Meet our Team

Drs. Smith, Dahne, and Carpenter have been working together at MUSC since 2017. Team IMPACT also includes interns, postdocs, research assistants, and undergraduates.

Carpenter Bio | Dahne Bio | Smith Bio

Dr. Matthew Carpenter

Faculty Profile
Carpenter CV
carpente@musc.edu

Dr. Carpenter is a Tenured Professor, serving as both co-leader of the Cancer Control Program and co-director of the Tobacco Research Program within MUSC Hollings Cancer Center. His primary body of research falls into three thematic areas. The first focuses on randomized trials of medication sampling, a pragmatic and scalable behavioral exercise that allows smokers to get further engaged in the cessation process. His teams have conducted a number of trials, often large scale and nationwide, to evaluate medication sampling among smokers across the motivational spectrum. A second theme of his work is to apply the same naturalistic product sampling approach, within a randomized design (minimizing self-selection bias), to evaluate the effects of alternative products, namely e-cigarettes. This design allows examination of naturalistic yet causal effects of e-cigarettes on uptake, outcomes, and biomarkers. A third theme is more methodological, and derives from the first two.

Throughout these large scale, remote clinical trials, his team continues to push the envelope for what can be done remotely, and how it can be done. New mHealth tools allow researchers to reach large and diverse study samples (external validity) while maintaining the methodological rigor (internal validity) that all trials must balance. These tools became much more popular during COVID, but have only opened the doors of possibility to what lies ahead for clinical research.

Across these themes, Dr. Carpenter led a wide range of large scale RCTS on: 1) smoking reduction (N=616), 2) efficacy trial of NRT sampling (N=849), 3) impact of smokeless tobacco on smoking behavior (N=1236), 4) a recently completed cluster-RCT effectiveness study (N=1245) of NRT sampling within primary care, and 5) two ongoing trials of both e-cigarettes (N=660) and varenicline sampling (N=640).

Throughout, Dr. Carpenter is keen on trainee development, encouraging a long line of trainees to develop their own science (primary mentor for F32, K07, K01, 2 K23s, 3 ACS and various NIH LRP recipients) and progress in their own professional careers (>6 prior trainees now in academia). He has served on several NIH study sections, including several as Chair. He will soon take on a role with NIH CSR Advisory Council.

Dr. Jennifer Dahne

Faculty Profile
Dahne CV
dahne@musc.edu

Dr. Dahne is an Associate Professor in the Addiction Sciences Division of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and interim co-leader of the Hollings Cancer Control Program. The overarching goal of Dr. Dahne's research program is to significantly reduce the public health impact of tobacco use, with a specific focus on cigarette smoking among vulnerable populations (e.g., socioeconomically disadvantaged adults, individuals with additional physical and mental health comorbidities).

The majority of Dr. Dahne's work centers around development and evaluation of technology-based remote interventions for the treatment of smoking cessation and common comorbidities (e.g., depression). Dr. Dahne also currently serves as co-director of MUSC's Remote & Virtual Trials Program and has interests in developing methods to improve the feasibility and rigor of remote trials. Dr. Dahne is a current NIDA K23 recipient and is also PI of a NIDA-funded R41, a NCI-funded R21, and a NIMH-funded R42. She is also an active collaborator on several NIH-funded projects focused on smoking cessation and telehealth intervention delivery.

Dr. Tracy Smith

Faculty Profile
Smith CV
smithtra@musc.edu

Dr. Smith is an Assistant Professor in the Addiction Sciences Division of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. She is also a member of the Hollings Cancer Control Program. The goal of Dr. Smith’s research is to reduce the harms associated with smoking, with a focus on regulatory science. One arm of her research has focused on tobacco regulations that can reduce the appeal and addictiveness of combustible tobacco — the most harmful form of tobacco. This includes a decade of research related to reducing the nicotine level within cigarettes to minimally addictive levels.

Another arm of Dr. Smith’s research focuses on the impact of non-combustible tobacco products on public health, including both their potential to serve as harm reduction tools for current smokers and their potential to increase harm for youth and non-smokers who initiate tobacco use with these products. Dr. Smith currently holds a NIDA-funded K01 to assess the role of e-cigarette device wattage and e-liquid nicotine concentration on e-cigarette reinforcement value and tobacco use patterns for current smokers who try these products.