Faculty Spotlight: Dr. Hermine Poghosyan
Dr. Hermine Poghosyan’s research focuses on tobacco use, cannabis use, and lung cancer screening behavior among adults, with the broader goal of preventing cancer and improving outcomes for cancer survivors and their families. Through a highly impactful and transdisciplinary research program, she studies ways to better support smoking cessation, increase awareness and uptake of lung cancer screening, and improve quality of life for individuals affected by cancer. Her work extends beyond individual patients to include families, social networks, and communities, recognizing the critical role that social connections play in health behaviors and long-term outcomes. In addition to advancing research in cancer prevention and survivorship, Dr. Poghosyan is deeply committed to mentoring the next generation of nurse scientists and fostering collaborative, interdisciplinary approaches to improving population health.
Q: Please describe your research or clinical focus area(s).
A: I study tobacco use, cannabis use, and lung cancer screening behavior among the adult population. I have established a highly impactful research program dedicated to maximizing the health and well-being of cancer survivors and their social network members, including families, friends, and others.
Q: What first drew you to this area of scholarship or clinical focus? Was there a particular moment, experience, or patient/population that shaped your path?
A: I have wanted to pursue a career in nursing since a young age, inspired by my mother, who is a nurse. Growing up in Armenia, where smoking is very common, I saw early on how tobacco use affects people and families, which shaped my interest in research. This led me to pursue a PhD in nursing to deepen my understanding and contribute more meaningfully to this area through research.
Because tobacco use is the leading cause of lung cancer, I became particularly interested in identifying better ways to support smoking cessation and increase awareness and uptake of lung cancer screening among high-risk individuals.
Q: How would you describe your work to someone outside of nursing or healthcare?
A: I study ways to better help people stop smoking and reduce cancer risk across different stages of care. This includes supporting smoking cessation among people who smoke, promoting lung cancer screening for early detection, and helping cancer survivors and their family or social networks quit smoking. My work focuses on preventing cancer, finding it earlier, and improving health outcomes for both patients and those around them.
Q: What problem are you ultimately trying to solve through your work?
A: The problem I am trying to solve is preventable cancer illness and death while also improving health and quality of life among cancer survivors. This includes gaps in smoking cessation support, low uptake of lung cancer screening among high-risk individuals, and continued tobacco use among cancer survivors and their network members. Although we have effective tools, they are not consistently reaching the people who need them.
Q: What has been the most meaningful impact of your work so far—on patients, students, clinical systems, or policy?
A: Training next-generation scientists and mentoring doctoral students and postdoctoral scholars are among the most meaningful aspects of my work. I also lead a large ongoing study aimed at identifying more effective approaches to smoking cessation, with a particular focus on moving beyond individual-level interventions to incorporate social networks.
Q: How does your work change what clinicians do at the bedside, in the community, or within health systems?
A: My work helps better understand how social networks and connections play an important role in supporting smoking cessation, improving health outcomes, and overall well-being.
Q: Who do you most often collaborate with, and why are those partnerships important to your work? How do you involve the non-academic community in your work?
A: My projects are largely transdisciplinary, and I collaborate with nurse scientists, oncologists, primary care providers, social scientists, statisticians, and anthropologists. These diverse perspectives are important because they allow us to better understand smoking behavior, lung cancer screening behavior, social context, and cancer prevention from multiple angles.
Q: How do students or trainees get involved in your work, and what do they gain from that experience?
A: I actively involve students and trainees in my research, resulting in numerous publications and conference presentations. They gain hands-on experience across all stages of the research process, including study design, data analysis, and dissemination, while also developing skills in critical thinking, collaboration, and scientific communication.
Q: What part of your work gives you the most energy or keeps you motivated?
A: Seeing my students and trainees conduct strong research, receive recognition, and grow into independent researchers is especially rewarding. I am also motivated by working with transdisciplinary teams and the opportunity to learn from different perspectives.
Q: What advice would you give to a nurse or student interested in pursuing a similar path?
A: Be persistent and open to opportunities, even outside your comfort zone. Nursing offers many different paths, and research is a powerful way to make a broader impact on patient care and population health beyond the bedside.