
Jason D. Robinson, Ph.D.
Department of Behavioral Science, Division of Cancer Prevention and Population Sciences
About Dr. Robinson
Dr. Jason D. Robinson is a Professor in the Department of Behavioral Science at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and a member of its Tobacco Research and Treatment Program. As a clinical psychologist, he began his research career as a human psychophysiologist, centered on identifying the neurobehavioral adaptations that result from smoking, identifying the individual, genetic, and developmental differences that influence these neurobehavioral adaptations, and modifying these neurobehavioral adaptations using novel pharmacological and non-pharmacological approaches. He has also pursued research in the use of genetics to identify nicotine dependence phenotypes, the stress hormone response to smoking, the treatment of nicotine dependence among at-risk populations, and new drug development for the treatment of nicotine dependence. More recently, Dr. Robinson has engaged in research evaluating the potential risks and benefits of alternative nicotine products, particularly electronic cigarettes, among smokers who switch to them.
Education & Training
Degree-Granting Education
2002 | Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA, PHD, Clinical Psychology |
1997 | Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA, MS, Clinical Psychology |
1993 | Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA, BA, Psychology |
Selected Publications
Peer-Reviewed Articles
- Cinciripini PM, Minnix JA, Robinson JD, Kypriotakis G, Cui Y, Blalock JA, Lam CY, Wetter DW. The effects of scheduled smoking reduction and precessation nicotine replacement therapy on smoking cessation: Randomized controlled trial with compliance. JMIR Form Res 7:e39487, 2023. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 37338956.
- Robinson JD, Cui Y, Linares Abrego P, Engelmann JM, Prokhorov AV, Vidrine DJ, Shete S, Cinciripini PM. Sustained reduction of attentional bias to smoking cues by smartphone-delivered attentional bias modification training for smokers. Psychol Addict Behav 36(7):906-919, 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 35025555.
- Avila JC, Berg CJ, Robinson JD, Ahluwalia JS. Short and Long-Term Cigarette and Tobacco Abstinence among Daily and Non-Daily Older Smokers. Nicotine Tob Res 24(11):1773-1780, 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 35511741.
- Robinson JD, Karam-Hage M, Kypriotakis G, Beneventi D, Blalock JA, Cui Y, Gonzalez R, Tayar J, Chaftari P, Cinciripini PM. Bupropion XL and SR have similar effectiveness and adverse event profiles when used to treat smoking among patients at a comprehensive cancer center. Am J Addict 31(3):236-241, 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 35347796.
- Robinson JD, Cui Y, Karam-Hage M, Kypriotakis G, Versace F, Ait-Daoud Tiouririne N, Anthenelli RM, Cinciripini PM. Topiramate decreases the salience of motivationally relevant visual cues among smokers with alcohol use disorder. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 46(3):384-395, 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 35037278.
- Cui Y, Robinson JD, Rymer RE, Minnix JA, Cinciripini PM. Python Package abstcal: An Open-Source Tool for Calculating Abstinence from Timeline Followback Data. Nicotine Tob Res 24(1):146–148, 2022. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 33912971.
- Cui Y, Robinson JD, Rymer RE, Minnix JA, Cinciripini PM. You Don't Need an App-Conducting Mobile Smoking Research Using a Qualtrics-Based Approach. Front Digit Health 3:799468, 2021. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 35072151.
- Robinson JD, Kypriotakis G, Al'absi M, Denlinger-Apte RL, Drobes DJ, Leischow SJ, McClernon FJ, Pacek LR, Severson HH, Smith TT, Donny EC, Luo X, Jensen JA, Strayer LG, Cinciripini PM, Hatsukami DK. Very low nicotine content cigarettes disrupt the feedback loop of affective states and smoking behavior. Nicotine Tob Res 22(8):1294–1300, 2020. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 31701153.
- Frank DW, Cinciripini PM, Deweese MM, Karam-Hage M, Kypriotakis G, Lerman C, Robinson JD, Tyndale RF, Vidrine DJ, Versace F. Toward precision medicine for smoking cessation: Developing a neuroimaging-based classification algorithm to identify smokers at higher risk for relapse. Nicotine Tob Res 22 (8)(11):1277-1284, 2020. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 31724052.
- Cui Y, Engelmann JM, Gilbert DG, Waters AJ, Cinciripini PM, Robinson JD. The impact of nicotine dose and instructed dose on smokers' implicit attitudes to smoking cues: An ERP study. Psychol Addict Behav 33(8):710-720, 2019. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 31657594.
- Cinciripini PM, Karam-Hage M, Kypriotakis G, Robinson JD, Rabius V, Beneventi D, Minnix JA, Blalock JA. Association of a comprehensive smoking cessation program with smoking abstinence among patients with cancer. JAMA Netw Open 2(9):e1912251, 2019. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 31560387.
