Grace Kong, PhD
Associate Professor of PsychiatryDownloadHi-Res Photo
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Associate Professor of Psychiatry
Biography
Dr. Kong is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine. She holds a PhD in Clinical Psychology with specialization in Child and Adolescent Psychology. Her area of expertise is preventing youth tobacco and other addictive behaviors through informing policies and developing and testing treatments. Dr. Kong uses diverse research methodologies, including qualitative and quantitative approaches and social media analytics to understand tobacco and other substance use behaviors among youth, young adults, and other priority populations. Dr. Kong has served as Principal Investigator and Co-Investigator on multiple NIH-funded studies and is deeply committed to mentoring the next generation of researchers. She has served as a scientific advisor to the World Health Organization, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, and a US-based nonprofit public health organization.
Last Updated on April 15, 2025.
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Psychiatry
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Overview
Medical Research Interests
Adolescent; Cannabis; Nicotiana; Smoking Prevention; Social Media; Tobacco Use Cessation
ORCID
0000-0002-9269-3435
Research at a Glance
Yale Co-Authors
Frequent collaborators of Grace Kong's published research.
Publications Timeline
A big-picture view of Grace Kong's research output by year.
Research Interests
Research topics Grace Kong is interested in exploring.
Meghan Morean, PhD
Dana Cavallo, PhD
Suchitra Krishnan-Sarin, PhD
Patricia Simon, PhD
Krysten Bold, PhD
Deepa Camenga, MD, MHS, FAAP
180Publications
5,763Citations
Adolescent
Social Media
Nicotiana
Cannabis
Smoking Prevention
Tobacco Use Cessation
Publications
2025
‘Fuel your peak performance’: marketing of nicotine pouches to athletes
Mead-Morse E, Galimov A, Unger J, Ouellette R, Kong G. ‘Fuel your peak performance’: marketing of nicotine pouches to athletes. Tobacco Control 2025, tc-2025-059655. PMID: 40962487, DOI: 10.1136/tc-2025-059655.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricMenthol cigarette alternative products: Awareness, use, and substitution intentions among adults who smoke menthol cigarettes
Kyriakos C, Kong G, Sharma A, Morean M, Suttiratana S, Bold K. Menthol cigarette alternative products: Awareness, use, and substitution intentions among adults who smoke menthol cigarettes. Addictive Behaviors 2025, 171: 108470. PMID: 40876183, DOI: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2025.108470.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsAssociated with awarenessSmoking menthol cigarettesMenthol cigarettesNon-mentholCross-sectional surveyMenthol cigarette salesPublic health benefitsLogistic regression modelsHigher nicotine dependenceOutcome of awarenessCigarette salesSmoking characteristicsPublic healthCigaretteHealth benefitsYounger ageRegression modelsNicotine dependenceAdultsAwarenessElectronic cigarettes and pregnancy: A social media content analysis
Kong G, Ouellette R, de la Noval A, Kyriakos C, Ponte V, DeVito E. Electronic cigarettes and pregnancy: A social media content analysis. Preventive Medicine 2025, 108387. PMID: 40816348, DOI: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2025.108387.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsConceptsHealthcare providersE-cigarette useE-cigarettesPublic health topicsHealth topicsE-cigarette cessationUnited KingdomElectronic cigarettesPregnant individualsHealthcareProvidersChi-squareKruskal-Wallis testPregnancyEngagement metricsKruskal-WallisUnited StatesEngagementEffective messengersPostMessengerCigaretteYearsKingdomUsePutting the “Tobacco” in Tobacco-Free Blunt Wraps: Early Evidence From Adolescents Who Use Cannabis Blunts Signals a Potential Need for Regulatory Action
Morean M, Ponte V, Li W, Davis D, Sharma A, Krishnan-Sarin S, Bold K, Kong G. Putting the “Tobacco” in Tobacco-Free Blunt Wraps: Early Evidence From Adolescents Who Use Cannabis Blunts Signals a Potential Need for Regulatory Action. Nicotine & Tobacco Research 2025, ntaf139. PMID: 40600673, DOI: 10.1093/ntr/ntaf139.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricConceptsFood and Drug AdministrationTobacco productsDrug AdministrationNational survey studyBlunt useTobacco useUS Food and Drug AdministrationUnited States Food and Drug AdministrationStates Food and Drug AdministrationConnecticut high school studentsAssociated with negative outcomesCannabis dependenceNationally-representative sampleHigh school studentsCannabisTobacco-freeE-cigarettesStudy of AdolescentSchool-wideAnalytic sampleBivariate analysisNegative outcomesAdolescentsBluntBlunted signalingRemediated marketing: leveraging computer vision and rule-based classification models to detect e-cigarette warning labels across social media
Sharp K, Babaeianjelodar M, Murthy D, Ouellette R, Lee J, de la Noval A, Kamdar N, Kong G. Remediated marketing: leveraging computer vision and rule-based classification models to detect e-cigarette warning labels across social media. Information Communication & Society 2025, ahead-of-print: 1-20. DOI: 10.1080/1369118x.2025.2500485.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricConceptsVideo framesLeverage computer visionRule-based classifierComputer vision technologyRule-based classificationSocial mediaComputer visionVision technologyDetect postsWarning messagesWarning labelsInformation consumersClassifierE-cigarettesVideoYouTubeYouTube videosDigital sphereHarms of tobacco useExposure to tobacco promotionBig TobaccoDigital landscapeE-cigarette manufacturersTikTokBigTobacco retailer density and rurality across four US states: California, Connecticut, North Carolina, and Ohio
Webb E, Craigmile P, Morean M, Kong G, Lee J, Martin R, Barrington‐Trimis J, Qiang R, Spinola V, Roberts M. Tobacco retailer density and rurality across four US states: California, Connecticut, North Carolina, and Ohio. The Journal Of Rural Health 2025, 41: e70073. PMID: 40817627, PMCID: PMC12357071, DOI: 10.1111/jrh.70073.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsTobacco retailer densityRural disparitiesCensus tractsRetailer densityTobacco useSubstantial burdenTobacco retail environmentCensus tract povertyRural census tractsAssociated with ruralitySmall townsNorth CarolinaCensus tract levelMetropolitan census tractsUS statesUS DepartmentCommuting areaTract levelEthnic compositionRural areasDisparitiesRuralTobaccoMicropolitanCensusAge Restricted Location Policies: A Potential Strategy for Advancing the Tobacco Endgame.
Roberts M, Lee J, Morean M, Kong G, Ferketich A, Craigmile P, Ceasar R, Spinola V, Berman M. Age Restricted Location Policies: A Potential Strategy for Advancing the Tobacco Endgame. American Journal Of Public Health 2025, 115: 673-677. PMID: 40203261, PMCID: PMC11983069, DOI: 10.2105/ajph.2025.308031.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchGenerative artificial intelligence and machine learning methods to screen social media content.
Sharp K, Ouellette R, Singh R, DeVito E, Kamdar N, de la Noval A, Murthy D, Kong G. Generative artificial intelligence and machine learning methods to screen social media content. PeerJ Computer Science 2025, 11: e2710. PMID: 40134877, PMCID: PMC11935761, DOI: 10.7717/peerj-cs.2710.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsConceptsSocial media contentMachine learning methodsGenerative artificial intelligenceHuman reviewScreen contentLearning methodsArtificial intelligenceHuman codersMedia contentMachine learning techniquesSocial media dataObject detectionOpenCV libraryCloud VisionText dataMetadata entriesExtract framesChatGPTLearning techniquesIrrelevant contentSocial media platformsSocial media researchIrrelevant resultsMedia dataRelevant contentUnderstanding Reasons to Quit or Reduce Vaping and Associations With Quitting Outcomes Among High School Adolescents in Connecticut
Bold K, Kong G, Morean M, Sharma A, Courtney W, Li W, Davis D, Camenga D, Ouellette R, Krishnan-Sarin S. Understanding Reasons to Quit or Reduce Vaping and Associations With Quitting Outcomes Among High School Adolescents in Connecticut. Journal Of Adolescent Health 2025, 77: 766-770. PMID: 39985534, PMCID: PMC12353269, DOI: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2025.01.004.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricConceptsE-cigarette useQuit outcomesE-cigarettesReduce vapingAssociated with successful quittingNicotine/tobacco productsE-cigarette cessation interventionsPeer support strategiesLifetime e-cigarette useImprove public healthPunitive measuresE-cigarette accessE-cigarette interventionsCessation interventionsSuccessful quittingInfluence of friendsHigh school adolescentsSupport strategiesSchool adolescentsPublic healthInterventionVapingSurveyed high school studentsQuittingHealthSensation Seeking, Impulsivity, and Nicotine Dependence among Adolescents and Young Adults who Vape Nicotine and Cannabis
Ouellette R, Morean M, Lee J, Kong G. Sensation Seeking, Impulsivity, and Nicotine Dependence among Adolescents and Young Adults who Vape Nicotine and Cannabis. Drug And Alcohol Dependence 2025, 267: 112209. DOI: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2024.112209.Peer-Reviewed Original Research
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- December 23, 2025
Kong Elected 2026 Fellow of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco
- September 02, 2025Source: Preventive Medicine
Electronic Cigarettes and Pregnancy: A Social Media Content Analysis
- August 04, 2025Source: The Independent
‘You can literally pregame recess with these’: Experts warn of caffeine pouches targeting teens
- November 22, 2024
How Social Media Promotion of Vaping Targets Teens
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