Honors student Tyler Merreighn standing next to his poster after presenting during a poster session at the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco’s 2023 meeting

Author: Tyler Merreighn | Majors: Public Health & Biology | Semester: Spring 2023

My name is Tyler Merreighn, and I am a senior Honors public health and biology student with a minor in medical humanities. My research is focused on exploring young adult e-cigarette users’ experiences with trying to quit using e-cigarettes. The findings from this project will inform the development of cessation programs targeted toward youth and young adults who want to quit using e-cigarettes.

I recently traveled to San Antonio, Texas to present my research during a poster session at the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco’s Annual Meeting, the world’s largest conference for cutting-edge nicotine and tobacco research. I attended three poster sessions, two paper sessions, and a health equity lecture, learning about different research being conducted in the field of nicotine and tobacco.

I had the opportunity to meet peers in my field from Yale University, the University of Pennsylvania, and Stony Brook University, and we discussed our plans after graduating, struggles we have encountered in our research projects, and our interests outside of research. It was encouraging to meet likeminded individuals. I also met some of my faculty mentor’s network and was invited to reach out to the Director of Johns Hopkins’ Institute for Global Tobacco Control if I am ever looking for opportunities in the field of tobacco research. It was nice to meet so many individuals who were working toward a common goal: generating an evidence base to regulate Big Tobacco and help those who suffer as a result of Big Tobacco’s tactics and products.

During the health equity lecture I attended, the speaker discussed how evidence suggests that Black/African American, Hispanic, and White populations have very different perceptions of and relationships with the nicotine and tobacco industry. If I continue in research, I hope to set quotas on the data collection platform I am using (Qualtrics, Prolific, etc.) to ensure my sample is representative of these populations. This will allow me to draw more well-informed conclusions without generalizing conclusions from majority-White samples, as many studies do.

Presenting my research during a poster session allowed me to interact with many individuals, and this improved my confidence in communicating technical information and helped prepare me for my thesis defense later this semester. I also got to answer people’s questions, which included many questions about scales we adapted from combustible cigarette to e-cigarette use. Before my defense later this semester, I plan to practice explaining these scales and the constructs they are composed of. Attendees took special interest in the qualitative portion of my poster, as most research presented at the conference (around 90-95% if I had to guess based on my observations) was strictly quantitative data. This excites me, as it means my research project really stands out, and I plan to edit my poster to include more qualitative data before I present it again later this semester.

This conference was attended by 1180 individuals from 40 countries, so it’s a large conference for networking with the field’s leading researchers. Also, next year’s meeting is in Edinburgh, Scotland, so that will be a bit more exciting than Texas! If you’re interested in nicotine and tobacco research, this is undoubtedly the best conference for you regarding networking opportunities and learning about other research happening in the field.
In April, I plan to present a poster at the National Undergraduate Research Week Poster Competition and the College of Education and Health Professions Honors Research Symposium, both taking place on the University of Arkansas campus. I also plan to submit a manuscript to the Drug and Alcohol Dependence journal, with hopes of being a published author soon after graduation.