DATA SAVES LIVES
Vice Chief of Innovation | Assoc. Professor
Div. Infectious Disease & Global Public Health University of California San Diego
email: ayers.john.w@gmail.com
John W. Ayers, PhD, MA, is a CSU Bakersfield, Johns Hopkins and Harvard trained computational epidemiologist who uses big data to yield rapid and novel insights with measurable public health impacts. He is the Vice Chief of Innovation in the Division of Infectious Diseases and Global Public Health, Associate Professor of Medicine, and Affiliate Scientist in the Qualcomm Institute all at UC San Diego.
Together with Ben Althouse, Mark Dredze, and Eric Leas he has yielded many actionable insights including the discovery of seasonal patterns across mental illness, the discovery of circaseptan (day-of-the-week) patterns in health behaviors, the first replicable evaluation strategy for discrete awareness campaigns, a major overhaul of infectious disease forecasting algorithms, how Netflix's 13 Reasons Why increased suicides, and a data driven strategy to passively discover the public's health concerns. Nate Silver's Five Thirty Eight called him a "brave scientist" for his work on controversial issues like gun violence prevention. He was awarded the Burroughs Wellcome Fund innovator in regulatory science award.
A recent study bemoaned the lack of science in awareness days, with many concluding awareness is overrated. Yet there are more awareness days than calendar days. Using news reports, Twitter postings, Web searches, Wikipedia impressions, and phone logs, you can evaluate the impact of awareness days and make them more impactful.
When Charlie Sheen disclosed his HIV positive status he did not promote HIV prevention nor did the news media. Yet millions of Americans went online in record numbers to find information about HIV symptoms, HIV testing, and condoms. On the heels of this discovery Sheen now speaks out on HIV prevention.
Is Awareness
Overated?
The economy can do more than leave you with an empty feeling in the pit of your stomach, it also makes you sick. For the first time economic conditions were linked with population health in near real time. For instance, a 1 percent change in unemployment is associated with a 7 percent change in population psychological distress.
Some speculate augmented reality games, like Pokémon GO, promote activity. But do they also pose dangerous side effects? Letting millions of Twitter users be our eyes and ears, in just 10 days more than 110,000 instances of distracted driving were reported, with this discovery leading to some safety improvements.
Does speaking up on climate change make a difference? Yes! Climate change advocacy is fostering public engagement with climate change isssues, with DiCaprio's Oscar acceptence speech concurring with record public engagement on climate change. Yet, words matter. Calls to action appear to resonate more than narratives.
Fewer than 250 reports on PubMed include the term ‘gun violence’ whereas, more than 88,000 studies make reference to ‘influenza,’ even though both rival the other as a cause of death. Why? There isn't federal funding. Yet free big media data can fill the gap by providing some data where literally no other data exist.
RESEARCH WITH AN IMPACT
Tobacco Watcher is the first fully automated media monitoring terminal dedicated to informing global tobacco control. Operating 24/7/365, TW brings the world’s news (in 23 languages, from more than 350,000 sources) together in one place, extracts actionable insights, and pushes these insights to tobacco control advocates and decision makers.
Public health leaders are often cautious, choosing to wait for traditional data instead of taking reasonable action in response to novel big media data. However, our findings underscore the value of big media data for yielding rapid, valid intelligence to make public health actionable and more responsive to the public it serves.
#MeToo brought sexual harassment and/or assault to the forefront of public discourse, but how has it impacted the lives of the public beyond the rich and famous? Even a year after #MeToo began, we found public engagement with sexual harassment training was 51% higher than expected, while reporting harassment was 30% higher.
The national marijuana industry is booming. While regulators sit idle, marijuana companies have modeled their strategies after big tobacco's greatest hits from the 1950s. This includes using false health claims (branding marijuana as a cure-all) and appealing to children (with kid friendly products, even high school varsity jackets).
Experts have expressed grave concerns because Netflix's "13 Reasons Why" ignores the World Health Organization's validated media guidelines for preventing suicide. Tragically, it is unsurprising then that the show increased Internet searches for suicide by 19%, including searches for "how to commit suicide."
Heat-not-burn tobacco is big tobacco's latest product innovation to attract tech-savvy, health-conscious consumers. Two years ago there were essentially no interest in these products, but now there are between 5.9 and 7.5 million internet searches for heat-not-burn products in Japan (the first national test market) each month.
In the first two studies to assess the collateral consequences of COVID-19 on behavioral health we find millions of Americans sought out miracle cures online and panic attacks reached record highs, with spikes in each corresponding to the implementation of social distancing guidelines and media coverage on COVID-19.
Forget Dr. Google, the public is turning to social media to obtain "crowd-diagnoses" for their ailments. We found tens of thousands are seeking diagnoses for sexually transmitted diseases on public social media, even posting pictures of their you-know-what! Sometimes crowd-diagnoses are even being used to overrule a doctor’s diagnosis.
CBD is this generation's snake oil. Falsely touted as a "cure all" we found staggering demand for CBD. 6.4 million Americans turn to Google to learn about or buy CBD each month, eclipsing or rivalling interest in most other health products or topics, including marijuana, yoga, exercise, meditation, and even electronic cigarettes.
Mondays can literally kill you. You are more likely to have a stroke or worse on Monday. Yet, maybe Monday isn't all bad. Across the globe Web searches for health behavior changes spike on Monday, even though news and social media do not echo that pattern. On what day would you buy health promotion advertising?
Is mental health seasonal? Web searches for mood are linked with the seasons, but surprisingly this seasonal pattern is replicated across a number of illnesses, including adhd, bipolar schizophrenia, etc. Since all theories are based on some data, what new theoretical development is needed in mental health research and can it lead to treatment?
