Maya Vijayaraghavan, MD, MAS

Maya Vijayaraghavan, MD, MAS

Steven A. Schroeder Distinguished Professorship in Health and Health Care, UCSF

Assistant Professor in Residence, Department of Medicine, UCSF

Cancer Center Program Membership

Cancer Control

[email protected]

Phone: (415) 206-6959

Box 1211, UCSF
San Francisco, CA 94118-1211

UCSF Profiles

Research Summary

Dr. Vijayaraghavan is a practicing general internist and a researcher in tobacco control with a focus on populations experiencing homelessness. She is the Director of the UCSF Smoking Cessation Leadership Center, a Center focused on eliminating disparities in tobacco use prevalence among behavioral health populations. Through her work, she has intervened at the individual, community, health systems and policy levels to help increase access to cessation services. Her intervention research, funded by the NCI, TRDRP, NIMHD, and SFCAN, stems from collaborations with community organizations and healthcare systems. She has collaborated with homeless shelters and supportive housing to implement interventions to increase access to smoking cessation services and smoke-free policies for people who have experienced homelessness. Here team leads three studies: 1) a cluster randomized controlled trial of a smoke-free home intervention for formerly homeless adults in 38 permanent supportive housing sites in the San Francisco Bay Area; 2) a contingency management smoking cessation intervention for adults experiencing homelessness and engaged in primary care in the safety-net clinics; and 3) a community-pharmacy linked cessation program for people experiencing homelessness. She co-directs a NIDA-funded postdoctoral training program at the Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education, focused on tobacco and substance use related research. Dr. Vijayaraghavan received her Bachelors in Science from Brown University, her medical degree from Boston University of School of Medicine, and complete an internal medicine residency at Columbia University Medical Center.

Research Funding

  • August 15, 2023 - August 14, 2028 - A smoke-free home intervention in federally subsidized housing , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: Minority Health and Health Disparities Research, Sponsor Award ID: 1R01MD016898-01A1 12
  • July 1, 2023 - June 30, 2028 - Postdoctoral Training in Tobacco Control , MPI . Sponsor: NIH/NIDA, Sponsor Award ID: T32DA057216
  • September 16, 2021 - August 31, 2026 - Integrating tobacco use cessation into Family AIDS Care and Education Services (FACES) in Kisumu, Kenya , Co-Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: U01CA261620
  • July 1, 2024 - June 30, 2026 - Eliminating large tobacco-related disparities in access to tobacco treatment among behavioral health populations , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Sponsor Award ID:
  • March 3, 2021 - March 2, 2026 - A community-based trial of a voluntary smoke-free home intervention in permanent supportive housing for formerly homeless adults , Principal investigator . Sponsor: National cancer institute, Sponsor Award ID: R37 CA248448-01A1
  • March 3, 2021 - February 28, 2026 - A community-based trial of a voluntary smoke-free home intervention in permanent supportive housing for formerly homeless adults , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R37CA248448
  • July 1, 2020 - June 30, 2024 - Randomized trial of a contingency management smoking cessation intervention for homeless adults , Principal investigator . Sponsor: Tobacco Related Disease Research Program, Sponsor Award ID: T31IP1593
  • July 1, 2020 - June 30, 2024 - Promote smoking cessation and smoke-free environments in San Francisco low income and high cancer risk populations , PI . Sponsor: San Francisco Cancer Initiative, Sponsor Award ID:

Education

Brown University, Sc.B, 05/1999, Biology
Boston University School of Medicine, MD, 05/2006, Medicine
University of California, San Francisco, MAS, 06/2011, Clinical Research

Honors & Awards

  • 2005
    Alpha Omega Alpha, Medical Honor Society
  • 2006
    Glasgow-Rubin Achievement Citation, American Medical Women's Association
  • 2006
    Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award, Arnold P. Gold Foundation
  • 2009
    Joseph N. Muschel House Staff Award for Humanism and Excellence in Medicine
  • 2015
    Award for poster presentation in the category of Public Health in Action, Public Health Research Day, UCSD, April 9, 2015

