Breadcrumb

Biography

Trained as a clinical health psychologist, Dr. Ward’s research and clinical work focus on community, healthcare system, and population-level approaches to reduce the burden of tobacco use. He was co-founder and Intervention Director of the NIH-funded Syrian Center for Tobacco Studies, where he directed clinical trials of cigarette and waterpipe (“hookah”) cessation. He was a Fulbright Scholar at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and continues collaborating there to improve the delivery of smoking cessation services to underrepresented communities. Other interests include behavioral and community approaches to improve chronic conditions such as cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis.

Areas of Specialty

  • Tobacco control and smoking cessation
  • Chronic disease prevention
  • Global health promotion

Education

  • AB, Psychology, Brown University
  • MS, Clinical Health Psychology, University of Memphis
  • PhD, Clinical Health Psychology, University of Memphis
  • Clinical Psychology Residency (behavioral medicine track), University of Mississippi Medical Center

Certifications

  • Certified Tobacco Treatment Specialist
  • National Certificate in Tobacco Treatment Practice

Achievements & Awards

  • Research Laureate, American Academy of Health Behavior
  • Fellow, American Academy of Health Behavior
  • Fellow, Society of Behavioral Medicine
  • Fellow, Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco
  • Fulbright Scholar, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
  • Faudree Professorship, University of Memphis
  • Willard R. Sparks Eminent Faculty Award, University of Memphis