Everyone wants a miracle cure, but they often don't exist. This was especially true during the COVID-19 pandemic, with demand for unproven therapies skyrocketing as we reported. Showing this problem is always with us, we mined social media posts to discover how the public was using CBD to replace proven therapies (e.g., to treat Afib).
Demand for abortion medications reached record highs after the Supreme Court of the United States draft ruling that would potentially overturn Roe v. Wade was leaked online. These trends may foretell similar public responses as abortion laws change in wake of a fractured policy landscape pending federal legislation.
Most misinformation
comes from bots, not people
In a first-of-its-kind study we discovered a majority of misinformation about COVID-19 on Facebook comes from bots, not people. Moreover, bots were significantly more likely to promote conspiracies. By targeting bots (which hamper freedom of speech by crowding out real voices) the infodemic may be cured.
PUBLICATIONS (click titles for pdfs)
Suicide Risk Behaviors among Sexual Minority Adolescents in the United States, 2015
Theodore L. Caputi, Davey Smith, John W. Ayers
JAMA. 2017;318(23):2349-2351.
| Reuters | Science | NBC | CNN | Daily Mail | Healio | US News & World Report | UPI | Huffington Post |
| Independent | Refinery 29 | Gay Times | Newsmax | Atlanta Journal Constitution | New Now Next |
| Washington Blade | Time |
* Ranked in the top 1% of all research scored by Altmetric
Can a Selfie Promote Public Engagement with Skin Cancer?
Seth M. Noar, Eric C. Leas, Benjamin M. Althouse, Mark Dredze, D Kelley, John W. Ayers
Preventive Medicine. 2017; doi:10.1016/j.ypmed.2017.10.038.
| Daily Mail | Sun | Independent | Mirror | Allure | LADbible | Cosmopolitan | Hollywood Life |
| Yahoo! | Refinery 29 | Buzz | International Business Times | IB Times UK | Women's Health |
| MSN | US News & World Report | Unilad | Honey | Global News | Fox News | Live Science |
* Watch a viral video documenting our study
* Health Leader's "10 Most Memorable Stories of 2017"
* Ranked in the top 1% of all research scored by Altmetric
They're Heating Up: Internet Search Query Trends Reveal Significant Public Interest in Heat-Not-Burn Tobacco Products
Theodore L. Caputi, Eric C. Leas, Mark Dredze, Joanna E. Cohen, John W. Ayers
PLoS One. 2017; 12:e0185735.
| Global News | Discover Magazine | Daily Mail | The Sun | Joe | Web MD | MedPage Today |
| US News & World Report | CVB | The Scope | Healthline | Seeker | Union Tribune | UPI |
* As Philip Morris promotes heat-not-burn in the United States many cite this study
* Ranked in the top 1% of all research scored by Altmetric
Internet Searches for Suicide Following the Release of 13 Reasons Why
John W. Ayers, Benjamin M. Althouse, Eric C. Leas, Mark Dredze, Jon-Patrick Allem
JAMA Internal Medicine 2017;177(10):1527-1529.
| NBC | CNN | Reuters | New York Times | Washington Post | Wired | Mashable | Daily Mail | Telegraph |
| Global News | Forbes | Vice | iNews | Reuters | Medical News Today | International Business Times |
| Newsweek | Time | Pacific Standard | Live Science | Washington Times | Billboard | Refinery 29 | RT |
| Perez Hilton | Gizmodo | Inverse | Inquisitr | US News & World Report | New York Magazine | VOA |
| USA Today | Romper | the Cut | Sydney Morning Herald | MSN | The Atlantic | Business Insider |
| The Wrap | ABC (Australia) | Mic | Variety | Cosmopolitan | Uproxx | Slate | Huffington Post |
| Forbes (editorial) | Oxygen | Self | Newsy | Vox | NPR Science Friday |
* Ranked in the top 1,000 most circulated articles among 11+ million articles scored by Altmetric
* Ranked in the top 25 most circulated articles in JAMA Internal Medicine according to Altmetric
* Read the JAMA Internal Medicine Editorial
* Read my coauthor's editorial in Salon
* Read Netflix cast's response to the criticism
The Charlie Sheen Effect on Rapid In-home Human Immunodeficiency Virus Test Sales
Jon-Patrick Allem, Eric C. Leas, Theodore L. Caputi, Mark Dredze, Benjamin M. Althouse, Seth M. Noar, John W. Ayers
Prev Sci 2017;18(5):541-544.
| CNN | Global News | Vice | New York Magazine | Live Science | Daily Mail | O Globo | SVT | Healthline |
| ABC News | Newsweek | US News & World Report | Health Day | SheKnows | Attn | Der Spiegel |
| Gazeta | n+1 | CTV | RTL | Prensa Libre | La Razon | BT | Europa Press | Inquirer | Medical Daily |
| TMZ | MSN | Inquisitr | Huffington Post | Business Insider | International Business Times |
| Forbes | Wonderwall | Fortune | Tonic | Union Tribune |
* Ranked in the top 0.1% of all research scored by Altmetric
* Was then the 2nd all-time most circulated article in Prev Sci according to Altmetric
* As the title suggests, this is a follow up to the oft-cited 2016 study
Why Do People Use Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (Electronic Cigarettes)? A Content Analysis of Twitter, 2012-2015
John W. Ayers, Eric C. Leas, Jon-Patrick Allem, Mark Dredze, Adrian Benton, Benjamin M. Althouse, Tess B. Cruz, Jennifer B. Unger
PLoS One. 2017;12:e0170702.
| Live Science | InVerse | Men's Fitness | Vice | A.V. Club | Medical Express | Mental Daily | iTech |
| Huffington Post | Union Tribune |
* Ranked in the top 1% of all research scored by Altmetric
Can Big Media Data Revolutionize Gun Violence Prevention?
