Thaddeus A. Herzog, PhD
Full Member, Population Sciences in the Pacific Program (Cancer Prevention in the Pacific), University of Hawaiʻi Cancer Center
Academic Appointment(s):
Associate Professor (Associate Researcher), University of Hawaiʻi Cancer Center
Graduate Faculty, Office of Public Health Studies
Degree(s):
PhD, MA, Social Psychology, Harvard University
Research Focus
My major research focus in recent years has been areca nut (i.e., "betel nut") use and cessation in Guam, Saipan, and the Asia-Pacific region. With an estimated 600 million users globally, areca nut ranks as the fourth most frequently consumed psychoactive substance in the world, following only nicotine, alcohol, and caffeine. Areca nut has been designated by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) as a Group 1 carcinogen. Currently, very little is known about how to reduce the cancer risk associated with areca nut chewing. My colleagues and I recently were funded by a National Cancer Institute (NCI) U54 grant to investigate the efficacy of an intensive areca nut cessation program in Guam and Saipan. In addition to my research in the Pacific, I have collaborations with senior researchers in Malaysia, Sri Lanka, and Taiwan, studying areca nut use and cessation, and I was invited by the NCI to be a plenary speaker at the first International Conference on Betel Quid and Areca in Kuala Lumpur in April 2016. I also am co-editor of a Special Issue on areca nut research in the journal Substance Use and Misuse, published in 2020.
In addition to my areca nut research program, I continue to research smoking cessation, e-cigarettes, and motivation to quit smoking. I was Principal Investigator for a NCI-funded R01 smoking cessation trial. I also have been PI on two other National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants related to smoking cessation, and Co-Investigator on several other NIH grants on the topics of smoking cessation and e-cigarettes. In relation to my smoking cessation research, I have written extensively and critically about stage models of health behavior change.
I have a leadership role in Cancer Research Training (CRT) at the UH Cancer Center. I am Co-leader of the Research Education Core (REC) for the current U54 partnership with the University of Guam, and Co-leader for Cancer Research Training at the UH Cancer Center with a focus on cancer prevention and control.
Selected Publications
Herzog TA, Wilkens LR, Badowski G, Mendez AJP, Franke AA, Pokhrel P, Chennaux JSN, Tenorio LF, Sotto PP, Kawamoto CT, & Paulino YC. (2023). The Betel Nut Intervention Trial (BENIT)-A Randomized Clinical Trial for Areca Nut and Betel Quid Cessation: Primary Outcomes. International journal of environmental research and public health, 20(16), 6622. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20166622. PMID: 37623205; PMCID: PMC10454381.
Paulino YC, Wilkens LR, Sotto PP, Franke AA, Kawamoto CT, Chennaux J, Mendez AJ, Tenorio LF, Badowski G, Pokhrel P, Herzog TA. (2020). Rationale and design of a randomized, controlled, superiority trial on areca nut/betel quid cessation: The Betel Nut Intervention Trial (BENIT). Contemporary clinical trials communications; 17, 100544. PMID: 32154430: PMCID: PMC7052403.
Herzog T, Pokhrel P. (2020). Introduction to the Special Issue: International Research on Areca Nut and Betel Quid Use. Subst Use Misuse; 55(9), 1383-1384. PubMed PMID: 32569543; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7360346.
Herzog TA, Pokhrel P, Kawamoto CT. (2015). Short-term fluctuations in motivation to quit smoking in a sample of smokers in Hawaii. Substance Use & Misuse 50, 236-241. PubMed PMID: 25338289; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4387002.
Herzog TA, Murphy KL, Little MA, Suguitan GS, Pokhrel P, Kawamoto CT. (2014). The Betel Quid Dependence Scale: replication and extension in a Guamanian sample. Drug and Alcohol Dependence 138, 154-160. PubMed PMID: 24629627; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4010585.
Pokhrel P, Fagan P, Little MA, Kawamoto CT, Herzog TA. (2013). Smokers who try e-cigarettes to quit smoking: findings from a multiethnic study in Hawaii. American Journal of Public Health 103, e57-62. PubMed PMID: 23865700; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3780693.
Publication list via PubMed
Active Grants
T. Herzog, Co-Investigator; P. Pokhrel, Project Leader; N. Palafox, B. Hernandez , MPIs
2 U54 CA143727-11 - University of Guam/University of Hawaiʻi Cancer Center Partnership
Full Research Project 1: “Adolescent Tobacco and Areca Nut Use Prevention in Guam”
09/28/2009 – 08/31/2025
T. Herzog, Co Investigator; A. Franke, Project Leader; N. Palafox, B. Hernandez, MPIs
2 U54 CA143727-11 - University of Guam/University of Hawaiʻi Cancer Center Partnership
Pilot Project 1: “Cross-Sectional Analysis of Areca Alkaloids in Buccal Cells and Hair from Areca Nut Chewers as Candidate Biomarkers for Short- and Long-Term Areca Nut Exposure”
09/28/2009 – 08/31/2025
T. Herzog, Co Leader of the Research Education Core (REC); N. Palafox, B. Hernandez, MPIs
2 U54 CA143727-11 - University of Guam/University of Hawaiʻi Cancer Center Partnership
09/28/2009 – 08/31/2025
T. Herzog, Co-Investigator; P. Pokhrel, PI
National Cancer Institute
1R01 DA053766-01A1
"Ethnic differences in the effects of COVID-19 on the substance use behavior of young adults "
9/01/2021 – 8/31/2024
T. Herzog, MPI (with K. Murphy)
Hawaii Community Foundation
Grant ID#: MedRes_2022_00000680
"Areca Nut and Betel Quid Health Risk Reduction and Cessation: Intervention Development in Hawai'i adults"
7/01/2022 – 01/01/2024
