2013 Annenberg School for Communication Ph.D. graduate and Communication professor Andy Tan was recently named a 2026 Fellow of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco.
Tan, who serves as the director of the Annenberg School’s Health Communication & Equity Lab, joins SRNT’s 10th cohort of fellows selected for their contributions to research in the field. Tan told The Daily Pennsylvanian that it is “an honor” to be “conferred” with the society's fellow status.
“This research cannot be done just by an individual — it's really a huge team involved in generating new science and new knowledge for the purpose of reducing population harms from nicotine and tobacco use,” Tan said.
Tan explained that he specifically works on “advancing communication science” to reduce tobacco-related health disparities and improve “health equity.”
When evaluating fellow nominations, SRNT considers whether the individual has made “seminal contributions that have influenced the direction of the field,” and “established a distinguished track record of publications.”
“I'm really honored that my colleagues and my peers in the society have recognized that the work that me and my lab have been generating meets that standard,” Tan said.
His lab works on two National Institutes of Health-funded projects that develop health information for the purpose of reducing vaping and smoking among LGBTQ+ youth: “Project SMART: Social Media Anti-vaping Messages to Reduce ENDS Use Among Sexual and Gender Minority Teens,” and “Project RESIST: Increasing Resistance to Tobacco Marketing Among Young Adult Sexual Minority Women Using Inoculation Message Approaches.”
Tan emphasized his lab’s commitment to sharing their findings “beyond our traditional academic outlets.” They work with youth content and use feedback from LGBTQ+ alliances, youth organizations, and school programs to help the lab’s findings “be disseminated more broadly to non-research audiences.”
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Tan has been involved with SRNT for over a decade, and has served as the society's health equity network co-chair since March 2022. Members must be part of the organization for at least five years before being eligible for Fellow Status.
“Being a fellow doesn't change anything overnight,” he added. “I'm still really passionate about enhancing the quality of the research and the quality of new knowledge that we're generating.”
He emphasized the importance of expanding the field of nicotine and tobacco research. Tan expressed hope that as a fellow, he can continue researching the youth populations that are “disproportionately impacted by commercial tobacco products,” and mentoring new investigators.
“We definitely want to grow the field by ensuring the next generation of investigators are committed to studying the impacts of nicotine and tobacco use on priority populations,” Tan added.
The recent fellow status follows prior recognition that Tan has received for his work.
In January 2025, Tan was one of five Penn professors to receive a 2024 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, which is the “highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on outstanding scientists and engineers beginning their independent careers.”
In March 2025, the NIH terminated three Penn research project grants — including both of Tan's. During the summer of 2025, both research grants were reinstated after a district court ordered the federal agency to restore roughly 800 grants.
