Research Summary

Justin White, PhD, is Associate Professor in the Department of Health Law, Policy and Management at Boston University School of Public Health. He is also Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at UCSF School of Medicine. Dr. White is a health economist who conducts research to evaluate the effects of interventions and policies on behavioral risk factors for chronic disease and related health outcomes in underserved populations. Much of his recent work has focused on tobacco use and nutrition. In one stream of research, Dr. White applies quasi-experimental econometric techniques to evaluate the effects of social and economic policies on mitigating chronic disease risk. Recent and ongoing evaluation projects focus on: taxation of unhealthy products, cash and food assistance programs, and poverty alleviation programs. In a second stream, he designs and implements incentive-based interventions to change health behavior among low-income groups, evaluated through randomized trials and informed by insights from the field of behavioral economics. Recent and ongoing interventional studies focus on: smoking cessation and prevention, diet, and oral health.

Dr. White holds a PhD in health policy and a concurrent MA in economics from UC Berkeley and an MSPH in health policy from UNC Chapel Hill. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship in cardiovascular disease prevention at Stanford University's Prevention Research Center.

Research Funding

  • January 1, 2020 - December 31, 2021 - A Pilot Trial of Gamification for Enhancing a Smoking Cessation App. , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R21CA238301

Education

Bucknell University, B.A., 05/2002, Chemistry

University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, M.S.P.H., 05/2007, Health Policy

University of California, Berkeley, M.A., 01/2009, Economics

University of California, Berkeley, Ph.D., 05/2013, Health Policy (Health Economics)

Stanford University, Postdoctoral, 07/2015, Cardiovascular Disease Prevention

Honors & Awards

  • 2005-2006
    Graduate School Merit Assistantship, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC
  • 2007
    Jean G. Yates Health Policy Award, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC
  • 2007-2009
    Berkeley Fellowship for Graduate Study, University of California, Berkeley, CA
  • 2010
    Tobacco-Related Disparities Scholarship, Society for Research on Nicotine & Tobacco
  • 2012
    Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor Award, University of California, Berkeley, CA
  • 2009-2012
    NIH/NIA Predoctoral Training Fellowship, University of California, Berkeley, CA
  • 2013-2015
    NIH/NHLBI Postdoctoral Training Fellowship, Stanford University, Stanford, CA
  • 2015
    Postdoctoral Fellowship, American Heart Association
  • 2018
    Hellman Family Fellowship for Early-Career Faculty

