Vaping Research Serves as Case Study on the Power of Interdisciplinary Collaboration

Interdisciplinary research is held up as the goal in academic public health, but what does it actually look like in practice? A recent Columbia Mailman School Grand Rounds discussion provided an opportunity to examine one such collaborative undertaking: the VapeScan study, which has brought together researchers with diverse expertise to examine the effects of vaping on young adults.

Ana Navas-Acien, chair, Environmental Health Sciences; Daniel Giovenco, associate professor of sociomedical sciences, and Elizabeth Oelsner, associate professor of Medicine at Vagelos College of Physicians & Surgeons, presented findings from the study. Interim Dean Kathy Sikkema, introduced the speakers. A moderated discussion and audience Q&A was led by Yuna Lee, PhD, assistant professor of health policy and management, following the presentations.

“The VapeScan Study grew out of a simple but urgent question: what are e-cigarettes doing to the health of young adults? This work was possible by bringing together investigators across disciplines to ask that question in a rigorous, comprehensive way,” said Navas-Acien, who began studying the cardiovascular impacts of vaping prior to joining Columbia Mailman School in 2016. 

“We began to see early signals on the dangers of vaping, but the data in young adults were extremely limited. At Columbia, we had the opportunity to build something much larger—combining environmental health, epidemiology, clinical imaging, and mental health expertise into a single collaborative effort,” she said.

Key Findings

While young adults were among the most enthusiastic adopters of e-cigarettes, prior to the VapeScan study, very little was known about the specific impacts of vaping on this population. Conducted among 372 young adults in New York City with a median age of 26, the study has examined a variety of vaping and smoking behaviors, from people who never vaped to those who exclusively use e-cigarettes, dual users, and former smokers.

One of the study’s most striking findings was that young adults who used e-cigarettes but had never smoked combustible cigarettes showed higher blood pressure levels compared with individuals who had never used either product. Blood pressure increases were also associated with frequency of e-cigarette use, measured by the number of puffs per day.

Collaboration Across the Medical Center and Beyond

With members across Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC), the researchers examined respiratory health by performing pulmonary function tests, lung computed tomography, and cardiopulmonary magnetic resonance imaging. They also used questionnaire data to study associations between e-cigarette use and mental health symptoms such as depression and anxiety.

“There was very little clinical imaging data on e-cigarette use in young adults,” said Oelsner. “By working across departments, we were able to look at the heart, lungs, and mental health outcomes together, which is critical for understanding the full health impact.”

An expert on the impact of e-cigarette advertising, Daniel Giovenco, noted that targeted marketing and advertising expenditures are linked to higher rates of use. In collaboration with the New York City Department of Health, he has also explored how mental health—particularly depression—intersects with tobacco and e-cigarette use, underscoring the need for further research among vulnerable populations. (Industry’s response to emerging evidence has been to downplay findings by attributing health impacts to demographic or social characteristics rather than product exposure, Giovenco noted.)

Giovenco likened interdisciplinary research to being a band leader: knowing when to lead, when to collaborate, and how to bring together different strengths to create something stronger than any solo effort. Oelsner echoed this sentiment, noting that CUIMC’s structure actively supports collaboration across schools, departments, and grants—making ambitious, cross-cutting research not only possible, but enjoyable.

A Model for Future Research

While VapeScan has highlighted significant health risks of e-cigarettes for young people, a number of unanswered questions remain. Future research may examine the effects of e-cigarettes on male reproductive health, sense of smell, and eating behaviors.

Already, the VapeScan study serves as a model for how collaboration can bridge critical research gaps and address complex public health challenges. Integrating environmental health, clinical medicine, mental health, and policy perspectives, interdisciplinary science may ultimately inform prevention strategies and public health policy.

“This study shows the power of collaboration at CUIMC,” noted Navas-Acien. “One project that focused on vaping became a platform for multiple new studies, new partnerships, and new questions that none of us could have answered on our own.”