Douglas Monroe, PhD, MPH, is a postdoctoral fellow in the Metabolic Epidemiology Branch in DCEG, under the mentorship of Rachael Stolzenberg-Solomon, PhD, MPH, RD, and is co-mentored by Carolyn Reyes-Guzman, PhD, MPH, in the Tobacco Control Research Branch in DCCPS. His DCCPS work examines how social and material conditions shape tobacco use and cessation, with a particular focus on relationships between food insecurity and smoking. This work considers food insecurity as both a tobacco-use risk factor and a potential barrier to quitting and supports efforts to develop cessation approaches that are responsive to food-resource needs, psychological distress, and other social needs.
Dr. Monroe also works on improving methods for evidence synthesis, with a focus on making reviews of scientific literature and research portfolios more transparent, reproducible, and easier to evaluate. This work emphasizes clear documentation of search strategies, coding decisions, data extraction, and analytic steps so that others can understand how conclusions were reached and, when needed, repeat or update the process. By strengthening the methods behind evidence synthesis, these projects support more accountable use of scientific evidence in tobacco control and cancer prevention. In DCEG, his work complements these efforts through studies of current cancer trends, future cancer forecasts, and emerging risk factors, with an emphasis on pancreatic and prostate cancer.