Biobehavioral Health Alumni Profile: Andrew Strasser, Ph.D.

picture of Andrew Strasser

B.A. 1995 General Arts and Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University
Ph.D. 2002 Biobehavioral Health, The Pennsylvania State University

On the Ph.D. program, in his words:

“Biobehavioral Health provided the training opportunities to become a multidisciplinary
scientist by encouraging coursework and research across traditional domains and importantly learning the process of integrating this knowledge into a component. I would highly recommend Biobehavioral Health to a student who was interested in examining health-related issues from several complimentary perspectives.”

“Because of the flexibility in training opportunities and coursework it is important to have a solid sense of what you expect to achieve in the program. I believe it is also essential to be flexible enough that when opportunities arise you take advantage. Although some of the projects I worked on differed from what I planned as a career, the learning opportunities made me a better scientist. Similarly, my experiences of being a teaching assistant for courses that were not in my specific field made me a better teacher because the faculty were outstanding and I found I could apply their techniques when it came time for me to teach in the classroom or laboratory.”

Employment

2002 -  2003  Postdoctoral Fellow, Transdisciplinary Tobacco Use Research Center, University of Pennsylvania
2003 – 2005  Research Associate, Transdisciplinary   Tobacco Use Research Center, University of Pennsylvania
2005 – present Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania

Ph.D. Thesis Title

The effect of behavioral variations on individual differences in carbon monoxide exposure during cigarette smoking.

Brief description: Examining individual differences in smoking behavior and harm exposure during cigarette filter vent blocking.

Ph.D. advisor

Dr. Lynn Kozlowski