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 the 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, a Core Member of the Rutgers Institute for Nicotine & Tobacco Studies (INTS), and a member of the Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey. 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).

For years, Dr. Allem’s research has focused on collecting and analyzing social media data to understand health-related attitudes and behaviors. More recently, his program of research has evolved to include a focus on how the content found on social media shapes health-related attitudes and behaviors with a specific focus on how exposure to pro-tobacco content impacts young people's intentions to use tobacco products. Beyond the impact of his research on scientific discourse, he is committed to using his research 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.

Dr. Allem teaches a course on corporate influence on public health, covering topics from social media’s impact on adolescent health to the concentration of power in the food industry and its impact on public health.