Selected Publications

  1. Philbin MM, Dhatt Z, Jacques T, Colonna R, Andersen-Rodgers E, White JS. Retailer perceptions of California's statewide sales restriction on flavoured tobacco: lessons from qualitative interviews with tobacco retailers across four diverse jurisdictions. Tob Control. 2025 Apr 09.  View on PubMed
  2. Kim MH, Frøslev T, White JS, Glymour MM, Ilango SD, Sørensen HT, Pedersen L, Hamad R. Kim et al respond to "Dispersal policies, neighborhood disadvantage, and refugee health in a Nordic context". Am J Epidemiol. 2025 Mar 04; 194(3):649-650.  View on PubMed
  3. Kim MH, Frøslev T, White JS, Glymour MM, Ilango SD, Sørensen HT, Pedersen L, Hamad R. Mediating pathways between neighborhood disadvantage and cardiovascular risk: quasi-experimental evidence from a Danish refugee dispersal policy. Am J Epidemiol. 2025 Mar 04; 194(3):635-644.  View on PubMed
  4. Santiago-Rodriguez EJ, Shariff-Marco S, Bailey ZD, White JS, Allen IE, Hiatt RA. Residential segregation and colorectal cancer screening in the United States, 2010-2018. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2025 Feb 19.  View on PubMed
  5. Wells WM, White JS, Collin DF, Wang G, Modrek S, Hamad R. Effects of US state paid family leave policies on perinatal and postpartum health: A quasi-experimental analysis. Am J Epidemiol. 2025 Feb 07.  View on PubMed
  6. White JS, Atherwood S, Apollonio DE. Effect of a minimum floor price law for tobacco products on tobacco sales in Oakland, California, USA: a synthetic difference-in-differences analysis. Tob Control. 2025 Jan 19.  View on PubMed
  7. Dore EC, Wright E, White JS, Hamad R. Methods Used to Evaluate the Health Effects of Social Policies: A Systematic Review. Curr Epidemiol Rep. 2025; 12.  View on PubMed
  8. Wang G, White JS, Hamad R. The end of court-ordered desegregation and US children's health: quasi-experimental evidence. Am J Epidemiol. 2024 Nov 04; 193(11):1530-1540.  View on PubMed
  9. Foverskov E, White JS, Frøslev T, Pedersen L, Sørensen HT, Hamad R. Neighborhood Disadvantage and Birth Outcomes Among Refugees. Pediatrics. 2024 Nov 01; 154(5).  View on PubMed
  10. White JS, Toussaert S, Raiff BR, Salem MK, Chiang AY, Crane D, Warrender E, Lyles CR, Abroms LC, Westmaas JL, Thrul J. Evaluating the Impact of a Game (Inner Dragon) on User Engagement Within a Leading Smartphone App for Smoking Cessation: Randomized Controlled Trial. J Med Internet Res. 2024 Oct 30; 26:e57839.  View on PubMed
  11. White JS, Hamad R. Paid Family Leave and Acute Respiratory Tract Infections. JAMA Pediatr. 2024 Oct 01; 178(10):973-975.  View on PubMed
  12. Khadka A, Pacca L, Glymour MM, Bibbins-Domingo K, White JS, Basu S, Jiang F, Vable AM. Impact of Vietnam-era G.I. Bill eligibility on later-life blood pressure distribution: evidence from the Vietnam draft lottery natural experiment. Am J Epidemiol. 2024 Sep 17.  View on PubMed
  13. Mitnick M, Goodwin S, Bubna M, White JS, Raiff BR. Acceptability of heart rate-based remote monitoring of smoking status. Addict Behav Rep. 2024 Dec; 20:100561.  View on PubMed
  14. Wang G, Hamad R, White JS. Advances in Difference-in-differences Methods for Policy Evaluation Research. Epidemiology. 2024 Sep 01; 35(5):628-637.  View on PubMed
  15. Schwartz GL, Wang G, Kim MH, Glymour MM, White JS, Collin D, Hamad R. Individual and regional differences in the effects of school racial segregation on Black students' health. SSM Popul Health. 2024 Jun; 26:101681.  View on PubMed
  16. Modrek S, Collin DF, Hamad R, White JS. Medicaid Expansion and Perinatal Health Outcomes: A Quasi-Experimental Study. Matern Child Health J. 2024 May; 28(5):959-968.  View on PubMed
  17. Kaplan S, White JS, Madsen KA, Basu S, Villas-Boas SB, Schillinger D. Evaluation of Changes in Prices and Purchases Following Implementation of Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Taxes Across the US. JAMA Health Forum. 2024 Jan 05; 5(1):e234737.  View on PubMed
  18. Villas-Boas SB, Kaplan S, White JS, Hsia RY. Adolescent Total and Mental Health-Related Emergency Department Visits During the COVID-19 Pandemic. JAMA Netw Open. 2023 10 02; 6(10):e2336463.  View on PubMed
  19. Schwartz GL, Chiang AY, Wang G, Kim MH, White JS, Hamad R. Testing mediating pathways between school segregation and health: Evidence on peer prejudice and health behaviors. Soc Sci Med. 2023 10; 335:116214.  View on PubMed
  20. Yuan P, Westmaas JL, Thrul J, Toussaert S, Hilton JF, White JS. Effectiveness of Peer-Support Interventions for Smoking Cessation: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Nicotine Tob Res. 2023 08 19; 25(9):1515-1524.  View on PubMed

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