Suzaynn Schick, PhD
Associate Professor
Medicine
School of Medicine

My analysis of tobacco industry research showed that sidestream cigarette smoke (the primary constituent of secondhand cigarette smoke) is more toxic than the smoke that smokers inhale and that secondhand smoke becomes more toxic as it ages.

My research on the chemistry and toxicity of cigarette smoke has helped define a new health risk from smoking: thirdhand cigarette smoke. Thirdhand smoke is the tiny droplets of oils and waxes (tar) that stick to surfaces, like walls, furniture, clothing and hair. Thirdhand smoke cannot be removed by ventilation. Many of the toxins and carcinogens in smoke linger for days, months and years after the cigarettes are gone. My laboratory is funded by the California Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program to study how humans absorb thirdhand smoke from the environment.

I am also studying the effects of cannabis use on air quality in public places and the chemistry and toxicity of cannabis product emissions like dab aerosol.

I am member of the California Thirdhand Smoke Consortium, the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center and the UCSF Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education. My goals are to understand how smoke causes heart attacks and respiratory disease and to educate society on the true impact that air pollution has on human health.

• Chronic E-Cigarette Use Impairs Endothelial Function on the Physiological and Cellular Levels.
  Arteriosclerosis, thrombosis, and vascular biology 2022 Mohammadi L, Han DD, Xu F, Huang A, Derakhshandeh R, Rao P, Whitlatch A, Cheng J, Keith RJ, Hamburg NM, Ganz P, Hellman J, Schick SF, Springer ML
• Impairment of Endothelial Function by Cigarette Smoke Is Not Caused by a Specific Smoke Constituent, but by Vagal Input From the Airway.
  Arteriosclerosis, thrombosis, and vascular biology 2022 Nabavizadeh P, Liu J, Rao P, Ibrahim S, Han DD, Derakhshandeh R, Qiu H, Wang X, Glantz SA, Schick SF, Springer ML
• Dermal thirdhand smoke exposure induces oxidative damage, initiates skin inflammatory markers, and adversely alters the human plasma proteome.
  EBioMedicine 2022 Sakamaki-Ching S, Schick S, Grigorean G, Li J, Talbot P
• Thirdhand Exposures to Tobacco-Specific Nitrosamines through Inhalation, Dust Ingestion, Dermal Uptake, and Epidermal Chemistry.
  Environmental science & technology 2022 Tang X, Benowitz N, Gundel L, Hang B, Havel CM, Hoh E, Jacob Iii P, Mao JH, Martins-Green M, Matt GE, Quintana PJE, Russell ML, Sarker A, Schick SF, Snijders AM, Destaillats H
• PM2.5 Concentrations in the Smoking Lounge of a Cannabis Store
  Environ. Sci Technol Lett. 2022 Huang AS, Murphy MBC, Jacob P, Schick SF
• Genetic background influences the effect of thirdhand smoke exposure on anxiety and memory in Collaborative Cross mice.
  Scientific reports 2021 He L, Wang P, Schick SF, Huang A, Jacob P, Yang X, Xia Y, Snijders AM, Mao JH, Chang H, Hang B
• PM2.5 Concentrations in a Cannabis Store with On-Site Consumption.
  Environmental health perspectives 2021 Murphy MB, Huang AS, Schick SF
• Thirdhand cigarette smoke leads to age-dependent and persistent alterations in the cecal microbiome of mice.
  MicrobiologyOpen 2021 He L, Zhou YX, Zhang Y, Hang B, Chang H, Schick SF, Celniker SE, Xia Y, Snijders AM, Mao JH
• In utero and early-life exposure to thirdhand smoke causes profound changes to the immune system.
  Clinical science (London, England : 1979) 2021 Snijders AM, Zhou M, Whitehead TP, Fitch B, Pandey P, Hechmer A, Huang A, Schick SF, de Smith AJ, Olshen AB, Metayer C, Mao JH, Wiemels JL, Kogan SC
