简介

Dr. Brooks’ primary areas of research involve (1) epidemic of chronic kidney disease of unknown causes in Central America and (2) smoking cessation and tobacco-related disease. Major current projects include: 4. Principal Investigator of a project funded by the World Bank to search for causes of a long-term epidemic of chronic kidney disease in Central America, which is exploring multiple hypotheses. 2. Principal Investigator of a five-year grant from the National Cancer Institute to conduct a group-randomized trial in Boston public housing developments to test whether use of specialized resident community health advocates can increase use of smoking cessation treatments and subsequent quit rates among smokers living in public housing. 3. Co-investigator in a study funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to assess patterns of RNA gene expression associated with different smoking patterns and changes in gene expression for a six-month period following cessation of smoking. Prior to joining the faculty at BUSPH, Dr. Brooks spent more than 10 years at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, most recently as Director of the Health Survey Program, where he directed all aspects of the Massachusetts Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS).