Grace Kong, PhD
Associate Professor of PsychiatryCards
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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.
Appointments
Psychiatry
Associate Professor on TermPrimary
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Research
Overview
Medical Research Interests
ORCID
0000-0002-9269-3435
Research at a Glance
Yale Co-Authors
Publications Timeline
Research Interests
Meghan Morean, PhD
Dana Cavallo, PhD
Patricia Simon, PhD
Krysten Bold, PhD
Deepa Camenga, MD, MHS, FAAP
Asti Jackson, PhD
Adolescent
Social Media
Tobacco
Cannabis
Smoking Prevention
Tobacco Use Cessation
Publications
2025
Generative 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 ResearchConceptsSocial 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 PMID: 39985534, DOI: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2025.01.004.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsE-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 ResearchS3 Differences in E-Cigarette Use Behaviors by High School Grade Level
Ponte V, Davis D, Bold K, Kong G, Morean M, Camenga D, Li W, Sharma A, Lee J, Krishnan-Sarin S. S3 Differences in E-Cigarette Use Behaviors by High School Grade Level. Drug And Alcohol Dependence 2025, 267: 111423. DOI: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2024.111423.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchA YOUTH-FOCUSED, VIRTUAL, E-CIGARETTE CESSATION INTERVENTION COMBINING IN-PERSON CBT WITH INCENTIVES
Krishnan-Sarin S, Kong G, Bold K, Davis D, Cavallo D, Lavallee H, Liss T. A YOUTH-FOCUSED, VIRTUAL, E-CIGARETTE CESSATION INTERVENTION COMBINING IN-PERSON CBT WITH INCENTIVES. Drug And Alcohol Dependence 2025, 267: 112259. DOI: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2024.112259.Peer-Reviewed Original Research
2024
Identification and Classification of Images in e-Cigarette-Related Content on TikTok: Unsupervised Machine Learning Image Clustering Approach
Lee J, Murthy D, Ouellette R, Anand T, Kong G. Identification and Classification of Images in e-Cigarette-Related Content on TikTok: Unsupervised Machine Learning Image Clustering Approach. Substance Use & Misuse 2024, 60: 677-683. PMID: 40019898, PMCID: PMC11871408, DOI: 10.1080/10826084.2024.2447415.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsImage clustering approachImage clustering modelsState-of-the-artE-cigarette-related contentMachine learning approachSocial media dataImage clusteringAnalysis of visual dataSocial media platformsVisual dataLearning approachMedia dataClustering approachMedia platformsImage-based social media platformsQualitative evaluationSocial mediaImage-based analysisImagesTikTokCluster modelUnsupervisedVideoClustersCloudGenerative artificial intelligence and social media: insights for tobacco control
Kong G, Ouellette R, Murthy D. Generative artificial intelligence and social media: insights for tobacco control. Tobacco Control 2024, tc-2024-058813. PMID: 39643443, DOI: 10.1136/tc-2024-058813.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAssociation Between Exposure to LGBTQ-Targeted Tobacco Marketing and Tobacco Use Behaviors Among US Young Adults
Lee J, Kong G, Krishnan-Sarin S, Morean M. Association Between Exposure to LGBTQ-Targeted Tobacco Marketing and Tobacco Use Behaviors Among US Young Adults. Substance Use & Misuse 2024, 60: 414-420. PMID: 39610016, DOI: 10.1080/10826084.2024.2434011.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsGender minority young adultsExposure to tobacco marketingMinority young adultsTobacco marketingLGBTQ young adultsGender minority individualsGender minority peopleUS young adultsTobacco useTobacco marketing regulationsPride festivalAssociated with current tobacco useYoung adultsMinority individualsMinority peopleLGBTQCurrent tobacco useMarket regulationTobacco marketing exposureGenderLogistic regression analysisVenuesMarket exposureMarketRisk factorsTobacco control policies discussed on social media: a scoping review
Dobbs P, Kong G, Lovett K, Henriksen L. Tobacco control policies discussed on social media: a scoping review. Tobacco Control 2024, tc-2024-058824. PMID: 39461851, DOI: 10.1136/tc-2024-058824.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsTobacco control policiesE-cigarettesTobacco control lawsWHO Framework ConventionRegulate e-cigarettesE-cigarette regulationsWeb of ScienceSmoke-freeStandardised packagingTobacco taxesStudy characteristicsRemoving duplicatesCampus policiesVaping productsControl policiesTobaccoFlavor restrictionsStudy descriptionImplementation practicesFramework ConventionPublished literatureIdentified methodsCINAHLTime pointsSocial mediaUse of cannabis among youth who vape nicotine
Davis D, Bold K, Wu R, Morean M, Kong G, Krishnan-Sarin S. Use of cannabis among youth who vape nicotine. Addictive Behaviors 2024, 160: 108173. PMID: 39326231, DOI: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2024.108173.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsCannabis useNicotine vapingSmoking cannabisRoute of administrationAssociation of cannabis useNicotine co-useCannabis use frequencyInvestigated cannabis useUse of cannabisVaping nicotineNicotine useCannabis smokingCannabisCessation studyCo-useYouth e-cigarette useE-cigarette useCannabis productsNicotineCessation effortsTargeted treatmentPublic health concernModerate desireYouthE-cigarettes
News
News
- November 22, 2024
How Social Media Promotion of Vaping Targets Teens
- June 17, 2024
Modification of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems Among Adolescents and Young Adults
- February 20, 2024
Kong Edits Special Issue of Nicotine Tobacco Research
- November 03, 2023Source: JAMA Network Open
Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems and E-Liquid Modifications to Vape Cannabis Depicted in Online Videos