Key Publications

  • Ahuja, N., Kedia, S., Ward, K. D., Jiang, Y., & Dillon, P. J. (2024). Predictors of Adolescents' Transition Through the Stages of Change for Quitting E-Cigarettes: Findings From the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health Study. American journal of health promotion: AJHP, 38(8), 1176–1187.
  • Alam, M.M., Ward, K.D., Bahelah, R., Kalan, M.E., Asfar, T., Eissenberg, T., & Maziak, W. (2020). The Syrian Center for Tobacco Studies-13 (SCTS-13): psychometric evaluation of a waterpipe-specific nicotine dependence instrument. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 215, 108192.
  • Alexander, A.C., & Ward, K.D., Forde, D.R., & Stockton, M. (2019). Are posttraumatic stress and depressive symptoms pathways to smoking relapse after a natural disaster? Findings from Hurricane Katrina. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 195, 178-185.
  • Asfar, T., Livingstone-Banks, J., Ward, K. D., Eissenberg, T., Oluwole, O., Bursac, Z., Ghaddar, T., & Maziak, W. (2023). Interventions for waterpipe smoking cessation. The Cochrane database of systematic reviews, 6(6), CD005549.
  • Bhatnagar, A., Maziak, W., Eissenberg, T., Ward, K.D., Thurston, G., King, B.A., Sutfin, E.L., Cobb, C., Griffiths, M., Goldstein, L.B., & Rezk-Hanna, on behalf of the Lifestyle and Epidemiology/Behavior Change Committee, American Heart Association. Waterpipe and cardiovascular disease risk: a scientific statement from the American Heart Association. (2019). Circulation, 139, e917-e936.
  • Ebrahimi Kalan, M., Jebai, R., Bursac, Z., Guam, P., Li, W., Anderson, T., Popova, L., Ward, K.D., Behaleh, R., & Ben Taleb, Z. Trends and factors related to blunt use among middle and high school students, 2010-2020. (2021). Pediatrics, 148(1):e2020028159.
  • Ebrahimi Kalan, M., Jebai, R., Li, W., Gautam, P., Osibogun, O., Alqahtani, M. M., Ward, K. D., Behaleh, R., Bursac, Z., & Ben Taleb, Z. (2023). High on Hookah: Smoking Marijuana from a Hookah among Adults in the United States, Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health Study, 2015-2019. Substance use & misuse, 58(5), 657–665.
  • Ebrahimi Kalan, M., Li, W., Osibogun, O., Jebai, R., Gautam, P., Erinoso, O., Alemohammad, S. Y., Khosravaniardakani, S., Dargahi Abbasabad, G., Behaleh, R., Ward, K. D., Bursac, Z., & Ben Taleb, Z. (2024). Trends and Disparities in Waterpipe Tobacco Smoking Among US Adolescents and Adults: PATH Study 2013-2021. Tobacco use insights, 17, 1179173X241275352.
  • Ebrahami Kalan, M., Ward, K.D., Harrell, P.T., & Ben Taleb, Z. (2023). Causal inference in nicotine and tobacco research. Journal of Addictive Disease. Aug 31;1-4. doi: 10.1080/10550887.2023.2252305.
  • Kedia, S., Ahuja, N., Hammal, F., Asfar, T., Eissenberg, T., Maziak, W., & Ward, K. D. (2022). "Waterpipe Is Like a Wife": Qualitative Assessment of Perspectives on Waterpipe Smoking Dependence. Addiction & health, 14(4), 268–278.
  • Kilmurray, C., Vander Weg, M., Wilson, N., Relyea, G., McClanahan, B., Stockton, M. B., & Ward, K. D. (2023). Determinants of smoking related weight-concern in smokers participating in a community-based cessation program. Eating behaviors, 51, 101809.
  • Maziak, W., Ward, K.D., Afifi Soweid, R.A., & Eissenberg, T. (2004). Tobacco smoking using a waterpipe: a re-emerging strain in a global epidemic. Tobacco Control, 13, 327-333.
  • Raghuveer, G., White, D., Hayman, L., Woo, J., Villafane, J., Celermajer, D., Ward, K.D., DeFerranti, S., & Zachariah, J, on behalf of the Atherosclerosis, Hypertension & Obesity in Youth Committee of the Cardiovascular Disease in the Young Council of the American Heart Association (2016). American Heart Association Scientific Statement: Cardiovascular Consequences of Childhood Second Hand Tobacco Smoke Exposure: Prevailing Evidence, Burden, Racial and Socioeconomic Disparities. Circulation, 134, e336-e359.
  • Salloum, R. G., Romani, M., Bteddini, D. S., El-Jardali, F., Lee, J. H., Theis, R., LeLaurin, J. H., Hamadeh, R., Osman, M., Abla, R., Khaywa, J., Ward, K. D., Shelley, D., & Nakkash, R. (2023). An effectiveness-implementation hybrid trial of phone-based tobacco cessation interventions in the Lebanese primary healthcare system: protocol for project PHOENICS. Implementation science communications, 4(1), 72.
  • Shukr, B., Bartelli, D., Ward, K. D., Ray, M., Maziak, W., & Mzayek, F. (2023). The effect of exposure to tobacco smoking-related media messages on youths' smoking behavior in Jordan: A longitudinal, school-based study. Preventive medicine, 166, 107386
  • Stockton, M.B., Ward, K.D., McClanahan, B.S., Vander Weg, M.W., Coday, M., Wilson, N., Relyea, G., Read, M.C., Connelly, S., & Johnson, K.C. (2023). The efficacy of individualized, community-based physical activity to aid smoking cessation: a randomized controlled trial. Journal of Smoking Cessation. Article ID 5535832
  • Ward, K.D. Reflections on 15 years in the global tobacco trenches. (2017). Health Behavior Research, 1, https://doi.org/10.4148/2572-1836.1007
  • Ward, K.D., Asfar, T., Al-Ali, R., Vander Weg, M.W., Eissenberg, T., & Maziak, W. (2013). Randomized trial of the effectiveness of combined behavioral/pharmacological smoking cessation treatment in Syrian primary care clinics. Addiction, 108, 394-403.
  • Ward, K.D., Eissenberg, T., Rastam, S., Asfar, T., Mzayek, F., Fouad, M.F., Hammal, F., Mock, J., & Maziak, W. (2006). The tobacco epidemic in Syria. Tobacco Control, 15(Suppl 1), i24-29.
  • Ward, K.D., Kedia, S., Webb, L., & Relyea, G. (2012). Nicotine dependence among clients receiving publicly funded substance abuse treatment. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 125, 95-102.
  • Ward, K.D., & Klesges, R.C. (2001). A meta-analysis of the effects of cigarette smoking on bone mineral density. Calcified Tissue International, 68, 259-270. PMID: 11683532
  • Ward, K.D., Kumar, J., Khan, Z., & Jiang, Y. (2019). Characteristics of waterpipe health warning labels in the United States. American Journal of Health Behavior, 43, 858-865.
  • Ward, K. D., Mukhopadhyay, A., Lugemwa, T., Vander Weg, M. W., Asfar, T., & Maziak, W. (2024). Characteristics of waterpipe wmokers who are willing to quit: population-based findings from Syria. Addiction & health, 16(3), 163–172.
  • Ward, K.D., Siddiqi, K., Ahluwalia, J.S., Alexander, A.C., & Asfar, T. (2015). Waterpipe tobacco smoking: the critical need for cessation treatment. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 153, 14-21.
  • Yang, Y., Lindblom, E.N., Salloum, R.G., & Ward, K.D. (2023). Reactions to hypothetical flavor bans among users of current flavored e-cigarettes. Translational Behavioral Medicine, 13, 533-538.
  • Yang, Y., Lindblom, E. N., Ward, K. D., & Salloum, R. G. (2024). Would banning menthol cigarettes, flavored cigars, and flavored e-cigarettes prompt users to seek illicit channels for obtaining them in the United States?. Preventive medicine, 183, 107954.
  • Yang, Y., Lindblom, E. N., Ward, K. D., & Salloum, R. G. (2024). Should menthol e-cigarettes be banned? Reaction of adult smokers and users of e-cigarettes to hypothetical bans. Tobacco control, 33(e1), e125–e127.
  • Full list of publications:

Gender

Male

Contact Information

505.272.4083