Research Summary

Valerie B. Yerger, ND is Professor in Health Policy at the University of California, San Francisco. She is also a licensed naturopathic doctor and a former Health Disparities Scholar of the National Institutes of Health. For the past twenty-five years, Dr. Yerger’s research and advocacy work have focused on framing the disproportionate burden of tobacco among vulnerable communities as a social injustice and informing public health policies to effectively reach and engage these communities. Her research of previously secret tobacco documents uncovered the tobacco industry’s relationships with African American leadership groups, the accumulation of nicotine in tissues containing melanin, the disproportionate marketing of menthol cigarettes in inner-city communities, and tobacco companies’ in-house research on the use of menthol as an additive in cigarettes.

For decades, Dr. Yerger has been drawing attention to the need for culturally tailored cessation approaches, especially for Black Americans and other groups heavily impacted by menthol cigarettes and evolving policy changes. As a founding member of the African American Tobacco Control Leadership Council (AATCLC), she helped spearhead a national movement to remove menthol cigarettes and other flavored tobacco products from the U.S. marketplace. Dr. Yerger initiated the State of California Tobacco Prevention Program’s examination of novel ways to holistically address the demand side of the tobacco epidemic by recognizing the social and political determinants of health as underlying barriers to tobacco prevention and smoking cessation. Dr. Yerger has provided expert guidance to the CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health, aiding in the development of targeted messages for the TIPs Campaign aimed at those who smoke menthol cigarettes.

In June 2023, she was invited to the White House’s Cancer Moonshot Initiative forum on smoking cessation. After making comments about how stress needed to be addressed as a major driver of smoking in any effort to reduce tobacco-related disparities, Dr. Yerger’s input was requested by White House staff. Dr. Yerger formed a collaborative team with members from the AATCLC, the University of California San Francisco’s Smoking Cessation Leadership Center and Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education, and other colleagues. This collaborative effort resulted in the creation of an electronic magazine to promote a free, scalable mobile app designed to provide rapid-acting stress management tools. The launch of this “e-zine” in February 2024 resulted in a remarkable 700% increase in app downloads within the first four months.

Her extensive expertise in tobacco control, community engagement, policy leadership, and training has been widely recognized, as evidenced by the numerous awards she has received, including the UCSF Chancellor Award for Public Service, the State of California Tobacco Control Program’s Carol M. Russell Award for Leadership and Vision in Tobacco Control, the Public Health Law Center’s Game Changer Award, the Truth Initiative’s Sybil G. Jacobs Outstanding Use of Tobacco Industry Documents, and most recently, as the inaugural recipient of the UCSF Claire D. Brindis Award for Community Engagement. Dr. Yerger is deeply committed to leveraging community-based research to engage advocates in the public health policy process.

 

 

Education

University of California, Berkeley, B.S., 06/1981, Natural Resources
John F. Kennedy University, M.A., 06/1985, Health Education
Bastyr University, N.D., 06/1992, Naturopathic Medicine
University of California, San Francisco, Fellowship, 05/2005, Health Policy Research

Honors & Awards

  • Inaugural Cohort of the National P.E.A.R.L. Program, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., 2019-2020
  • Certificate of Recognition, Eric Garcetti, Mayor Los Angeles, CA, 2019
  • Game Changer, Public Health Law Center, Mitchell Hamline School of Law, 2019
  • Exceptional Leadership Award, Society of Research on Nicotine and Tobacco Disparities Network, 2019
  • Phenomenal Woman Award, U.S. Senator Kamala Harris, 2019
  • Exceptional Commitment to Community Engagement, Abundant Life Health Ministries Program, UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center Office, 2018
  • Chancellor Award for Public Service, University of California, San Francisco, 2018
  • Carol M. Russell Award for Leadership and Vision in Tobacco Control, Tobacco Control Program, California Public Health Department, 2017
  • Cornelius Hopper Diversity Award, Tobacco Related Disease Research Program, University of California Office of the President, 2015-2016
  • African Heritage Award, Black Student Health Alliance of UCSF, 2015
  • Cornelius Hopper Diversity Award, Tobacco Related Disease Research Program, University of California Office of the President, 2013-2014
  • Sybil G. Jacobs Award for Outstanding Use of Tobacco Industry Documents, Truth Initiative, 2012
  • Cornelius Hopper Diversity Award, Tobacco Related Disease Research Program, University of California Office of the President, 2008-2009
  • Distinguished Alumni Award, Bastyr University, 2004
  • Health Disparities Scholar Award, National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities, 2003-2010