John W. Ayers, Benjamin M. Althouse, Eric C. Leas, Ted Alcorn, Mark Dredze
Bloomberg Data for Good Exchange. 2016.
| Tech at Bloomberg | Politico | Five Thirty Eight |
After Sandy Hook Elementary: A Year in the Gun Control Debate on Twitter
Adrian Benton, Braden Hancock, Glen Coppersmith, John W. Ayers, Mark Dredze
Bloomberg Data for Good Exchange. 2016.
| Tech at Bloomberg | Politico | Five Thirty Eight |
Which Cigarettes Do Americans Think are Safer?
Eric C. Leas, John W. Ayers, David Strong, John Pierce
Tobacco Control. 2016;tobaccocontrol-2016-053334.
Pokémon GO - A New Distraction for Drivers and Pedestrians
John W. Ayers, Eric C. Leas, Mark Dredze, Jon-Patrick Allem, Jurek Grabowski, Linda Hill
JAMA Internal Medicine. 2016;176(12):1865-1866.
| ABC News | NBC News | BBC | NPR | CNN | Fox News | Global News | Reuters | Vice | MSN | Yahoo! |
| Los Angeles Times | New York Magazine | US News & World Report | Forbes | Fortune | Bustle |
| Daily Mail| The Mirror | Le Figaro | Le Journal De Montreal | Dagens Medisin | Dagens Nyheter |
| Parent Herald | Medical Express | Science News | Live Science | Health Day | Medical News Today |
| Touch Arcade | Kotaku | VG 247 | Gizbot | Game Rant | Inquisitr | Uproxx | The Wrap |
| Boston Herald | Smithsonian | Rolling Stone | Union Tribune |
* Read Pokémon GO maker Niantic's response and Dr. Ayers' counter on Mashable
* Pokémon GO's driving danger was subsequently addressed by the games' maker
* "Trended" on Facebook
* Ranked in the top 0.001% of all research scored by Altmetric
* Ranked in the top 50 most circulated articles in JAMA Internal Medicine according to Altmetric
Big Data Sensors of Organic Advocacy: The Case of Leonardo DiCaprio and Climate Change
Eric C. Leas, Benjamin M. Althouse, Mark Dredze, Nick Obradovich, James Fowler, Seth M. Noar, Jon-Patrick Allem, John W. Ayers
PLoS One. 2016;11:e0159885.
| Washington Post | Bloomberg | Independent | Forbes | Time | Slate | New York Magazine | Yahoo! |
| ZME Science | The Daily Caller | Huffington Post | Mother Nature Network | Check 24 | Union Tribune |
* Read related commentary
* Ranks in the top 1% of all research scored by Altmetric
Revisiting the Rise of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems using Search Query Surveillance
John W. Ayers, Benjamin M. Althouse, Jon-Patrick Allem, Eric C. Leas, Mark Dredze, Rebecca S. Willliams
American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 2016; 50(6):173-181.
| Medical Daily | Science 2.0 | US News & World Report | Health |
* As the title suggests, this is a follow up to the oft-cited 2011 study
The Charlie Sheen Effect: News and Internet Searches for HIV
John W. Ayers, Benjamin M. Althouse, Mark Dredze, Eric C. Leas, Seth M. Noar
JAMA Internal Medicine. 2016;176(4):552-554.
| Today Show | ABC News | CBS News | NBC News | Australian ABC | BBC | CBC | CNN | Fox News |
| Los Angeles Times | Newsweek | The Mirror | Yahoo! | MSN | AOL | Vox | Us Weekly | WebMD |
| New York Magazine | Dr. Oz | Huffington Post | Hollywood Reporter | Perez Hilton | Inquisitr | Mic |
| Medical Daily | Newsy | Discovery News | The Week | Global News | Tech at Bloomberg |
| Tech Times | Web to Med | Union Tribune |
* "Trended" on Facebook and Twitter
* Ranked in the top 0.001% of all research scored by Altmetric
* Ranked in the top 75 most circulated articles in JAMA Internal Medicine according to Altmetric
Leveraging Big Data to Improve Health Awareness Campaigns: A Novel Evaluation of the Great American Smokeout
John W. Ayers, J Lee Westmaas, Eric C. Leas, Adrian Benton, Yunqi Chen, Mark Dredze, Benjamin M. Althouse
JMIR Public Health and Surveillance. 2016;2(1):e16
| CBS News | New York Magazine | The Atlantic | LifeZette | Medical Daily | US News & World Report |
| Vox Italy | Health Day | Union Tribune |
* Read related commentary
* Read series in New York Magazine's Science of Us by Jeese Singal #1, #2, #3, #4
* Ranked in the top 1% of all research scored by Altmetric
Enhancing Disease Surveillance with Novel Data Streams: Challenges and Opportunities
Benjamin M. Althouse, Samuel V. Scarpino, Lauren Ancel Meyers, John W. Ayers, Marisa Bargsten, Joan Baumbach, John S. Brownstein, Lauren Castro, Hannah Clapham, Derek A.T. Cummings, Sara Del Valle, Stephen Eubank, Geoffrey Fairchild, Lyn Finelli, Nicholas Generous, Dylan George, David R Harper, Laurent Hébert-Dufresne, Michael A Johansson, Kevin Konty, Marc Lipsitch, Gabriel Milinovich, Joseph D. Miller, Elaine O. Nsoesie, Donald R. Olson, Michael Paul, Philip M. Polgreen, Reid Priedhorsky, Jonathan M Read, Isabel Rodríguez-Barraquer, Derek J. Smith, Christian Stefansen, David L. Swerdlow, Deborah Thompson, Alessandro Vespignani, Amy Wesolowski
EPJ Data Science. 2015;4:1.
