About Us

The ICE team includes a total of 26 researchers, practitioners and policy makers with substantial experience and expertise in tobacco research, public health programming, and policy-making. Substantively team members represent genetic, clinical, psychosocial, health behaviour, epidemiological, statistical, public health programming, statistical, and policy-making perspectives. Members work or have affiliations in 2 key public health organizations in Quebec (the Institut national de santé publique du Québec and, the Direction de santé publique de Montréal), and 7 universities in 3 countries (Canada, USA, Iran). Several team members have already worked together, and many team members have extensive networks with collaborators across Canada, the USA, and internationally.

We are among the first investigators to study the natural history of nicotine dependence in novice smokers, to identify trajectories of early smoking onset, nicotine dependence, tolerance, and cessation, and to investigate genetic and environmental determinants concurrently. We are the first Canadian team to report reverse effects of smoking prevention programs, a finding that led to the discontinuation of selected prevention programs in elementary schools in Quebec.

Our group is at the forefront of genetic and public health research, and its members have received many distinction (i.e. Dr Harold N Award of Merit of the Canadian Cardiovascular Society, Fellow of the American Heart Association, and American College of Preventive Medicine awarded to co-investigator Gilles Paradis).  Several of our investigators hold CIHR or CRC career awards, and students supervised by team members have won notable awards (i.e. Elizabeth Barrett-Connor Young Investigator Award received by Tracie Barnett). These achievements attest to the scientific quality and productivity of team members.