- Stevens EM, Frank D, Codispoti M, Kypriotakis G, Cinciripini PM, Claiborne K, Deweese MM, Engelmann JM, Green CE, Karam-Hage M, Minnix JA, Ng J, Robinson JD, Tyndale RF, Vidrine DJ, Versace F. The late positive potentials evoked by cigarette-related and emotional images show no gender differences in smokers. Sci Rep 9(1):3240, 2019. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 30824792.
- Robinson JD, Li L, Chen M, Lerman C, Tyndale RF, Schnoll RA, Hawk LW, George TP, Benowitz NL, Cinciripini PM. Evaluating the temporal relationships between withdrawal symptoms and smoking relapse. Psychol Addict Behav 33(2):105-116, 2019. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 30614717.
- Carmella SG, Heskin AK, Tang MK, Jensen J, Luo X, Le CT, Murphy SE, Benowitz NL, McClernon FJ, Vandrey R, Allen SS, Denlinger-Apte R, Cinciripini PM, Strasser AA, al'Absi M, Robinson JD, Donny EC, Hatsukami DK, Hecht SS. Longitudinal stability in cigarette smokers of urinary eicosanoid biomarkers of oxidative damage and inflammation. PLoS One 14(4):e0215853, 2019. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 31022220.
- Chen M, Carmella SG, Sipe C, Jensen J, Luo X, Le CT, Murphy SE, Benowitz NL, McClernon FJ, Vandrey R, Allen SS, Denlinger-Apte R, Cinciripini PM, Strasser AA, al'Absi M, Robinson JD, Donny EC, Hatsukami D, Hecht SS. Longitudinal stability in cigarette smokers of urinary biomarkers of exposure to the toxicants acrylonitrile and acrolein. PLoS One 14(1):e0210104, 2019. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 30608961.
- Hatsukami DK, Luo X, Jensen JA, al'Absi M, Allen SS, Carmella SG, Chen M, Cinciripini PM, Denlinger-Apte R, Drobes DJ, Koopmeiners JS, Lane T, Le CT, Leischow S, Luo K, McClernon FJ, Murphy SE, Paiano V, Robinson JD, Severson H, Sipe C, Strasser AA, Strayer LG, Tang MK, Vandrey R, Hecht SS, Benowitz NL, Donny EC. Effect of Immediate vs Gradual Reduction in Nicotine Content of Cigarettes on Biomarkers of Smoke Exposure: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA 320(9):880-891, 2018. PMID: 30193275.
- Kypriotakis G, Robinson JD, Green CE, Cinciripini PM. Patterns of tobacco product use and correlates among adults in the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) study: A latent class analysis. Nicotine Tob Res 20(suppl. 1):S81-S87, 2018. PMID: 30125013.
- Deweese MM, Codispoti M, Robinson JD, Cinciripini PM, Versace F. Cigarette cues capture attention of smokers and never-smokers, but for different reasons. Drug Alcohol Depend 185:50-57, 2018. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 29427915.
- Cinciripini PM, Minnix JA, Green CE, Robinson JD, Engelmann JM, Versace F, Wetter DW, Shete S, Karam-Hage M. An RCT with the Combination of Varenicline and Bupropion for Smoking Cessation: Clinical Implications for Front Line Use. Addiction 113(9):1673-1682. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 29679432.
- Karam-Hage M, Kypriotakis G, Robinson JD, Green CE, Mann G, Rabius V, Wippold R, Blalock JA, Mouhayar E, Tayar J, Chaftari P, Cinciripini PM. Improvement of smoking abstinence rates with increased varenicline dosage: A propensity score–matched analysis. J Clin Psychopharmacol 38(1):34-41, 2018. PMID: 29232312.
- Robinson JD, Cinciripini PM, Karam-Hage M, Aubin HJ, Dale LC, Niaura R, Anthenelli RM, STRATUS Group. Pooled analysis of three randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled trials with rimonabant for smoking cessation. Addict Biol 23(1):291-303, 2018. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 28429843.
- Cui Y, Engelmann JM, Xian J, Minnix JA, Lam CY, Karam-Hage M, Cinciripini PM, Robinson JD. Pharmacological intervention and abstinence in smokers undergoing cessation treatment: A psychophysiological study. Int J Psychophysiol 123:25-34, 2018. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 29223599.
- Robinson JD, Kypriotakis G, Karam-Hage M, Green CE, Hatsukami DK, Cinciripini PM, Donny EC. Cigarette nicotine content as a moderator of the relationship between negative affect and smoking. Nicotine Tob Res 19(9):1080-1086, 2017. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 28371900.