* A report of the SFI Conference on modern disease surveillance by Ben Althouse and Sam Scarpino
When a Ban Really is Not a Ban: Internet Loopholes and Djarum Flavoured Cigarettes in the USA
Jon-Patrick Allem, John W. Ayers, Benjamin M. Althouse, Rebecca S. Willliams
Tobacco Control. 2015;tobaccocontrol-tobaccocon2015.
“Tips From Former Smokers” Can Benefit From Considering All Available Data
John W. Ayers, Benjamin M. Althouse
American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 2015;49(6):133-134.
Changes in Internet Searches Associated with the “Tips from Former Smokers” Campaign
John W. Ayers, Benjamin M. Althouse, Sherry Emery
American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 2015;48(6):e27-e29.
| Bloomberg | Science Daily | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Reply |
What can Digital Disease Detection Learn from (an External Revision to) Google Flu Trends?
Mauricio Santillana, David W. Zhang, Benjamin M. Althouse, John W. Ayers
American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 2014;47(3):341-347.
| The Guardian | NPR | Science Daily |
* Read related studies in Science and PLoS Computational Biology
Could Behavioral Medicine Lead the Web Data Revolution?
John W. Ayers, Benjamin M. Althouse, Mark Dredze
JAMA. 2014;311(14):1399-1400.
| National Post | Australian Doctor |
* Ranks in the top 1% of all research scored by Altmetric
What’s the Healthiest Day? Circaseptan (Weekly) Rhythms in Healthy Considerations
John W. Ayers, Benjamin M. Althouse, Morgan Johnson, Mark Dredze, Joanna E. Cohen
American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 2014; 47(1):73-76.
| The Atlantic | Refinery 29 | Bloomberg Business Week | Huffington Post | The Times of London |
| Men's Fitness | Women's Health | Prevention | Fox News NY | iAfrica |
* Watch related TEDxSanDiego talk
* Read Union Tribune OpEd
* Ranked in the top 1% of all research scored by Altmetric
* Ranked in the top 10 most circulated articles in Am J Prev Med according to Altmetric
Circaseptan (Weekly) Rhythms in Smoking Cessation Consideration
John W. Ayers, Benjamin M. Althouse, Morgan Johnson, Joanna E. Cohen
JAMA Internal Medicine. 2014;174:146-148.
| New York Times | NBC News | Saturday Night Live | Fast Company | Scientific American | NPR |
| USA Today | The Daily News | redOrbit | Medical Daily | El Mundo | Van Guardia | WebMD |
* Watch related TEDxSanDiego talk
* Read Union Tribune OpEd
* Ranks in the top 0.01% of all research scored by Altmetric
* Ranks in the top 100 most circulated articles in JAMA Internal Medicine according to Altmetric
Cancer Information Seeking in the Digital Age: Effects of Angelina Jolie's Prophylactic Mastectomy Announcement
Seth M. Noar, Benjamin M. Althouse, John W. Ayers, Diane B. Francis, Kurt M. Ribisl
Medical Decision Making. 2015;35:16-21.
| Medical Decision Making Editorial | PLoS Commentary |
Population Health Concerns During the United States’ Great Recession
Benjamin M. Althouse, Jon-Patrick Allem, Matthew A. Childers, Mark Dredze, John W. Ayers
American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 2014;46:166-170.
| New York Times | Huffington Post | Huffington Post (OpEd) | Daily Mail | Bustle | NPR | Health | UPI |Psych Central | Counsel & Heal | Union Tribune (cover) |
* United Kingdom's National Health Service (NHS) commentary
* The Times of London worked with the authors to replicate the study in the United Kingdom
* Ranked in the top 1% of all research scored by Altmetric
* Ranked in the top 50 (all time) most circulated articles in Am J Prev Med according to Altmetric
U.S. Consumer Interest in Non-Cigarette Tobacco Products Spikes around the 2009 Federal Tobacco Tax Increase
Catherine Jo, John W. Ayers, Benjamin M. Althouse, Sherry Emery, Jidong Huang, Kurt M. Ribisl
Tobacco Control. 2014; doi:10.1136.
Do Celebrity Cancer Diagnoses Promote Primary Cancer Prevention?
John W. Ayers, Benjamin M. Althouse, Seth M. Noar, Joanna E. Cohen
Preventive Medicine. 2014;58:81-84.
| New York Times | Huffington Post | Medical Daily | Folha De S.Paulo | Alagoas 24 Horas | Terra |
| Radio France | Huffington Post (France) |
Seasonality in Seeking Mental Health Information on Google
John W. Ayers, Benjamin M. Althouse, Jon-Patrick Allem, J. Niels Rosenquist, Daniel E. Ford
American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 2013;44:520-525.
| New York Times | New York Times OpEd | Popular Science | Wired | The Atlantic | Time | NPR |
| The Daily News | Salon | Pacific Standard | Discover | Psychology Today | Huffington Post | Australian |
| The Times of London | The Daily Telegraph | Sky News | Health | Chicago Business | Sydney Herald |
| Stuff | Union Tribune (cover) |
* One of the most cited articles in the Am J Prev Med that year
* Read Dr. Ayers' EpiAnalysis Commentary
* Read Dr. Ayers' Am J Prev Med Commentary
* Ranked in the top 1% of all research scored by Altmetric
* Ranked in the top 50 most circulated articles in Am J Prev Med according to Altmetric
Digital Detection for Tobacco Control: Online Reactions to the United States’ 2009 Cigarette Excise Tax Increase
John W. Ayers, Benjamin M. Althouse, Kurt M. Ribisl, Sherry Emery
Nicotine & Tobacco Ressearch. 2013;doi:10.1093/ntr/ntt186.