Selected Publications

  1. Gu D, Xia F, Vijayaraghavan M. Tobacco treatment and policies in mental health and substance use treatment facilities in the US. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2025 Jun 01; 271:112639.  View on PubMed
  2. Kui K, Hailozian C, Thai M, Chakravarty D, Apollonio DE, Kroon L, Vijayaraghavan M. Tobacco cessation, mental health, and substance use in a community pharmacist-linked cessation program for people experiencing homelessness. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2025 Feb 01; 267:112527.  View on PubMed
  3. Hawes MR, Chakravarty D, Xia F, Max W, Kushel M, Vijayaraghavan M. The Built Environment, PTSD Symptoms, and Tobacco Use among Permanent Supportive Housing Residents. J Community Health. 2025 Apr; 50(2):369-376.  View on PubMed
  4. Vijayaraghavan M, Bonniot C, Satterfield J, Clark B, Xia F, Cheng C, Safier J, Pamatmat M, Schroeder SA. State Leadership Academies to reduce cigarette smoking among people with behavioral health conditions in the United States. Prev Med Rep. 2024 Nov; 47:102896.  View on PubMed
  5. Alway J, Gomez JO, Lee P, Cuby J, Chakravarty D, Vijayaraghavan M. Supporting Research Staff Working With People Experiencing Homelessness: Integrating Trauma-Informed and Resilience-Building Approaches Into Community-Engaged Research Studies. Health Promot Pract. 2024 Sep 30; 15248399241275619.  View on PubMed
  6. Kwena ZA, Bukusi EA, Ongeri L, Shade SB, Vijayaraghavan M, Odhiambo FA, Ogala CO, Cohen CR, Magati P, Olando YA, Rota G, Chatterjee P, Osula CA, Nutor JJ, Bialous SS. Understanding HIV care providers' support for tobacco cessation among people living with HIV in Western Kenya: a formative qualitative study. BMJ Public Health. 2024 Jun; 2(1):e000776.  View on PubMed
  7. Gorrilla AA, Kaye JT, Pavlik J, Bonniot C, Vijayaraghavan M, Conner KL, Morris CD. A Call for Health Equity in Tobacco Control and Treatment for the Justice-Involved Population. Am J Prev Med. 2024 Oct; 67(4):631-636.  View on PubMed
  8. Vijayaraghavan M, Elser H, Delucchi K, Tsoh JY, Lynch K, Weiser SD, Riley ED. Distinct patterns of cigarette smoking intensity and other substance use among women who experience housing instability. Addict Behav. 2024 09; 156:108066.  View on PubMed
  9. Gu D, Rafferty H, Vijayaraghavan M. Factors Associated with Smoking Cessation and the Receipt of Cessation Services in a Public, Safety-Net Primary Care System. J Gen Intern Med. 2024 Jul; 39(9):1657-1665.  View on PubMed
  10. Elser H, Vijayaraghavan M, Kasner SE. E-Cigarettes and Stroke Risk-Present Uncertainties and Future Directions. JAMA Neurol. 2023 09 01; 80(9):883-884.  View on PubMed
  11. 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
  12. Vijayaraghavan M, Hartman-Filson M, Vyas P, Katyal T, Nguyen T, Handley MA. Multi-Level Influences of Smoke-Free Policies in Subsidized Housing: Applying the COM-B Model and Neighborhood Assessments to Inform Smoke-Free Policies. Health Promot Pract. 2025 Jan; 26(1):142-157.  View on PubMed
  13. Miller J, Cuby J, Hall SM, Stitzer M, Kushel M, Appiah D, Vijayaraghavan M. Tobacco use behaviors and views on engaging in clinical trials for tobacco cessation among individuals who experience homelessness. Contemp Clin Trials Commun. 2023 Apr; 32:101094.  View on PubMed
  14. Molina MF, Hall SM, Stitzer M, Kushel M, Chakravarty D, Vijayaraghavan M. Contingency management to promote smoking cessation in people experiencing homelessness: Leveraging the electronic health record in a pilot, pragmatic randomized controlled trial. PLoS One. 2022; 17(12):e0278870.  View on PubMed
  15. Odes R, Alway J, Kushel M, Max W, Vijayaraghavan M. The smoke-free home study: study protocol for a cluster randomized controlled trial of a smoke-free home intervention in permanent supportive housing. BMC Public Health. 2022 11 14; 22(1):2076.  View on PubMed
  16. Lowenstein M, Karliner L, Livaudais-Toman J, Gregorich S, Velazquez AI, Vijayaraghavan M, Walsh JME, Kaplan CP. Barriers and Facilitators to Lung Cancer Screening: A Physician Survey. Am J Health Promot. 2022 09; 36(7):1208-1212.  View on PubMed
  17. Hiatt RA, Sibley A, Venkatesh B, Cheng J, Dixit N, Fox R, Ling P, Nguyen T, Oh D, Palmer NR, Pasick RJ, Potter MB, Somsouk M, Vargas RA, Vijayaraghavan M, Ashworth A. From Cancer Epidemiology to Policy and Practice: the Role of a Comprehensive Cancer Center. Curr Epidemiol Rep. 2022; 9(1):10-21.  View on PubMed
  18. Miller J, Vijayaraghavan M. Tobacco Industry Efforts to Respond to Smoke-Free Policies in Multi-Unit Housing: An Evaluation of Tobacco Industry Documents. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 03 05; 19(5).  View on PubMed
  19. Martinez J, Jafry MZ, Chen TA, Businelle MS, Kendzor DE, Britton M, Vijayaraghavan M, Reitzel LR. Guest Support for Outdoor Smoke-Free Policies within a Homeless Shelter. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 02 19; 19(4).  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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