Selected Publications

  1. Mills SD, Rosario C, Yerger VB, Kalb MD, Ribisl KM. Recommendations to advance equity in tobacco control. Tob Control. 2024 Nov 10; 33(e2):e246-e253.  View on PubMed
  2. Watkins SL, Pieper F, Chaffee BW, Yerger VB, Ling PM, Max W. Flavored Tobacco Product Use Among Young Adults by Race and Ethnicity: Evidence From the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health Study. J Adolesc Health. 2022 08; 71(2):226-232.  View on PubMed
  3. Romeo-Stuppy K, Huber L, Toebes B, Yerger V, Senkubuge F. Tobacco industry: a barrier to social justice. Tob Control. 2022 03; 31(2):352-354.  View on PubMed
  4. Soto C, Ramos G, Martinez D, Moerner L, Salinas E, Battle R, Yerger V. A qualitative assessment of the perceptions and attitudes towards commercial tobacco policies and education among tribal communities in California. Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse. 2022 01 02; 48(1):49-57.  View on PubMed
  5. Yerger V. What more evidence is needed? Remove menthol cigarettes from the marketplace-now. Tob Control. 2022 07; 31(4):493-494.  View on PubMed
  6. Mills SD, McGruder CO, Yerger VB. The African American Tobacco Control Leadership Council: Advocating for a menthol cigarette ban in San Francisco, California. Tob Control. 2021 12; 30(e2):e150-e153.  View on PubMed
  7. Malone RE, Yerger VB. GOOD TROUBLE. Tob Control. 2020 09; 29(5):481-482.  View on PubMed
  8. Keeler C, Max W, Yerger VB, Yao T, Wang Y, Ong MK, Sung HY. Effects of Cigarette Prices on Intention to Quit, Quit Attempts, and Successful Cessation Among African American Smokers. Nicotine Tob Res. 2020 04 17; 22(4):522-531.  View on PubMed
  9. Choi K, Chen-Sankey JC, Merianos AL, McGruder C, Yerger V. Secondhand Smoke Exposure and Subsequent Academic Performance Among U.S. Youth. Am J Prev Med. 2020 06; 58(6):776-782.  View on PubMed
  10. Keeler C, Max W, Yerger V, Yao T, Ong MK, Sung HY. The Association of Menthol Cigarette Use With Quit Attempts, Successful Cessation, and Intention to Quit Across Racial/Ethnic Groups in the United States. Nicotine Tob Res. 2017 Nov 07; 19(12):1450-1464.  View on PubMed
  11. King G, Moolchan ET, Bendel RB, Yerger VB. Tanning Capacity and Nicotine Dependence Among African Americans. J Natl Med Assoc. 2018 Aug; 110(4):358-366.  View on PubMed
  12. Yao T, Ong MK, Max W, Keeler C, Wang Y, Yerger VB, Sung HY. Responsiveness to cigarette prices by different racial/ethnic groups of US adults. Tob Control. 2018 05; 27(3):301-309.  View on PubMed
  13. Lempert LK, Yerger V, Glantz SA. Letter by Lempert et al Regarding Article, "Menthol and Nonmenthol Cigarette Smoking: All-Cause Deaths, Cardiovascular Disease Deaths, and Other Causes of Death Among Blacks and Whites". Circulation. 2016 Aug 30; 134(9):e119-20.  View on PubMed
  14. McDaniel PA, Offen N, Yerger V, Forsyth S, Malone RE. "Tired of watching customers walk out the door because of the smoke": a content analysis of media coverage of voluntarily smokefree restaurants and bars. BMC Public Health. 2015 Aug 08; 15:761.  View on PubMed
  15. Carol B. Cunradi, Roland S. Moore, Robynn S. Battle, Valerie B. Yerger. Smoking, Work Stress, and Barriers to Participation in HMO Smoking Cessation Treatment Among Transit Workers: Focus Group Results. Journal of Workplace Behavioral Health. 2015 Jul 3; 30(3):272-286.  View on PubMed
  16. Battle RS, Cunradi CB, Moore RS, Yerger VB. Smoking cessation among transit workers: beliefs and perceptions among an at-risk occupational group. Subst Abuse Treat Prev Policy. 2015 May 13; 10:19.  View on PubMed
  17. Yerger VB, Battle RS, Moore RS. Evaluating the implementation process of a citywide smoke-free multiunit housing ordinance: insights from community stakeholders. Am J Public Health. 2014 Oct; 104(10):1889-91.  View on PubMed
  18. McDaniel PA, Offen N, Yerger VB, Malone RE. "A breath of fresh air worth spreading": media coverage of retailer abandonment of tobacco sales. Am J Public Health. 2014 Mar; 104(3):562-9.  View on PubMed
  19. Yerger VB, Cataldo JK, Malone RE. Older smokers could be the strongest supporters for U.S. government regulation of tobacco: a focus group study. Tob Induc Dis. 2013 Aug 17; 11(1):17.  View on PubMed
  20. Malone RE, McGruder C, Froelicher ES, Yerger VB. Being part of something: transformative outcomes of a community-based participatory study. Health Promot Pract. 2013 Mar; 14(2):205-12.  View on PubMed

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