Using Digital Surveillance To Examine The Impact Of Public Figure Pancreatic Cancer Announcements On Media And Search Query Outcomes
Seth M. Noar, Kurt M. Ribisl, Benjamin M. Althouse, Jessica F. Willoughby, John W. Ayers
JNCI Monographs. 2013;47:188-194.
| Fast Company |
Adult Prescription Drug Use and Pediatric Medication Exposures and Poisonings
Lindsey C. Burghardt, John W. Ayers, John S. Brownstein, Alvin C. Bronstein, Michele Burns Edwald, Florence T. Bourgeois
Pediatrics. 2013;132:18-27.
| Thriving | Medical Daily | MedPage Today |
Assessing the Online Social Environment for Surveillance of Obesity Prevalence
Rumi Chunara, Lindsay Bouton, John W. Ayers, John S. Brownstein
PLoS One. 2013;8(4): e61373.
| Vector | Medical Daily | The Atlantic | Forbes | Gigaom | Time | Public Radio International | redOrbit |
* Ranks in the top 1% of all research scored by Altmetric
Novel Surveillance of Psychological Distress During the Great Recession
John W. Ayers, Benjamin M. Althouse, Jon-Patrick Allem, Matthew A. Childers, Waleed Zafar, Carl Latkin, Kurt M. Ribisl, John S. Brownstein
Journal of Affective Disorders. 2012;142:323-330.
| Fox 5 | Union Tribune |
A Novel Evaluation of World No Tobacco Day in Latin America
John W. Ayers, Benjamin M. Althouse, Jon-Patrick Allem, Daniel E. Ford, Kurt M. Ribisl, Joanna E. Cohen
JMIR. 2012;14:e77.
| Los Angeles Times | Huffington Post | Voice of America | Medical Daily | Baltimore Sun | O Globo |
Do Christian Denominations Exhibit Higher Rates Of Alcohol Consumption? A Study Of Korean American Women In California
D. Eastern Kang Sim, C. Richard Hofstetter, Veronica L. Irvin, John W. Ayers, C. Macera, Ming Ji, Melbourne F. Hovell
Journal of Religion and Health. 2013;52:285-298.
Smoking Trajectories among Koreans in Seoul and California: Exemplifying a Common Error in Age Parameterization
Jon-Patrick Allem, John W. Ayers, Jennifer B. Unger, Veronica L. Irvin, C. Richard Hofstetter, Melbourne F. Hovell
Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention. 2012;13:1851-1856.
The Environment Modifies the Relationship Between Social Networks and Secondhand Smoke Exposure among Korean Nonsmokers in Seoul and California
Jon-Patrick Allem, John W. Ayers, Jennifer B. Unger, Robert E. Vollinger, Carl Latkin, Hee Soon Juon, Hae Ryun Park, Hee Young Paik, C. Richard Hofstetter, Melbourne F. Hovell
Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health. 2012(15);27:NP437-447.
South Korean Military Service Promotes Smoking: A Quasi-Experimental Design
Jon-Patrick Allem, John W. Ayers, Veronica L. Irvin, C. Richard Hofstetter, Melbourne F. Hovell
Yonsei Medical Journal. 2012;53:433-438.
Tracking the rise in popularity of electronic nicotine delivery systems (electronic cigarettes) using search query surveillance
John W. Ayers, Kurt M. Ribisl, John S. Brownstein
American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 2011;40:448-453.
| CNN | Los Angeles Times |
* One of the most cited articles in the Am J Prev Med that year
* Cited as groundbreaking by Conference of the Parties, WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control
* Ranked as one of the first and most-cited electronic cigarette studies in a 2014 systematic review
Using Search Query Surveillance to Monitor Tax Avoidance and Smoking Cessation following the United States' 2009 "SCHIP" Cigarette Tax Increase
John W. Ayers, Kurt M. Ribisl, John S. Brownstein
PLoS One. 2011;6:e16777.
| Vector |
Two-Cultures? Latino and Asian Language Assimilation Along the US-Mexico Border
Antonio Ugues Jr., Keith Schnakenberg, Bo Kolody, C. Richard Hofstetter, John W. Ayers
California Journal of Politics and Policy. 2011;3.
Cultural and Social Network Predictors of Drinking Among Korean American Women
John W. Ayers, Christina Chambers, C. Richard Hofstetter, Suzanne C. Hughes, Washington Reyes, Sunny Kang, Veronica L. Irvin, Melbourne F. Hovell
Alcohol. 2011;45:89-97.
Measuring English Proficiency and Language Preference: Are Self-reports Valid?
American Journal of Public Health. 2010;100:1364-1366.
| Read Comment | Read Reply |
Hepatitis B vaccination prevalence and its predictors among Asian, Pacific Islander, Native American, and multiracial adults in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey
John W. Ayers, Hee Soon Juon, Sunmin Lee, Eunmi Park
Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health. 2010;12:847-852.
Gender Modifies the Relationship Between Social Networks and Smoking among Adults in Seoul, South Korea
John W. Ayers, C. Richard Hofstetter, Suzanne C. Hughes, Har Ryun Park, Hee Young Paik, Yoon Ju Song, Veronica L. Irvin, Melbourne F. Hovell
International Journal of Public Health. 2010;55:609-617.
