Research Summary

Justin White, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Health Economics in the UCSF School of Medicine, with joint appointments in the Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies and the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics. He is also an affiliate of the Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education, the Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, and the Institute for Global Health Sciences at UCSF.

He studies the effects of interventions and policies on chronic disease risk factors, notably smoking cessation, and related health outcomes in underserved populations. 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

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. Kim MH, Foverskov E, Frøslev T, White JS, Glymour MM, Hainmueller J, Pedersen L, Sørensen HT, Hamad R. Neighborhood disadvantage and the risk of dementia and mortality among refugees to Denmark: A quasi-experimental study. SSM Popul Health. 2023 Mar; 21:101312.  View on PubMed
  2. Lyu JC, Afolabi A, White JS, Ling PM. Perceptions and Aspirations Toward Peer Mentoring in Social Media-Based Electronic Cigarette Cessation Interventions for Adolescents and Young Adults: Focus Group Study. JMIR Form Res. 2022 Dec 01; 6(12):e42538.  View on PubMed
  3. Foverskov E, White JS, Frøslev T, Sørensen HT, Hamad R. Risk of Psychiatric Disorders Among Refugee Children and Adolescents Living in Disadvantaged Neighborhoods. JAMA Pediatr. 2022 11 01; 176(11):1107-1114.  View on PubMed
  4. Roh ME, Mpimbaza A, Oundo B, Irish A, Murphy M, Wu SL, White JS, Shiboski S, Glymour MM, Gosling R, Dorsey G, Sturrock H. Association between indoor residual spraying and pregnancy outcomes: a quasi-experimental study from Uganda. Int J Epidemiol. 2022 10 13; 51(5):1489-1501.  View on PubMed
  5. Matthay EC, Smith ML, Glymour MM, White JS, Gradus JL. Opportunities and challenges in using instrumental variables to study causal effects in nonrandomized stress and trauma research. Psychol Trauma. 2022 Oct 13.  View on PubMed
  6. Kim MH, Schwartz GL, White JS, Glymour MM, Reardon SF, Kershaw KN, Gomez SL, Collin DF, Inamdar PP, Wang G, Hamad R. School racial segregation and long-term cardiovascular health among Black adults in the US: A quasi-experimental study. PLoS Med. 2022 06; 19(6):e1004031.  View on PubMed
  7. Foverskov E, White JS, Norredam M, Fr?slev T, Kim MH, Glymour MM, Pedersen L, S?rensen HT, Hamad R. Neighbourhood socioeconomic disadvantage and psychiatric disorders among refugees: a population-based, quasi-experimental study in Denmark. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2022 May 21.  View on PubMed
  8. Wang G, Schwartz GL, Kim MH, White JS, Glymour MM, Reardon S, Kershaw KN, Gomez SL, Inamdar PP, Hamad R. School Racial Segregation and the Health of Black Children. Pediatrics. 2022 05 01; 149(5).  View on PubMed
  9. Triyana M, White JS. Non-monetary incentives for tobacco prevention among youth in Indonesia. J Health Econ. 2022 05; 83:102620.  View on PubMed
  10. Falbe J, White JS, Sigala DM, Grummon AH, Solar SE, Powell LM. The Potential for Healthy Checkout Policies to Advance Nutrition Equity. Nutrients. 2021 Nov 22; 13(11).  View on PubMed
  11. Kim KM, White JS, Max W, Chapman SA, Muench U. Evaluation of Clinical and Economic Outcomes Following Implementation of a Medicare Pay-for-Performance Program for Surgical Procedures. JAMA Netw Open. 2021 08 02; 4(8):e2121115.  View on PubMed
  12. Irish AM, White JS, Modrek S, Hamad R. Paid Family Leave and Mental Health in the U.S.: A Quasi-Experimental Study of State Policies. Am J Prev Med. 2021 08; 61(2):182-191.  View on PubMed
  13. Salloum RG, D'Angelo H, Theis RP, Rolland B, Hohl S, Pauk D, LeLaurin JH, Asvat Y, Chen LS, Day AT, Goldstein AO, Hitsman B, Hudson D, King AC, Lam CY, Lenhoff K, Levinson AH, Prochaska J, Smieliauskas F, Taylor K, Thomas J, Tindle H, Tong E, White JS, Vogel WB, Warren GW, Fiore M. Mixed-methods economic evaluation of the implementation of tobacco treatment programs in National Cancer Institute-designated cancer centers. Implement Sci Commun. 2021 Apr 09; 2(1):41.  View on PubMed
  14. Kadota JL, Nabwire S, Nalugwa T, White JS, Cattamanchi A, Katamba A, Shete PB. Patient Perspectives and Willingness to Accept Incentives for Tuberculosis Diagnostic Evaluation in Uganda. Value Health Reg Issues. 2021 Sep; 25:48-56.  View on PubMed
  15. Collin DF, Shields-Zeeman LS, Batra A, White JS, Tong M, Hamad R. The effects of state earned income tax credits on mental health and health behaviors: A quasi-experimental study. Soc Sci Med. 2021 05; 276:113274.  View on PubMed
  16. Boettiger DC, White JS. Effects of a minimum floor Price law on cigarette use in Oakland, California: A static microsimulation model. Prev Med. 2021 04; 145:106444.  View on PubMed
  17. Kim KM, Max W, White JS, Chapman SA, Muench U. Do penalty-based pay-for-performance programs improve surgical care more effectively than other payment strategies? A systematic review. Ann Med Surg (Lond). 2020 Dec; 60:623-630.  View on PubMed
  18. Chaffee BW, Werts M, White JS, Couch ET, Urata J, Cheng J, Kearns C. Beverage Advertisement Receptivity Associated With Sugary Drink Intake and Harm Perceptions Among California Adolescents. Am J Health Promot. 2021 05; 35(4):525-532.  View on PubMed
  19. Buckell J, White JS, Shang C. Can incentive-compatibility reduce hypothetical bias in smokers’ experimental choice behavior? A randomized discrete choice experiment. Journal of Choice Modelling. 2020; (37):100255.  View on PubMed
  20. White JS, Lowenstein C, Srivirojana N, Jampaklay A, Dow WH. Incentive programmes for smoking cessation: cluster randomized trial in workplaces in Thailand. BMJ. 2020 10 14; 371:m3797.  View on PubMed

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