- Cinciripini PM, Green CE, Robinson JD, Karam-Hage M, Engelmann JM, Minnix JA, Wetter DW, Versace F. Benefits of varenicline vs. bupropion for smoking cessation: A Bayesian Analysis of the interaction of reward sensitivity and treatment. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 234(11):1769–1779, 2017. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 28275830.
- Versace F, Engelmann JM, Deweese MM, Robinson JD, Green CE, Lam CY, Minnix JA, Karam-Hage MA, Wetter DW, Schembre SM, Cinciripini PM. Beyond cue reactivity: Non-drug-related motivationally relevant stimuli are necessary to understand reactivity to drug-related cues. Nicotine Tob Res 19(6):663-669, 2017. PMID: 28486715.
- Farris SG, Robinson JD, Zvolensky MJ, Hogan J, Rabius V, Cinciripini PM, Karam-Hage M, Blalock JA. Panic attacks and smoking cessation among cancer patients receiving smoking cessation treatment. Addict Behav 61:32-39, 2016. e-Pub 2016. PMID: 27235990.
- Robinson JD, Versace F, Engelmann JM, Cui Y, Gilbert DG, Waters AJ, Gritz ER, Cinciripini PM. Attentional bias to smoking and other motivationally relevant cues is affected by nicotine exposure and dose expectancy. J Psychopharmacol 30(7):627-640, 2016. e-Pub 2016. PMID: 27097731.
- Schwantes-An TH, Zhang J, Chen LS, Hartz SM, Culverhouse RC, Chen X, Coon H, Frank J, Kamens HM, Konte B, Kovanen L, Latvala A, Legrand LN, Maher BS, Melroy WE, Nelson EC, Reid MW, Robinson JD, Shen PH, Yang BZ, Andrews JA, Aveyard P, Beltcheva O, Brown SA, Cannon DS, Cichon S, Corley RP, Dahmen N, Degenhardt L, Foroud T, Gaebel W, Giegling I, Glatt SJ, Grucza RA, Hardin J, Hartmann AM, Heath AC, Herms S, Hodgkinson CA, Hoffmann P, Hops H, Huizinga D, Ising M, Johnson EO, Johnstone E, Kaneva RP, Kendler KS, Kiefer F, Kranzler HR, Krauter KS, Levran O, Lucae S, Lynskey MT, Maier W, Mann K, Martin NG, Mattheisen M, Montgomery GW, Müller-Myhsok B, Murphy MF, Neale MC, Nikolov MA, Nishita D, Nöthen MM, Nurnberger J, Partonen T, Pergadia ML, Reynolds M, Ridinger M, Rose RJ, Rouvinen-Lagerström N, Scherbaum N, Schmäl C, Soyka M, Stallings MC, Steffens M, Treutlein J, Tsuang M, Wall TL, Wodarz N, Yuferov V, Zill P, Bergen AW, Chen J, Cinciripini PM, Edenberg HJ, Ehringer MA, Ferrell RE, Gelernter J, Goldman D, Hewitt JK, Hopfer CJ, Iacono WG, Kaprio J, Kreek MJ, Kremensky IM, Madden PA, McGue M, Munafò MR, Philibert RA, Rietschel M, Roy A, Rujescu D, Saarikoski ST, Swan GE, Todorov AA, Vanyukov MM, Weiss RB, Bierut LJ, Saccone NL. Association of the OPRM1 variant rs1799971 (A118G) with non-specific liability to substance dependence in a collaborative de novo meta-analysis of European-ancestry cohorts. Behav Genet 46(2):151-169, 2016. e-Pub 2015. PMID: 26392368.
- Deweese MM, Robinson JD, Cinciripini PM, Versace F. Conditioned cortical reactivity to cues predicting cigarette-related or pleasant images. Int J Psychophysiol 101:59–68, 2016. e-Pub 2016. PMID: 26826400.
- Cui Y, Tang R, Lam CY, Cinciripini PM, Robinson JD. The influence of personality traits on smokers' affect, withdrawal and cessation intervention outcome. Addict Behav 54:7-11, 2016. e-Pub 2015. PMID: 26656672.
- Donny EC, Denlinger RL, Tidey JW, Koopmeiners JS, Benowitz NL, Vandrey RG, al'Absi M, Carmella SG, Cinciripini PM, Dermody SS, Drobes DJ, Hecht SS, Jensen J, Lane T, Le CT, McClernon FJ, Montoya ID, Murphy SE, Robinson JD, Stitzer ML, Strasser AA, Tindle H, Hatsukami DK. Randomized trial of reduced-nicotine standards for cigarettes. N Engl J Med 373(14):1340-1349, 2015. PMID: 26422724.
