• PhD, University of Alabama - Birmingham

A controlled evaluation of abstinence-induced withdrawal and motivation to vape/smoke among daily ENDS users vs. cigarette smokers. Withdrawal is considered a major feature of nicotine/tobacco addiction and a key challenge to quitting smoking and/or electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS). However, little is known about nicotine withdrawal in ENDS users or its role in driving product use. This project systematically and comprehensively characterizes withdrawal among daily vapers compared to daily smokers, filling gaps in our understanding of ENDS dependence/abuse liability and contributing to the development of therapies.

Automatic detection of vaping rate and patterning in the lab and the natural environment using Flexible, Robust Instrumentation of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (FRIENDS). Our ability to accurately characterize and non-obtrusively track ENDS puff behavior is quite limited. To overcome this barrier, this research uses a novel Flexible Robust Instrumentation of ENDS (FRIENDS) monitor to assess puff behavior in the lab and natural environment. We aim to advance our understanding of ENDS use behavior, make available to the field a validated, inexpensive, and accurate method for future studies, and guide the development of improved self-report assessments.

EVarQuit: Extinguishing cigarette smoking via extended pre-quit varenicline. This project aims to improve cessation rates obtained with varenicline by a simple but theory-based manipulation: increasing the duration of pre-quit varenicline treatment from 1 to 4 weeks. Positive results of this trial can be readily applied to reduce the public health burden of smoking, and the mechanistic data collected in the study will refine theory and guide treatment development. 

We collaborate on other funded projects, with our lab focusing on cognitive performance and clinical psychophysiology:

• Development of strategies to reduce the impact of the relative age effect on kindergarteners with ADHD
• Development of Negative Valence Measures
• Prenatal Tobacco and Cannabis Exposure: A Translational Study

• Tonkin, S.S., Colder, C., Mahoney, M.C., Swan, G., Cinciripini, P., Schnoll, R., George, T., Tyndale, R.F., Lerman, C., & Hawk, L.W., Jr. (2022). Evaluating treatment mechanisms of varenicline: Mediation by affect and craving. Nicotine & Tobacco Research. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/ntr/ntac138. PMID: 35639828. [Editor’s Choice distinction]
• Cooper, R.K., Lawson, S.C., Tonkin, S.S., Ziegler, A.M., Temple, J.L., & Hawk, L.W., Jr. (2021). Caffeine enhances sustained attention among adolescents. Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, 29(1), 82-89. DOI:10.1037/pha0000364. PMID: 32437192.
• Lawson, S.C., Gass, J.C., Cooper, R.K., Tonkin, S.S., Colder, C.R., Mahoney, M.C., Tiffany, S.T., & Hawk, L.W., Jr. (2021). The impact of three weeks of pre-quit varenicline on reinforcing value and craving for cigarettes in a laboratory choice procedure. Psychopharmacology, 238, 599-609. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-020-05713-7.
• Mahoney, M.C., Park, E., Schlienz, N.J., Duerr, C., & Hawk, L.W. (2021). Transitioning to remote clinic visits in a smoking cessation trial during the SARS coronavirus-2 pandemic: Mixed methods evaluation. JMIR Formative Research, 5(4), e25541. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2196/25541. PMID: 33878020.
• Tonkin, S., Williams, T., Simms, L., Tiffany, S., Mahoney, M., Schnoll, R., Cinciripini, P., & Hawk, L.W., Jr. (2020). Withdrawal symptom, treatment mechanism, and/or side effect? Developing an explicit measurement model for smoking cessation research. Nicotine & Tobacco Research, 482-491. https://doi.org/10.1093/ntr/nty262. PMID: 30535357. PMCID: PMC7164574.
• Hawk, L.W., Jr., Fosco, W.D., Colder, C.R., Waxmonsky, J.G., Pelham, W.E., Jr., & Rosch, K.S. (2018). How do stimulant treatments for ADHD work? Evidence for mediation by improved cognition. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. doi:10.1111/jcpp.12917.
• Brandon, T.H., Unrod, M., Drobes D.J., Sutton, S.K., Hawk, L.W., Simmons, V.N., Brandon, K.O., Roetzheim, R.G., Meltzer, L.R., Miller, R.R., & Cahill, S.P. (2018). Facilitated extinction training to improve pharmacotherapy for smoking cessation: A pilot feasibility trial. Nicotine & Tobacco Research, 20, 1189-1197. DOI: 10.1093/ntr/ntx203.
• Schlienz, N., & Hawk, L.W., Jr. (2017). Probing the behavioral and neurophysiological effects of acute smoking abstinence on drug and non-drug reinforcement during a cognitive task. Nicotine & Tobacco Research, 19, 729-737. doi:10.1093/ntr/ntw277.
• Rhodes, J.D., & Hawk, L.W., Jr. (2016). Smoke and mirrors: The overnight abstinence paradigm as an index of disrupted cognitive function. Psychopharmacology, 233(8), 1395-1404.DOI:10.1007/s00213-016-4227-8. PMID: 26875757.
• Hawk, L.W., Jr., Ashare, R.L., Rhodes, J.D., Oliver, J., Cummings, K.M., & Mahoney, M.C. (2015). Does extended pre-quit bupropion aid in extinguishing smoking behavior? Nicotine & Tobacco Research,17, 1377-84. PMID: 25589680.
• Lerman, C., Schnoll, R.A., Hawk, L.W., Jr., Cinciripini, P.M., George, T.P., Wileyto, E.P., Swan, G.E., Benowitz, N.L., Heitjan, D.F., & Tyndale, R.F. on behalf of the PGRN-PNAT Research Group (2015). A randomized placebo-controlled trial to test a genetically-informed biomarker for personalizing treatment for tobacco dependence. Lancet Respiratory Medicine, 3(2), 131-138. PMID: 25588294. PMCID: PMC4480925.
• Ashare, R.L. & Hawk, L.W., Jr. (2012). Effects of smoking abstinence on impulsive behavior among smokers high and low ADHD-like symptoms. Psychopharmacology, 219, 537-547. Appears in the Special Issue on Impulsivity and Compulsivity. DOI:10.1007/s00213-011-2324-2. PMCID: PMC3184469.
• Gass, J.C., Wray, J.M., Hawk, L.W., Mahoney, M.C., & Tiffany, S.T. (2012). The impact of varenicline on cue-specific craving assessed in the natural environment among treatment-seeking smokers. Psychopharmacol, 223, 107-116. DOI 10.1007/s00213-012-2698-9. PMCID: PMC3419339.
• Hawk, L.W., Jr., Ashare, R.L., Lohnes, S.F., Schlienz, N.J., Rhodes, J.D., Tiffany, S.T., Gass, J.C., Cummings, K.M., & Mahoney, M.C. (2012). The effects of extended pre-quit varenicline treatment on smoking behavior and short-term abstinence: A randomized clinical trial. Clin Pharmacol & Ther, 91, 172-180. PMCID: PMC3325094.