Smoking on Both Sides of the Pacific: Home Smoking Restrictions and Secondhand Smoke Exposure Among Korean Adults and Children in Seoul and California
John W. Ayers, C. Richard Hofstetter, Suzanne C. Hughes, Hae Ryun Park, Hee Yong Paik, Veronica L. Irvin, Jooeun Lee, Hee Soon Juon, Carl Latkin, Melbourne F. Hovell
Nicotine & Tobacco Research. 2010;12:1142-1150.
Can Religion Help Prevent Obesity? Religious Messages And The Prevalence Of Being Overweight Or Obese Among Korean Women In California
John W. Ayers, C. Richard Hofstetter, Veronica L. Irvin, Yoonju Song, Hae Ryun Park, Hee Yong Paik, Melbourne F. Hovell
Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. 2010;49:536-549.
It's Others, Not The Police: Smoking, Reprimand, And Fines Among Adults Of Korean Descent In California
C. Richard Hofstetter, Melbourne F. Hovell, Veronica L. Irvin, John W. Ayers, Suzanne C. Hughes, Sunny Kang
Health Psychology. 2010;29:255.
Does Church Participation Facilitate Tobacco Control? A Report on Korean Immigrants
C. Richard Hofstetter, John W. Ayers, Veronica L. Irvin, D. Eastern Kang Sim, Suzanne C. Hughes, Frederick Reghard, Melbourne F. Hovell
Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health. 2010;12:187-197.
Exploring Religious Mechanisms For Healthy Alcohol Use: Religious Messages And Drinking Among Korean Women In California
John W. Ayers, C. Richard Hofstetter, Suzanne C. Hughes, Veronica L. Irvin, D. Eastern Kang Sim, Melbourne F. Hovell
Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. 2009;70:890-898.
Sorting Out the Competing Effects of Acculturation, Immigrant Stress, and Social Support on Depression: A Report on Korean Women in California
John W. Ayers, C. Richard Hofstetter, Paula Usita, Veronica L. Irvin, Sunny Kang, Melbourne F. Hovell
Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease. 2009;197:742-747.
Is Immigration a Racial Issue? Anglo Attitudes on Immigration Policies in a Border County
John W. Ayers, C. Richard Hofstetter, Keith Schnakenberg, Bo Kolody
Social Science Quarterly. 2009;90:593-610.
The Bishops and their Flock: John Kerry and the Case of Catholic Voters in 2004
C. Richard Hofstetter, John W. Ayers, Robert Perry
Politics and Religion. 2008;1:436-455.
American Muslim Political Participation Following 9/11: Religious Belief, Political Resources, Social Structures, And Political Awareness
John W. Ayers, C. Richard Hofstetter
Politics and Religion. 2008;1:3-26.
| NPR's Day to Day |
* Ranked as the most read paper in Politics and Religion
* Awarded best paper at the California Student Research Competition among 23 participating universities
Changing Sides: 9/11 and the American Muslim Voter
Review of Religious Research. 2007:187-198.
Internet Searches for Abortion Medications Following the Leaked Supreme Court of the United States Draft Ruling
Adam M. Poliak, Nora Satybaldiyeva, Steffanie A. Strathdee, Eric C. Leas, Ramesh Rao, Davey M. Smith, John W. Ayers
JAMA Internal Medicine. 2022;10.1001/jamainternmed.2022.2998.
| NBC's Today Show | ABC | CNN | The Star | Yahoo! | The Associated Press (AP) | Politico | WSJ
| The Guardian | The Philadelphia Inquirer | MSNBC | Business Insider | UPI | Daily Mail | NewsBreak |
| Science | STAT News | BMJ News | Medpage Today | Physicians Weekly | MedScape | Web MD |
| Doctors Lounge | Drugs.com | Us News & world Report | Health Day |
* Ranked in the top 1% of all research scored by Altmetric
Twitter and Facebook posts about COVID-19 are less likely to Spread Misinformation Compared to other Health Topics
David A. Broniatowski, Daniel Kerchner, Fouzia Farooq,
Xiaolei Huang, Amelia M. Jamison, Mark Dredze, Sandra C. Quinn, John W. Ayers
PloS One. 2022;17(1):e0261768.
Association of Online Search Trends With Vaccination in the United States
Philipp Berning, Leu Huang, Alexander C. Razavi, Ellen Boakye, Ngozi Osuji, Andrew C. Stokes, Seth S. Martin, John W. Ayers, Michael J. Blaha, Omar Dzaye
Frontiers in Immunology. 2022;13:884211.
Characterizing Self-Reports of Self-Identified Patient Experiences with Methadone Maintenance Treatment on an Online Community during COVID-19
Alicia L. Nobles, Derek C. Johnson, Eric C. Leas, David Goodman-Meza,
María Luisa Zúñiga, Douglas Ziedonis, Steffanie A. Strathdee, John W. Ayers
Substance Use & Misuse. 2021;56(14):2134-2140.
Monitoring HIV testing and pre-exposure prophylaxis information seeking by combining digital and traditional data
Derek C. Johnson, Alicia L. Nobles, Theodore L. Caputi, Michael Liu, Eric C. Leas, Steffanie A. Strathdee, John W. Ayers
BMC Infectious Diseases. 2021;21(1):1-7.
Spread of misinformation about face masks and COVID-19 by automated software on Facebook
John W. Ayers, Brian Chu, Zecheriah Zhu, Eric C. Leas, Davey M. Smith, Mark Dredze, David A. Broniatowski
JAMA Internal Medicine. 2021;181(9):1251-1253.
| The Guardian | Axios | The Hill | Forbes | UPI | US News & World Report | Daily Mail | Metro |
| The Conversation | MedScape News | Doctors Lounge | Drugs.com | Beckers Hospital Review | Focus |
| International Business Times | The Doctor Will See You Now |
* Ranked in the top 1% of all research scored by Altmetric
News coverage of the E-cigarette, or Vaping, product use Associated Lung Injury (EVALI) outbreak and internet searches for vaping cessation
Eric C. Leas, Alicia Nobles, Theodore Caputi, Mark Dredze, Shu-Hong Zhu, Joanna Cohen, John W. Ayers
Tobacco Control. 2021;30(5):578-582.
