Jon-Patrick Allem

Jon-Patrick Allem is an Associate Professor of Social and Behavioral Sciences in the Department of Health Behavior, Society and Policy at Rutgers School of Public Health, an Associate Professor of General Internal Medicine in the Division of General Internal Medicine at the Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, and a Core Member of the Institute for Nicotine & Tobacco Studies (INTS). He obtained a B.A. in political science with a minor in history and a M.A. in political science from San Diego State University and completed a Ph.D. in health behavior research from the Keck School of Medicine of USC. His postdoctoral training was completed in tobacco regulatory science at the USC Tobacco Center of Regulatory Science (TCORS). In 2019, he founded the Social Media Analytics (SOMA) Lab in the Department of Population and Public Health Sciences at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. As the Director of the SOMA Lab, he successfully competed for 4 million dollars in government contracts and grants, served as the directed research advisor for 33 undergraduate students, mentored six master’s students, four doctoral students, one postgraduate, testified in court against corporations, and was regularly quoted in the news media.

Dr. Allem’s research shows the different ways that corporations influence adolescent health, with current projects focused on identifying sources of exposure to tobacco marketing among adolescents and young adults. Beyond the impact of his science on scientific discourse, he is committed to using his science to impact public health. In this case it involves advocating for policies that protect children and adolescents from harmful media exposures and exacting punishments for companies that harm children through their unfair marketing practices. Because companies fight such policies, this type of advocacy necessarily involves the judiciary system, working with attorneys at the state and local level to develop, pass and enforce restrictions, and enact punishments. By working in this way, Dr. Allem aims to apply his research in ways to protect the health of large numbers of children.​​​​​​