Suchitra Krishnan-Sarin, PhD, associate professor of psychiatry at Yale, has been appointed to serve on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee (TPSAC). The appointment is effective September 24, 2012 through January 31, 2016.
Established in 2009, TPSAC reviews and evaluates safety, dependence, and health issues relating to tobacco products and provides advice, information and recommendations to the Commissioner of Food and Drugs.
The 12 members of the Committee including the Chair, are selected by the Commissioner from among individuals knowledgeable in the fields of medicine, medical ethics, science, or technology involving the manufacture, evaluation, or use of tobacco products.
Dr. Krishnan-Sarin's expertise is substance abuse behaviors in children, adolescents, and adults. She was a contributing author to the 2012 U.S. Surgeon General's Report Preventing Tobacco Use Among Youth and Young Adults.
Her research focuses on understanding of the biobehavioral underpinnings of alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana use in adolescent and adult populations, and the development of new pharmacological and behavioral interventions to reduce and prevent use of these substances.
Dr. Krishnan-Sarin received her PhD from Purdue University. Dr. Krishnan-Sarin currently also serves as the Vice-Chair of the Human Investigations Committees II and IV at Yale University.