SF State faculty awarded funding by tobacco-related research program

By Audrey Gavino Parangan-Smith

San Francisco State faculty, Zena Mello, Ph.D., who has a doctorate in Human Development and Family Studies, was awarded funding by the Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program to study the relationship between racism and tobacco use in adolescents as influenced by time perspective. Mello is an associate professor in the psychology department, and a regular participant of the SF BUILD annual writing retreats.  She credits this recent grant funding to the helpful feedback she received from Research Engagement Core (REC) faculty lead, Alicia Fernandez, M.D., of UCSF who manages the retreats. The SF BUILD Writing Retreats have been active for three years and are held at beautiful off campus locations to provide San Francisco State and UCSF junior faculty from historically underrepresented backgrounds in research, quiet dedicated writing spaces to receive writing mentorship from experienced writers. Junior faculty receive one-on-one feedback on grant proposals, manuscripts, reports and more from Fernandez and her writing review team.