Staff: Joseph T. Ciccolo, PhD
Joseph T. Ciccolo, Ph.D., is a Program Director in the Tobacco Control Research Branch (TCRB) within the Behavioral Research Program (BRP) of the Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences (DCCPS) at the National Cancer Institute (NCI). His primary research interests are broadly focused on the efficacy of novel clinical treatments for addiction and mental illness. His specific area of interest has been cigarette smoking cessation in high-risk and hard-to-reach populations. He is particularly interested in mechanisms of change and behavioral strategies that can be used to help smokers quit.
Prior to joining NCI, Dr. Ciccolo was the Principal Investigator of multiple NIH-funded clinical trials, and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biobehavioral Sciences at Teachers College, Columbia University. He also was a regular grant reviewer for the Center for Scientific Review and has served as a Senior Associate Editor and an editorial board member for several scientific journals. To date, Dr. Ciccolo has authored over 70 original scientific papers, reviews, and other publications. After receiving his Ph.D. from The University of Texas at Austin, he completed an NIH-funded T32 postdoctoral fellowship at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University.
Current and/or past BRP mentors include Gordon Willis.
Current and/or past BRP mentees include Leeann Siegel.
Research Areas
- Cigarette Smoking Cessation, Addiction, Mental illness, Health Disparities, High-risk Populations
Selected Publications and Presentations
- Ciccolo JT, Dunsiger SI, Williams DM, Bartholomew JB, Jennings EG, Ussher MH, Kraemer WJ, Marcus BH. Resistance training as an aid to standard smoking cessation treatment: a pilot study. Nicotine Tob Res 2011 Aug; 13(8):756-760.
- Ciccolo JT, Williams DM, Dunsiger SI, Whitworth JW, McCullough AK, Bock BB, Marcus BH, Myerson M. Efficacy of Resistance Training as an Aid to Smoking Cessation: Rationale and Design of the Strength To Quit Study. Ment Health Phys Act 2014 Jun 1; 7(2):95-103.
- Ciccolo JT, Busch AM. Behavioral interventions to enhance smoking cessation: A summary of the current evidence. Am J Lifestyle Med 2015 9:94-104.
- Ciccolo JT, Whitworth JW, Dunsiger SI, SantaBarbara NJ, Nosrat S, LaBrec JE. Acute effects of resistance exercise on affect, arousal, and urge to drink in temporarily abstinent young adult hazardous drinker. Am J Addict 2016 Dec; 25(8):623-627.
- Busch AM, Louie ME, SantaBarbara NJ, Ajayi AA, Gleason N, Dunsiger SI, Carey MP, Ciccolo JT. Effects of resistance training on depression and cardiovascular disease risk in Black men: Protocol for a randomized controlled trial. Ment Health Phys Act 2019 Oct:17.
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