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Lilianna Phan, PhD, MPH, MS

Lilianna Phan headshot

Assistant Professor
Community Health & Prevention, Joint Appointment with the College of Nursing and Health Professions
[email protected]
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Degrees

PhD, Behavioral and Community Health, School of Public Health, University of Maryland College Park
MPH, Social and Behavioral Sciences, College of Public Health, Temple University
MS, Biomedical Sciences, Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine
BS, Psychology, Saint Joseph's University

Bio

Lilianna Phan, PhD, MPH, MS, is an assistant professor in the Department of Community Health and Prevention with a joint appointment in the Division of Graduate Nursing at the College of Nursing and Health Professions. She is also a full member of the Cancer Risk and Control Program with the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center Research Consortium.

Dr. Phan’s program of research focuses on understanding multi-level determinants of commercial tobacco use and alcohol use disparities among racially minoritized populations, particularly among young adults, and leveraging health communication science to help reduce these disparities. She utilizes community-engaged, mixed-methods, and experimental approaches including eye-tracking to understand psychosocial factors associated with commercial tobacco use and alcohol use to develop health education interventions.

Prior to joining Drexel, Dr. Phan was a postdoctoral fellow at the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) Division of Intramural Research. During her NIMHD fellowship, Dr. Phan received the NIH Summer Research Mentor Award for three consecutive years. Dr. Phan also completed early postdoctoral training focusing on tobacco regulatory science and health communication at the Cancer Prevention and Control Program at Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center where she received the 2020 Richard C. Devereaux Outstanding Young Investigator Award from the Prevent Cancer Foundation.

Learn more about Dr. Phan's lab: The Promoting Health in Addressing Nicotine Lab

Research Interests

  • Social Determinants of Health
  • Health Disparities
  • Community-Engaged Research
  • Tobacco Prevention and Control
  • Tobacco-Related Health Disparities
  • Tobacco Regulatory Science
  • Health Communication
  • Racism and Discrimination

Publications

Choi K, Hamilton-Moseley KR, Phan L, Azeem A, Jewett B, Zarei K, Hacker K. Knowledge and Use of Menthol-Mimicking Cigarettes Among Adults in the US. JAMA Network Open. 2025.

Williams RM, Phan L. Reducing Lung Cancer Disparities Calls for Another Look: Inclusion of Priority Populations in Screening Guidelines Reducing Lung Cancer Disparities Calls for Another Look: Inclusion of Priority Populations in Screening Guidelines. Ann Am Thorac Soc. 2025.

Phan L, Seyl C, Chen-Sankey J, Niederdeppe J, Guy MC, Sterling KL, Choi K. Exploring Young Adults’ Beliefs about Cigar Smoking by Susceptibility: A Belief Elicitation Study. Nicotine Tob Res. 2023.

Phan L, McNeel TS, Chen-Sankey J, Niederdeppe J, Tan ASL, Choi K. U.S. Trends in Age of Cigar Smoking Initiation by Race/Ethnicity and Education. Am J Prev Med. 2022.

Zarei K, Hamilton-Moseley KR, Chen-Sankey J, Phan L, Ajith A, Hacker K, Jewett B, Choi K. Financial hardship during the COVID-19 pandemic and increased receipt of commercial tobacco discount coupons among US adults who use commercial tobacco. Tob Control. 2023.

Leshner G, Phan L, Stevens EM, Johnson AC, Villanti AC, Kim N, Kim S, Ma H, Seo J, Sun F, Keller-Hamilton B, Wagener TL, Mays D. Psychophysiological responses to hookah tobacco public education messages among young adults. Health Psychol. 2021.

See Dr. Phan's complete list of publications on Google Scholar

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