Trailblazing Alumna Dana Mowls Carroll Wins Prestigious NIMHD Early Career Investigator Award

Dana Mowls Carroll, an esteemed alumna of Hudson College of Public Health, has been honored with the prestigious NIMHD Early Career Investigator Award in 2023. This esteemed accolade recognizes early-stage health disparities investigators who have made a profound impact through their research on minority health and health disparities. Dr. Carroll, an Assistant Professor at the School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, is an exemplary recipient of this award.

With a Ph.D. in epidemiology from the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Dr. Carroll has demonstrated her dedication to advancing our understanding of and evaluating smoking cessation among American Indian (AI) individuals. Her remarkable body of work includes 44 peer-reviewed scientific articles, addressing vital topics such as geographic disparities among AI smokers, the correlation between tobacco marketing exposure and commercial tobacco use, and distinctions in dependence on electronic cigarettes versus traditional cigarettes within this population.

Dr. Carroll's contributions extend beyond her publications, as she has successfully secured grants from multiple NIH institutes, including an active NIMHD K01 grant. Her current project, "Laying the Foundation for Personalized Smoking Cessation Treatment in the American Indian Population," focuses on examining genetic susceptibility to smoking and developing culturally adapted, genetically informed behavioral treatment interventions. Additionally, Dr. Carroll played a pivotal role in obtaining funding for the 2022 National Tribal Tobacco Conference through an NIMHD R13 grant.

The NIMHD Early Career Investigator Awardee is chosen for their exceptional contributions to the scientific literature, including innovative findings, the development of theories, the advancement of methods, and novel research designs, all of which have significantly advanced minority health and health disparities science. Dr. Carroll's dedication and impactful work exemplify the spirit of this award, making her a distinguished figure in the field of public health research.