Welcome to the Institute for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Research

We are passionate about using research to improve health outcomes.

Our expertise is in developing evidence-based prevention programs to improve multiple health risk behaviors that lead to adverse health outcomes later in life. We are committed to working with populations – typically adolescents and young adults – to develop and implement programs that help people maintain healthy behaviors and improve their overall quality of life. 

Mary Ann Pentz

Our Director

Mary Ann Pentz, PhD

Professor of Population and Public Health Sciences
Sidney R. Garfield Chair in Health Sciences
Director, Institute for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Research (IPR)

Publications

Pentz MA, Dwyer JH, MacKinnon DP, et al. A Multicommunity Trial for Primary Prevention of Adolescent Drug Abuse: Effects on Drug Use Prevalence. JAMA. 1989;261(22):3259–3266. doi:10.1001/jama.1989.03420220073030

Riggs, N.R., Greenberg, M.T., Kusché, C.A. Pentz, MA. The Mediational Role of Neurocognition in the Behavioral Outcomes of a Social-Emotional Prevention Program in Elementary School Students: Effects of the PATHS Curriculum. Prev Sci 7, 91–102 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-005-0022-1

Benowitz, N. L., Goniewicz, M. L., Halpern-Felsher, B., Krishnan-Sarin, S., Ling, P. M., O’Connor, R. J., Pentz, M. A., Robertson, R. M., & Bhatnagar, A. (2022). Tobacco product use and the risks of SARS-COV-2 infection and COVID-19: Current understanding and recommendations for future research. The Lancet Respiratory Medicine, 10(9), 900–915. https://doi.org/10.1016/s2213-2600(22)00182-5 

Christodoulou, G., Majmundar, A., Chou, C., & Pentz, M. A. (2019). Anhedonia, screen time, and substance use in early adolescents: A longitudinal mediation analysis. Journal of Adolescence, 78(1), 24–32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2019.11.007 

Tackett, A. P., Urman, R., Barrington-Trimis, J., Liu, F., Hong, H., Pentz, M. A., Islam, T. S., Eckel, S. P., Rebuli, M., Leventhal, A., Samet, J. M., Berhane, K., & McConnell, R. (2023). Prospective study of e-cigarette use and respiratory symptoms in adolescents and young adults. Thorax, 79(2), 163–168. https://doi.org/10.1136/thorax-2022-218670