessment study. Exp Clin Psychopharmacol. 2025 Aug; 33(4):396-406. View on PubMed
  8. Halliday DM, Song AV, Nguyen N. E-cigarette and cannabis use among current and recently quit smokers: Co-use and Co-cessation. Addict Behav Rep. 2025 Jun; 21:100611. View on PubMed
  9. Nguyen N, Satterfield JM, Keyhani S, Marcus GM, Ling PM. Barriers and facilitators to nicotine and cannabis vaping cessation among young adults: a qualitative study using Capability, Opportunity, Motivation, and Behavior (COM-B) model and Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF). Ann Behav Med. 2025 01 04; 59(1). View on PubMed
  10. Nguyen N, Keyhani S, Marcus GM, Do VV, Halliday DM, Herbst ED, Ling PM. Vaping nicotine and cannabis on the same occasion is linked to increased vaping consumption among young adults: A smartphone-based daily diary study. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2025 01 01; 266:112517. View on PubMed
  11. Nguyen N, Leonard S, Cohen BE, Herbst ED, Hoggatt KJ, Keyhani S. Receipt of Smoking Cessation Medications and Smoking Abstinence Among Veterans Prescribed Opioid Analgesics With and Without Cannabis Use. J Gen Intern Med. 2025 May; 40(7):1672-1675. View on PubMed
  12. Pravosud V, Glantz S, Keyhani S, Ling PM, Lempert LK, Hoggatt KJ, Hasin D, Nguyen N, Graham FJL, Cohen BE. Cannabis legalization and changes in cannabis and tobacco/nicotine use and co-use in a national cohort of U.S. adults during 2017-2021. Int J Drug Policy. 2024 12; 134:104618. View on PubMed
  13. Graham FJL, Keyhani S, Ling P, Pravosud V, Nguyen N, Hasin DS, Cohen BE. Changes in Sources of Information About the Risks and Benefits of Cannabis in a National Cohort of U.S. Adults From 2017 to 2021. J Stud Alcohol Drugs. 2025 Jul; 86(4):563-570. View on PubMed
  14. Nguyen N, Koester KA, Tran C, Ling PM. Desires and Needs for Quitting Both e-Cigarettes and Cigarettes Among Young Adults: Formative Qualitative Study Informing the Development of a Smartphone Intervention for Dual Tobacco Cessation. JMIR Form Res. 2024 10 22; 8:e63156. View on PubMed
  15. Nguyen N, Koester KA, Kim M, Watkins SL, Ling PM. "I'm both smoking and vaping": a longitudinal qualitative study of US young adults who tried to quit smoking cigarettes by using electronic cigarettes. Tob Control. 2024 09 25; 33(5):596-602. View on PubMed
  16. Nguyen N, Bold KW, McClure EA. Urgent need for treatment addressing co-use of tobacco and cannabis: An updated review and considerations for future interventions. Addict Behav. 2024 Nov; 158:108118. View on PubMed
  17. McQuoid J, Regan T, Devkota J, Cheney MK, Kumar V, Oehlers J, Lopez-Paguyo K, Nguyen N, Meacham MC, Ling PM, Thrul J. Situations and roles of cannabis versus cigarette use: Integrating ecological momentary assessment with qualitative mapping interviews. Health Place. 2024 09; 89:103314. View on PubMed
  18. Do VV, Ling PM, Chaffee BW, Nguyen N. Concurrent Use of Tobacco and Cannabis and Internalizing and Externalizing Problems in US Youths. JAMA Netw Open. 2024 07 01; 7(7):e2419976. View on PubMed
  19. Waring JJC, Nguyen N, Ling PM, Thrul J. Quantity of cigarettes smoked when co-used with alcohol and cannabis: Consideration of different definitions of co-use based on daily diary data. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2024 05 01; 258:111264. View on PubMed
  20. Glantz SA, Nguyen N, Oliveira da Silva AL. Population-Based Disease Odds for E-Cigarettes and Dual Use versus Cigarettes. NEJM Evid. 2024 Mar; 3(3):EVIDoa2300229. View on PubMed

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