Effect size reporting among prominent health journals: a case study of odds ratios
Brian Chu, Michael Liu, Eric C. Leas, Benjamin M. Althouse, John W. Ayers
BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine. 2021;26(4):184-184.
“First Do No Harm”: Effective Communication About COVID-19 Vaccines
David A. Broniatowski, Mark Dredze, John W. Ayers
American Journal of Public Health. 2021;111(6):1055-1057.
Suicide-related Internet Searches During the Early Stages of the
COVID-19 Pandemic in the United States
John W Ayers, Adam Poliak, Derek C. Johnson, Eric C. Leas, Mark Dredze, Alicia L. Nobles
JAMA Network Open. 2021;4(1):e2034261.
| The New York Times |
Internet searches for acute anxiety during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic
John W. Ayers, Eric C. Leas, Derek Johnson, Adam Poliak, Benjamin Althouse, Mark Dredze, Alicia Nobles
JAMA Internal Medicine 2020;180(12):1706-1707.
| CNN | MSNBC | New York Post | CNBC | International Business Times | Foreign Affairs | Yahoo!
| The Hill | MSNBC | Der Standard | La Nacion | Forbes | Cambridge News | Wales Online | Essex Live | | Mirror | Inverse | Metro | Arzte Zeitung | UPI | The Conversation | Focus | The Big Think | Daily Mail |
| Atlanta Journal Constitution | San Diego Union Tribune | Beckers Hospital Review | MedPage Today |
| MedScape | Physicians Briefing | Doctors Lounge | Drugs.com | The French Toast | Consumer Affairs |
| Huffington Post |
* Ranked in the top 1% of all research scored by Altmetric
* Trended on various social media platforms, including Twitter
Did Philip Morris International used the e-cigarette, or vaping, product use associated lung injury (EVALI) outbreak to market IQOS heated tobacco?
John W. Ayers, Eric C. Leas, Mark Dredze, Theodore L. Caputi, Shu-Hong Zhu, Joanna E. Cohen.
Tobacco Control. 2021;tobaccocontrol-2021-056661.
Google Shopping Queries for Vaping Products, Juul and IQOS during the E-cigarette, or Vaping, Product Use Associated Lung Injury (EVALI) Outbreak
Eric C. Leas, Natalie H. Moy, Alicia Nobles, John W. Ayers, Shu-Hong Zhu, Vidya Purushothaman
Tobacco Control. 2021;tobaccocontrol-2021-056481.
Telehealth in the COVID-19 Era: A Balancing Act to Avoid Harm
J. Jeffery Reeves, John W. Ayers, Christopher A. Longhurst
Journal of Medical Internet research. 2021;23(2):e24785.
A Philip Morris Advertisement for its Heated Tobacco Product IQOS sets a Troubling Precedent
Eric C. Leas, Joanna E. Cohen, John W. Ayers
Tobacco Control. 2020;29(e1):e168-e170.
Quantifying Public Interest in Police Reforms by Mining Internet Search Data Following George Floyd’s Death
John W. Ayers, Benjamin Althouse, Adam Poliak, Eric C. Leas, Alicia L. Nobles, Mark Dredze, Davey Smith
Journal of Medical Internet Research. 2020;22(10):e22574.
Self-reported CBD use for Conditions with Proven Therapies
Eric C. Leas, Erik M. Hendrickson, Alicia L. Nobles, Rory Todd, Davey Smith, Mark Dredze, John W. Ayers
JAMA Network Open. 2020;3(10):e2020977-e2020977
| Sydney Morning Herald | Brisbane Times | | UPI | Inverse | MedPage Today | Doctors Lounge | Drugs.com | US News & World Report | Health Day | MPR | International Business Times |
| Healthline |
* Watch the JAMA Network Podcast where we discussed this study in greater detail
Internet Searches for Unproven COVID-19 Therapies in the United States
Michael Liu, Theodore C. Caputi, Alan S. Kesselheim, Mark Dredze, John W. Ayers
JAMA Internal Medicine. 2020;180(8):1116-1118.
| NBC | Guardian | Fox News | Newsweek | Yahoo! | Web MD | Independent | Drugs.com |
| LA Times | The Canberra Times | Mirror | Refinery 29 | Breitbart | UPI | US News & World Report |
| Daily Mail | Physician's Weekly | MedPage Today | Becker's Hospital Review | Der Spiegel |
| Union Tribune |
* Ranked in the top 1% of all research scored by Altmetric
* Trended on various social media platforms, including Twitter
Collateral Crises of Gun Preparation and the COVID-19 Pandemic
Theodore C. Caputi, John W. Ayers, Mark Dredze, N Suplina, S Burd-Sharps
JMIR Public Health and Surveillance. 2020;6(2):e19369.
*COI disclosure: this study was done in collaboration with Everytown for Gun Safety
Responses to Addiction Help-Seeking from Alexa, Siri, Google Assistant, Cortana, and Bixby Intelligent Virtual Assistants
Alicia Nobles, Eric C. Leas, Theodore L. Caputi, Shu-Hong Zhu, Steffanie A. Strathdee, John W. Ayers
Nature Digital Medicine. 2020;3(11):doi.org/10.1038/s41746-019-0215-9.
| Yahoo! | Forbes | Medscape | WebMD | The Sun | The Sunday Times | MEAWW | O' Globo |
| Becker's Hospital Review | Drugs.com |
* Via Agence France-Presse this study was covered in numerous print outlets, including the Sunday Times (of South Africa), The Malaysian Mail, Times of India, Times of London, etc.
