Heat-not-burn (HNB) products, which heat a mixture of tobacco and other compounds to temperatures below those at which combustion occurs, deliver an inhalable aerosol containing nicotine and other chemicals. Although previous attempts by the tobacco industry to introduce such products have been largely unsuccessful, Philip Morris International’s iQOS is successfully being test marketed in several countries. In addition, Philip Morris Products S.A. has submitted modified risk tobacco product applications to the FDA to permit marketing iQOS in the United States.

Research scientific literature and tobacco industry documents related to contamination of tobacco by endotoxins and the tobacco industry’s attempts to remove the contamination. Research on the impact of cigarette butt disposal in the outdoor environment as toxic waste.  

Exposure assessment is necessary for evaluating the health effects of tobacco use.

My lab studies the chemistry and toxicity of smoke, with a focus on tobacco and cannabis smoke. As part of the UCSF Human Exposure Laboratory, we perform controlled exposure studies that test the immediate health effects of cigarette smoke exposure in human beings.  We have shown that breathing secondhand cigarette smoke causes rapid increases in cardiovascular disease risk and in nasal congestion.  Our research on the chemistry and toxicity of cigarette smoke has helped define a new health risk from smoking: thirdhand cigarette smoke.

We are studying the effects of both active smoking and secondhand smoke exposure on susceptibility to acute lung injury, a major cause of respiratory failure among critically ill patients.

Over the past decade, use of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) has been rapidly growing. Because e-cigarettes are relatively new to the market, there is little biologic data on their health effects, particularly how these health effects are affected by specific product characteristics.

Our group is working on the nature of the interaction between cannabis and tobacco. We use biomarkers to determine the concordance of usage of the two products in adolescents, and are conducting a laboratory study on the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of vaped cannabis vs vaped tobacco vs vaped cannabis + tobacco.  I am also interested the cardiovascular effects of cannabis use in people with heart disease.

Dr. Cataldo is conducting research on a wide range of issues related to smokers who develop lung cancer.  Several studies have explored the severity of lung cancer stigma and its relationship with the severity of physical (i.e., appetite, fatigue, cough, dyspnea, hemoptysis, pain, sleep) and psycho-social (i.e., self-esteem, anxiety, depression) symptoms and Quality of Life. Dr.

These studies apply innovative methods for quantitative morphometry and gene expression analyses to human tissue samples obtained at fiberoptic bronchoscopy. In work to date, we have applied these methods to study mechanisms of disease in asthma, COPD and sarcoidosis. Ongoing work in this area is supported by the NIH (R01 HL-095372). Our approaches combine the application of gene expression profiling methods (microarrays, qPCR, laser capture microdissection) and design–based stereology (for quantitative measurement of tissue remodeling in human samples).

Major goals: To use an integrated, interdisciplinary approach to obtain evidence about key aspects of the translation of genomic information for breast and colorectal cancer into clinical practice and health policy.

AA and EA smokers undergo detailed monitoring of smoking behavior, receive known doses of nicotine to establish nicotine metabolic rate, undergo DNA testing, and have their responses to not smoking for several hours studied. Exposure to carcinogens and other tobacco smoke toxins is also measured.  It is hypothesized that there are racial differences in metabolism that may explain different patterns of smoking, and that this in turn influences the reasons why smokers continue to self-administer nicotine (i.e., continue to smoke).

While co-administration of cannabis and tobacco is becoming increasingly common, the pharmacology of various modalities of co-administration is understudied.

The health consequences of smoking are primarily perceived to be cancer, cardiovascular disease, and chronic pulmonary disease, but acute pulmonary consequences of exposure to cigarette smoke are likely to be as or more important.  However, there has been little research on smoking and acute lung injury a common cause of acute respiratory failure in critically ill patients.

We are assessing the dose- and time-response of vascular functional impairment caused by exposure to second hand smoke at very low levels and short exposure times in rats.  

The goal of this study was to examine the associations between the rate of nicotine metabolism and cigarette consumption, addiction and withdrawal symptoms.

The Woodruff Laboratory supports sample analyses for clinical trials in asthma and COPD in both NIH and industry-supported studies. These sample analyses include measurement of changes in airway remodeling in response to specific therapeutic interventions, assessment of inflammation and the application of biomarkers to enhance the interpretation of clinical trials.

Proposition 64 legalized adult recreational use of cannabis in California, and there are concerns it will lead to an increase in prevalence and intensity of cannabis use in the state. Further, electronic vaporizers, which heat but do not combust cannabis materials, are being introduced in the market for use with cannabis. Vaporizers are perceived as safer alternatives to smoking and are gaining popularity.