- Cui Y, Robinson JD, Engelmann JM, Lam CY, Minnix JA, Karam-Hage M, Wetter DW, Dani JA, Kosten TR, Cinciripini PM. Reinforcement sensitivity underlying treatment-seeking smokers' affect, smoking reinforcement motives, and affective responses. Psychol Addict Behav 29(2):300-311, 2015. PMID: 25621416.
- Robinson JD, Versace F, Engelmann JM, Cui Y, Slapin A, Oum R, Cinciripini PM. The motivational salience of cigarette-related stimuli among former, never, and current smokers. Exp Clin Psychopharmacol 23(1):37-48, 2015. e-Pub 2014. PMID: 25436840.
- Robinson JD, Engelmann JM, Cui Y, Versace F, Waters AJ, Gilbert DG, Gritz ER, Cinciripini PM. The effects of nicotine dose expectancy and motivationally relevant distracters on vigilance. Psychol Addict Behav 28(3):752-760, 2014. e-Pub 2014. PMID: 24841184.
- Versace F, Engelmann JM, Robinson JD, Jackson EF, Green CE, Lam CY, Minnix JA, Karam-Hage MA, Brown VL, Wetter DW, Cinciripini PM. Pre-quit fMRI responses to pleasant cues and cigarette-related cues predict smoking cessation outcome. Nicotine Tob Res 16(6):697-708, 2014. e-Pub 2013. PMID: 24376278.
- Karam-Hage M, Robinson JD, Lodhi A, Brower KJ. Bupropion-SR for smoking reduction and cessation in alcohol-dependent outpatients: A naturalistic, open-label study. Curr Clin Pharmacol 9(2):123-129, 2014. PMID: 24218993.
- Waters AJ, H Szeto E, Wetter DW, Cinciripini PM, Robinson JD, Li Y. Cognition and craving during smoking cessation: An ecological momentary assessment study. Nicotine Tob Res 16(suppl. 2):S111-S118, 2014. PMID: 23901053.
Invited Articles
- Versace F, Robinson JD, Cinciripini PM. Towards neuromarkers for tailored smoking cessation treatments. Addict Neurosci 6, 2023. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 37034180.
- Robinson JD, Drobes DJ, Brandon TH, Wetter DW, Cinciripini PM. Evaluating point of sale tobacco marketing using behavioral laboratory methods. Tob Regul Sci 2(4):414-425, 2016.
- Lam CY, Minnix JA, Robinson JD, Cinciripini PM. A brief review of pharmacotherapies for smoking cessation. J Natl Compr Canc Netw 4(6):583-589, 2006. PMID: 16813725.
Grant & Contract Support
Title: | Identifying topiramate's therapeutic mechanisms through motivational salience |
Funding Source: | NIH/NIDA |
Role: | Principal Investigator |
Title: | Using Deep Sequencing Technology to Study Genes & Behavioral Phenotypes Related to Smoking Cessation, Negative Affect & Nicotine Withdrawal |
Funding Source: | Cancer Prevention & Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) |
Role: | Co-Investigator |
Title: | Intrinsic Reward Sensitivity & Smoking Cessation with Varenicline or Patch NRT |
Funding Source: | Cancer Prevention & Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) |
Role: | Co-Investigator |
Title: | Smartphone delivered attentional bias modification training for smokers |
Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
Role: | Principal Investigator |
Title: | Neurobiological substrates of emotion regulation and its effects on negative affect and smoking cessation |
Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
Role: | Co-Investigator |
Title: | Evaluating Concomitant Use of Very Low Nicotine Content Cigarettes and E-cigarettes Among Daily and Non-Daily Smokers on Abuse Liability |
Funding Source: | NIH/FDA |
Role: | Co-Principal Investigator |
Title: | Gender differences in Standard Research E-Cigarette (SREC) product use, acceptability, reinforcement, and nicotine dependence symptoms |
Funding Source: | NIH/NIDA |
Role: | Principal Investigator |
Title: | The potential risks and benefits of electronic cigarettes to older smokers at high risk for lung cancer |
Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
Role: | Co-Principal Investigator |
Title: | Genetic substrates of a novel neural biomarker for smoking cessation |
Funding Source: | American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) |
Role: | Collaborator |
Title: | Evaluating Concomitant Use of Very Low Nicotine Content Cigarettes and E-cigarettes Among Daily and Non-Daily Smokers on Abuse Liability [supplement] |
Funding Source: | National Institute on Drug Abuse |
Role: | Co-Principal Investigator |
Title: | Socioeconomic status, stress, and smoking cessation |
Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
Role: | Co-Investigator |
Title: | Identifying novel biomarkers for long-term nicotine abstinence |
Funding Source: | European Union |
Role: | Consultant |