UMTRN: The University of Michigan Tobacco Research Network: Who We Are

UMTRN: Who We Are

UMTRN is a network of University of Michigan scholars and select outside experts who share a commitment to tobacco and nicotine research. The University of Michigan is privileged to be home to one of the largest and strongest contingents of tobacco and nicotine researchers in the world. Our members span many disciplines and areas of expertise, ranging from basic biological research on nicotine addiction to the impacts of policy on smoking and other tobacco use. UMTRN members are dedicated to applying research findings for the public good.

Mission

Our mission is to increase the quality of research on tobacco and nicotine, as well as its utility by:

Disseminating information about University of Michigan tobacco researchers and their work
Creating a forum within the University for the interdisciplinary exchange of ideas
Enhancing tobacco education and training opportunities, both within and outside of the University
Enriching tobacco research on campus by supporting researchers new to the field or to the University
Alerting UMTRN members to grant opportunities and job and postdoctoral fellowship announcements

Leadership

UMTRN’s director is Clifford E. Douglas, J.D., an adjunct professor at the School of Public Health in the Department of Health Management and Policy, and a co-principal investigator for the Center for the Assessment of Tobacco Regulations at the University of Michigan. The Network’s founding director is Dr. Kenneth Warner, former Dean of the School of Public Health and the Avedis Donabedian Distinguished University Professor of Public Health.

Clifford Douglas, JD
University of Michigan
Clifford Douglas, JD
University of Michigan: Adjunct Professor, University of Michigan School of Public Health
Role: Director, UMTRN
Profile: sph.umich.edu
Cliff Douglas is an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Health Management and Policy at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. He is a long-time expert on a wide range of tobacco-related policy, regulatory and legal issues, ranging from federal regulation of tobacco products and the challenges and potential benefits of e-cigarettes to the widening disparities in the smoking population. As director of the University of Michigan Tobacco Research Network, he leads the Smoke-Free Environments Law Project, a 20-year-old statewide project that provides information, consultation and advice for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, local units of government, tobacco control advocates, and communities regarding evidence-based policies and practices to protect Michigan residents from the harmful effects of tobacco. He also recently served as the American Cancer Society’s Vice President for Tobacco Control and as the founding Director of ACS’s Center for Tobacco Control from 2015 to 2020.
Kenneth E. Warner, PhD
University of Michigan
Kenneth E. Warner, PhD
University of Michigan: Avedis Donabedian Distinguished University Professor Emeritus of Public Health; Dean Emeritus, School of Public Health
Role: Founding Director of UMTRN
Profile: sph.umich.edu
Dr. Kenneth Warner is the Avedis Donabedian Distinguished University Professor Emeritus of Public Health, Professor Emeritus of Health Management & Policy, and Dean Emeritus of Public Health at the University of Michigan. His wide-ranging areas of expertise include the policy implications of tobacco use and cessation trends and the tobacco-related health outcomes resulting from tobacco harm reduction strategies.
“The University of Michigan is home to one of the nation’s largest groups of highly respected scientists engaged in research on nicotine and tobacco. Their research examines everything from mechanisms of addiction to treatment methods, from the social determinants of smoking to tobacco control policy. UMTRN was founded to create a forum to support interdisciplinary collaborations on addressing what remains America’s Public Health Enemy Number One.” – Dr. Ken Warner

A Short History of UMTRN and SFELP

The University of Michigan Tobacco Research Network (UMTRN) and its Smoke-Free Environments Law Project (SFELP) were both launched more than 20 years ago. UMTRN was founded by the University of Michigan School of Public Health’s (UMSPH) Kenneth Warner, Ph.D. (UMSPH Dean from 2005 to 2010) with initial support from the American Legacy Foundation (now the Truth Initiative). Dr. Warner was succeeded as director by Clifford Douglas, J.D., an adjunct professor and tobacco control specialist in UMSPH’s Department of Health Management and Policy, in 2007.

UMTRN has throughout its existence served as an information and networking resource for University of Michigan faculty, staff and graduate students from numerous institutions across the UM campus. With a membership of dozens of active specialists on campus as well as other invited experts from outside the University, UMTRN covers a wide range of topics in tobacco and nicotine research.

SFELP was founded by the veteran tobacco control and gerontology advocate James Bergman, J.D. alongside Mr. Douglas and headquartered at the Ann Arbor-based Center for Social Gerontology until 2017, when it was moved to UMTRN under Mr. Douglas’s leadership. SFELP’s wide-ranging tobacco control advisory work for the State of Michigan has been supported since the beginning by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS; previously the Michigan Department of Community Health).

SFELP, in partnership with the MDHHS Tobacco Section, local health departments and other public health and community advocates, has provided expert analysis and leadership in support of the adoption of local smoke-free public health regulations, Michigan’s statewide smoke-free law and local smoke-free park and beach policies, and continues to contribute expert guidance on such issues as e-cigarette regulation, retail licensure, menthol cigarette regulation and Tobacco 21. SFELP also played a pioneering role in a long-time campaign spanning the U.S. and Canada to make multi-unit residential housing smoke-free.

Now and in the future, UMTRN and SFELP will continue to highlight the work of members, support cutting-edge research, and educate others about tobacco and nicotine.