Charlie McCormick defending her honors thesis at the Undergraduate Research Symposium

Author: Charlotte McCormick | Major: Public Health | Semester: Spring 2024

My name is Charlotte (Charlie) McCormick. I am a rising senior Honors Public Health Major and a Human Development and Family Sciences Minor. My wonderful mentor is Dr. Page Dobbs in the Department of Health, Human Performance and Recreation. In the 2024 Spring Grant Period, we worked together on our research to proactively identify policy loopholes and enforcement challenges associated with current statewide menthol restriction laws and the proposed FDA’s national menthol ban. I plan to continue my research career at the University of Arkansas by pursuing the Accelerated Master of Public Health Program and continuing to work in the Health Equity and Addictions Lab with Dr. Dobbs throughout my undergraduate and graduate career.

I am sure the mass popularity of e-cigarettes is no surprise to my fellow students. Many government officials have proposed policies to combat this growing trend, yet these policies often fall short stemming from inherent loopholes within them which quickly enable the tobacco industry to adapt and circumvent regulations without overtly violating them. My research focuses on using TikTok because although the status quo for tobacco control research i.e. surveys, interviews, and interventions to collect data about policy impact are necessary, they often lack real-time application due to the changing landscape of tobacco control policies. Collecting data from a real-time source will quickly allow us to get comprehensive insights and fulfill our research objective by proactively identifying policy loopholes, enforcement challenges, and circumvention strategies related to statewide menthol restriction laws and the FDA’s proposed national menthol and flavor restriction.

I began my honors career in Spring 2023 when I joined the Dean Seminar on Addictions. I became invested in the class curriculum and wanted to immerse myself further. I was fortunate enough to attend the 2023 NWA Community Substance Use Prevention Conference as a sophomore, and it was there that I met my now mentor Dr. Dobbs. Working in the Health Equity and Addictions Lab was the natural next step for me, I have always been impassioned by ensuring accountability in Public Health and using my research to protect vulnerable populations, in this case protecting youth from the e-cigarette epidemic.

My research experience has been invaluable to my personal growth outside of academia. Since joining the Health Equity and Addictions Lab under Dr. Dobbs, I have found my work largely contributing to my continued self-actualization. It has shown me I have meaningful contributions to make in tobacco control research, affirming my place in public health research. Having had such wonderful and nurturing opportunities as a student has demonstrated that I have a promising future in academia and that my voice can be both heard and impactful in academia, even though I am still an undergraduate student.

This, of course, couldn’t have been done without my fabulous mentor Dr. Page Dobbs. Dr. Dobbs has had such a big impact on my college experience, I am forever grateful for her influence and support. I hope every undergraduate gets to experience a great academic mentor but most importantly a great life mentor, I wouldn’t have been writing this if it were not for her. I have learned that public health challenges require a critical eye and a compassionate heart, Dr. Dobbs is the textbook example of both. In addition, the entire department has shown such profound support and belief in me and my research throughout the semester. I am so enduringly grateful for the Honors College; Dr. Dobbs and my fellow Health Equity and Addictions Lab partners.

For a poster presentation, I had the honor of traveling to the Society for Research in Nicotine and Tobacco’s annual conference in Edinburgh, Scotland. This was my first academic conference as a researcher in the Health Equity and Addictions lab, and my second in my academic career. Almost a year since I originally met Dr. Dobbs at the NWA Community Substance Use Prevention Conference, I was so incredibly humbled to present my research on such a large scale. I had many opportunities to network with researchers whose work I have long been inspired by and cited throughout my undergraduate career were so accessible and eager to share their work and experience with me. In addition, I had the opportunity to travel there with my fellow undergraduate researchers, and being able to see them in action as strong academic minds was very inspiring.

I am deeply grateful to the Honors College and the Arkansas Division of Higher Education for the Student Undergraduate Research Fellowship, which has allowed me to continue my research and deepen my passion for public health. This fellowship has provided me with the resources and support needed to travel abroad and has been essential in the conclusion and distribution of my research and my zealousness to continue it. The opportunity to work closely with my mentor, Dr. Page Dobbs, and contribute to the Health Equity and Addictions Lab has been next to none. Thank you for enabling me to make meaningful strides in tobacco control research and for investing in my academic and professional development.