By Eliza Dysart
A former smoker who once struggled to quit now dedicates her career to improving how health care systems support patients and caregivers through tobacco cessation and cancer care research.
After quitting smoking in 2011, Jennifer LeLaurin, Ph.D., began her professional path while earning a Master of Public Health at the University of Florida. There, she first became involved in tobacco control through policy work with Tobacco Free Alachua.
That early exposure led to roles as a research assistant on tobacco cessation studies and later as a research coordinator at the Malcom Randall VA Medical Center. Although her work at the VA shifted away from tobacco, LeLaurin continued cessation efforts through the Florida Area Health Education Centers (AHEC), providing counseling and medication support to local tobacco users.
“Kind of as something on the side, I was doing cessation counseling, which I found to be really rewarding,” LeLaurin said. “As a former smoker, I had been through the process of quitting, and being able to help other people quit was great.”
Those experiences motivated LeLaurin to pursue a Ph.D. at UF and focus her research on tobacco cessation and control. Rather than delivering treatment directly, her work centers on improving how health systems identify tobacco use and connect patients with evidence-based treatment.
“My research focuses on how we can better implement tobacco use treatment in clinical settings,” she said. “How can we help clinical teams do a better job of screening for tobacco use and connecting patients with treatment?”
LeLaurin’s academic background in the social sciences also shaped her approach. After earning a bachelor’s degree from New College of Florida, she was drawn to public health as a way to apply sociology and anthropology to real-world health problems.
“I was really attracted to the public health field because I felt like I could apply that to health problems and make an impact,” she said.
LeLaurin is now an assistant professor in UF’s Department of Health Outcomes and Biomedical Informatics and a member of the UF Health Cancer Institute, where she co-chairs the Tobacco Control Working Group. Her research focuses on cancer care delivery, particularly interventions that support both patients and caregivers. Her interest in caregivers grew from earlier work at the VA coordinating studies on stroke caregiver support.
“It really highlighted the importance of caregivers and how their needs aren’t always recognized in clinical care,” she said. “Supporting caregivers typically means the people they’re caring for do better.”
“I was really attracted to the public health field because I felt like I could apply that to health problems and make an impact.” — Jennifer LeLaurin, Ph.D.
One of her current pilot studies connects cancer patients and their caregivers with tobacco cessation treatment, recognizing that tobacco use often affects entire households.
“What if instead of just offering cessation support to patients, we involve the caregivers too and suggest they do the program together,” she said.
LeLaurin is also a co-principal investigator on a study examining the implementation of electronic patient-reported outcomes during cancer treatment. The project uses weekly remote symptom surveys to help care teams identify and address concerning symptoms earlier.
“When you track symptoms, clinicians can intervene earlier and prevent emergency room visits and hospitalizations,” she said.
Because much of her work relies on technology-based interventions, caregiver involvement is especially important for patients who may be uncomfortable using digital tools.
“When you involve caregivers, you’re bringing in that support system,” she said. “They might help complete surveys or communicate symptoms.”
Mentorship has played a significant role in LeLaurin’s career development. She credits longtime mentors with helping her navigate graduate training and faculty life.
“Having people you feel comfortable going to makes all the difference,” she said.
Ramzi Salloum, Ph.D., associate director for community outreach and engagement at the UF Health Cancer Institute, said working with LeLaurin has been especially meaningful.
“Working with Dr. LeLaurin has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my career,” Salloum said. “Seeing her grow into a thoughtful and creative independent faculty member has been a real privilege. Our collaboration through the Tobacco Research Working Group reflects our shared commitment to reducing the burden of tobacco.”
LeLaurin now mentors graduate students and values watching them develop their research interests and professional identities.
“Research isn’t an individual sport,” she said. “It’s such a team endeavor, and you learn so much from the people you work with.”
Looking back, LeLaurin said she never imagined as an undergraduate smoker that she would build a career in tobacco control research.
“Your life experience can really be an asset,” she said. “Being able to turn that into something that helps other people has been incredibly meaningful.”