Requests for Diagnoses of Sexually Transmitted Diseases on a Social Media Platform
Alicia Nobles, Eric C. Leas, Mark Dredze, Christopher A. Longhurst, Davey Smith, John W. Ayers
JAMA. 2019;322(17):1712-1713.
| NBC | CNN | ABC | US News & World Report | CNBC | Forbes | New York Post | Raw Story |
| Reuters | Medscape | Daily Mail | Refinery 29 | Healio | BGR | Futurism | Cnet | Stuff |
| Business Insider | Drugs.com | 10 Daily | MedPage Today | Health Day | iNews | Union Tribune |
| New Zealand Herald | Mpravda | Yahoo! | News Beezer | Silicon Republic | Mic | Becker's Health IT |
| Global Times China | The Star | Healthline | Vice | Bustle | Breitbart | MSN | Mens Health |
| She Knows | Physicians Weekly | Dr. Oz |
* Ranked in the top 1% of all research scored by Altmetric
* Ranked in the top 10 in JAMA for the year by Altmetric.
* Watch Medscape's Impact Factor with Dr. F. Perry Wilson
* Via Agence France-Presse this study was covered in more than 1,000 print outlets, including Phnom Penh Post, Bangkok Post, Sunday Times (of South Africa), Times of India, Times of London, etc.
Trends in Internet Searches for Cannabidiol (CBD) in the United States
Eric C. Leas, Alicia Nobels, Theodore L. Caputi, Mark Dredze, Davey Smith, John W. Ayers
JAMA Open. 2019;2(10):e1913853.
| ABC | USA Today | Time | Good Morning America (GMA) | Vice | US News & World Report |
| Washington Post | STAT News | Healthline | Daily Mail | Medical News Today | Union Tribune |
| MSN | Regulatory Review |
* Ranked in the top 1% of all research scored by Altmetric
* Watch a live interview from Fox News on the dangers of CBD and marijuana
Ignoring Data Delays our Reaction to Emerging Public Health Tragedies Like 13 Reasons Why
Eric C. Leas, Mark Dredze, John W. Ayers
JAMA Psychiatry. 2019;2755.
* Two years after our popular JAMA Internal Medicine study traditional data confirmed our earlier conclusions but ignored those data. Why ignore and more importantly wait two years to react when lives are on the line?
Harnessing Digital Data and Data Science to Achieve 90-90-90 Goals to End the HIV Epidemic
Steffanie A. Strathdee, Alicia Nobels, John W. Ayers
Current Opinions in HIV and AIDS 2019;14(6):481-485
The Need for Federal Regulation of Marijuana Marketing
John W. Ayers, Theodore L. Caputi, Eric C. Leas
JAMA. 2019;doi:10.1001/jama.2019.4432.
| New York Times | NPR | KPBS | Barrons | Kaiser Health News | Union Tribune |
* Ranked in the top 1% of all research scored by Altmetric
Media Trends for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration 800-662-HELP Addiction Treatment Referral Services After a Celebrity Overdose
John W. Ayers, Alicia Nobels, Mark Dredze
JAMA Internal Medicine. 2018;doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2018.6562.
| Reuters | US News & World Report | Futurity | Medical Research | The Hub | Global Health |
| Union Tribune |
* Ranked in the top 1% of all research scored by Altmetric
Internet Searches for Sexual Harassment and Assault, Reporting, and Training Since the #MeToo Movement
Theodore L. Caputi, Alicia Nobels, John W. Ayers,
JAMA Internal Medicine. 2018;doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2018.5094.
| Reuters | Los Angeles Times | Bloomberg | Bustle | US News & World Report | The Star | Ebony |
| Medical Research | Live Mint | Psychology Today | Tech2 | Medical Bag |
* Ranked in the top 1% of all research scored by Altmetric
Next Generation Media Monitoring: Global Coverage of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (Electronic Cigarettes) on Bing, Google and Twitter, 2013-2018
John W. Ayers, Mark Dredze, Eric C. Leas, Theodore L. Caputi, Jon-Patrick Allem, Joanna E. Cohen
PLoS One. 2018;doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0205822.
* Visit TobacoWatcher.org to replicate this analysis in a few clicks
Don’t Quote Me: Reverse Identification of Research Participants in Social Media Studies
John W. Ayers, Theodore L. Caputi, Camille Nebeker, Mark Dredze
Nature Digital Medicine. 2018;doi.org/10.1038/s41746-018-0036-2.
* Our study generated considerable debate on social media, but don't worry we won't quote anyone
* Watch this online seminar on the impact of our study here
Substance Use Among Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Questioning Adolescents in the United States, 2015
Theodore L. Caputi, Laramie Smith, Steffanie Strathdee, John W. Ayers
American Journal of Public Health. 2018;10.2105/AJPH.2018.304446.
| Reuters | NBC | Psych Central | Business Standard |
* Ranked in the top 1% of all research scored by Altmetric
Online Sales of Marijuana: An Unrecognized Public Health Dilemma
Theodore L. Caputi, Eric C. Leas, Mark Dredze, John W. Ayers
American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 2018;10.1016/j.amepre.2018.01.032.
| NBC | US News & World Report | Salon | Inquisitr | Futurism | Civilized | Fresh | Inverse |
| International Business Times | Study Finds | United Press International |