Dr Olivia Wackowski, PhD, MPH

Associate Professor, Department of Health Behavior, Society and Policy

Rutgers University

Biography

Olivia A. Wackowski, PhD, MPH, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Health Behavior, Society, and Policy at the Rutgers School of Public Health and Core Member of the Rutgers Institute for Nicotine & Tobacco Studies. Her primary research interests and work lie in the areas of tobacco communication, product perceptions, and product use trends. She uses qualitative and quantitative methods to characterize the types and content of tobacco and nicotine related communications to which the public are exposed, their potential impact on tobacco-related beliefs and behaviors and to develop effective communications to improve public health. She has published over 145 peer-reviewed publications and led nine NIH grant-funded studies as PI or MPI. She became a Fellow of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco in 2025 and serves as an Associate Editor and Senior Associate Editor for the research journals Nicotine & Tobacco Research and Behavioral Medicine. She has also served as an invited ad-hoc consultant to the FDA’s Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee since 2018, contributing to the Committee’s review and discussion of multiple Modified Risk Tobacco Product (MRTP) applications for tobacco products seeking FDA authorization to make lower-risk advertising claims.