Truth Initiative Names Dr. Vaughan Rees as Chief Research Officer

Harvard public health scientist and addiction research leader will lead scientific agenda spanning tobacco, nicotine and broader addiction challenges

Truth Initiative, the nation’s largest nonprofit public health organization dedicated to preventing youth and young adult nicotine addiction and empowering quitting for all, today announced that Dr. Vaughan Rees will join the organization as Chief Research Officer on October 27, succeeding Dr. Barbara Schillo. 

Rees joins Truth Initiative from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, where he has served as Director of the Center for Global Tobacco Control since 2015 and is a Senior Lecturer on Social and Behavioral Sciences. A public health scientist and research leader with more than 25 years of experience, Rees brings deep expertise in addiction and behavioral science, tobacco control and regulatory science, prevention, implementation science and public health policy. At Truth Initiative, he will lead the Schroeder Institute, the organization’s research and scientific enterprise. 

“Vaughan is an exceptional scientist and leader whose breadth of expertise is ideally matched to where Truth Initiative is headed,” said Kathy Crosby, CEO and president of Truth Initiative. “We have built an extraordinary foundation in tobacco and nicotine science, and as the addiction landscape evolves, we have an opportunity to apply our science, innovation and behavior change expertise more broadly to the addiction challenges affecting young people today, including those related to nicotine, cannabis, opioids and other emerging risks. Vaughan brings the scientific leadership and perspective to help us build on that foundation, advance proven public health interventions that prevent and address addiction, and ensure rigorous evidence informs public health policy, regulation and solutions that improve lives.” 

As Chief Research Officer, Rees will guide the continued evolution of Truth Initiative’s scientific agenda through the Schroeder Institute, advancing a multidisciplinary research portfolio encompassing tobacco and nicotine, addiction science, behavioral health, emerging nicotine products, cannabis, polysubstance use and other evolving public health challenges, particularly among youth and young adults. He will also help expand opportunities for externally funded research and scientific collaboration and strengthen Truth Initiative’s ability to translate rigorous science into evidence-based interventions and real-world public health impact. 

“I am honored to join Truth Initiative, an organization with such a strong record of using science to improve public health,” said Rees. “I look forward to working with its talented scientists and leaders to better understand the processes that drive addiction and, importantly, translate what we learn into more effective prevention, treatment and public health policy.” 

Throughout his career, Rees has led interdisciplinary research programs and built national and international collaborations spanning addiction science, tobacco regulatory science and public health. At Harvard, his work has included laboratory-based tobacco research examining tobacco products, consumer behavior and questions relevant to tobacco regulation, giving him deep experience at the intersection of science, product regulation and public health policy. As Principal Investigator, he has directed a multidisciplinary research portfolio supported by more than $12 million in external funding and contributed to collaborative research programs exceeding $50 million. He has advised the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.  

Rees’ research reflects the breadth he will bring to Truth Initiative. In addition to extensive work in tobacco and nicotine, his research has examined cannabis and nicotine co-use, cannabis retailer availability and broader drug-attributable harms.  

Rees also brings a strong commitment to developing the next generation of public health scientists. He has mentored more than 60 master’s students, 12 doctoral students, postdoctoral fellows and early-career investigators.  

Rees succeeds Dr. Barbara Schillo, whose excellent leadership has helped build Truth Initiative’s strong scientific foundation and advance its national reputation for rigorous, policy-relevant public health research. 

“Barbara’s contributions to Truth Initiative and to the field have been extraordinary,” Crosby said. “Her leadership has strengthened our science, developed exceptional researchers and ensured that evidence remains at the heart of our work. We are deeply grateful for all she has contributed, and Vaughan will build on an incredibly strong foundation as we enter this next chapter.”