• Adhesion and Removal of Thirdhand Smoke from Indoor Fabrics: A Method for Rapid Assessment and Identification of Chemical Repositories.
  International journal of environmental research and public health 2021 Pozuelos GL, Jacob P, Schick SF, Omaiye EE, Talbot P
• Thirdhand smoke exposure causes replication stress and impaired transcription in human lung cells.
  Environmental and molecular mutagenesis 2020 Sarker AH, Trego KS, Zhang W, Jacob P, Snijders AM, Mao JH, Schick SF, Cooper PK, Hang B
• Thirdhand Smoke at Philip Morris.
  Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco 2019 Whitlatch A, Schick S
• Assessing Toxicity and in Vitro Bioactivity of Smoked Cigarette Leachate Using Cell-Based Assays and Chemical Analysis.
  Chemical research in toxicology 2019 Xu EG, Richardot WH, Li S, Buruaem L, Wei HH, Dodder NG, Schick SF, Novotny T, Schlenk D, Gersberg RM, Hoh E
• Proceedings of the 15th Conference of the International Society of Indoor Air Quality & Climate, Philadelphia, PA, USA July 22 to 27, 2018
  Measuring Aerosol Particle Emissions from Cannabis Vaporization and Dabbing 2019 Jaques, PA, Zalay, M, Huang, A, Jee, K, Schick, SF.
• Experimental Acute Exposure to Thirdhand Smoke and Changes in the Human Nasal Epithelial Transcriptome: A Randomized Clinical Trial.
  JAMA network open 2019 Pozuelos GL, Kagda MS, Schick S, Girke T, Volz DC, Talbot P
• Modeling Cardiovascular Risks of E-Cigarettes With Human-Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Endothelial Cells.
  Journal of the American College of Cardiology 2019 Lee WH, Ong SG, Zhou Y, Tian L, Bae HR, Baker N, Whitlatch A, Mohammadi L, Guo H, Nadeau KC, Springer ML, Schick SF, Bhatnagar A, Wu JC
• Cardiovascular injury induced by tobacco products: assessment of risk factors and biomarkers of harm. A Tobacco Centers of Regulatory Science compilation.
  American journal of physiology. Heart and circulatory physiology 2019 Conklin DJ, Schick S, Blaha MJ, Carll A, DeFilippis A, Ganz P, Hall ME, Hamburg N, O'Toole T, Reynolds L, Srivastava S, Bhatnagar A
• Cigarette smoke exposure worsens acute lung injury in antibiotic-treated bacterial pneumonia in mice.
  American journal of physiology. Lung cellular and molecular physiology 2018 Gotts JE, Chun L, Abbott J, Fang X, Takasaka N, Nishimura SL, Springer ML, Schick SF, Calfee CS, Matthay MA
• Short-term early exposure to thirdhand cigarette smoke increases lung cancer incidence in mice.
  Clinical science (London, England : 1979) 2018 Hang B, Wang Y, Huang Y, Wang P, Langley SA, Bi L, Sarker AH, Schick SF, Havel C, Jacob P, Benowitz N, Destaillats H, Tang X, Xia Y, Jen KY, Gundel LA, Mao JH, Snijders AM
• Biomarkers of exposure to new and emerging tobacco delivery products.
  American journal of physiology. Lung cellular and molecular physiology 2017 Schick SF, Blount BC, Jacob P, Saliba NA, Bernert JT, El Hellani A, Jatlow P, Pappas RS, Wang L, Foulds J, Ghosh A, Hecht SS, Gomez JC, Martin JR, Mesaros C, Srivastava S, St Helen G, Tarran R, …
• Early exposure to thirdhand cigarette smoke affects body mass and the development of immunity in mice.
  Scientific reports 2017 Hang B, Snijders AM, Huang Y, Schick SF, Wang P, Xia Y, Havel C, Jacob P, Benowitz N, Destaillats H, Gundel LA, Mao JH
• Thirdhand Smoke: New Evidence, Challenges, and Future Directions.
  Chemical research in toxicology 2016 Jacob P, Benowitz NL, Destaillats H, Gundel L, Hang B, Martins-Green M, Matt GE, Quintana PJ, Samet JM, Schick SF, Talbot P, Aquilina NJ, Hovell MF, Mao JH, Whitehead TP
• One Minute of Marijuana Secondhand Smoke Exposure Substantially Impairs Vascular Endothelial Function.
  Journal of the American Heart Association 2016 Wang X, Derakhshandeh R, Liu J, Narayan S, Nabavizadeh P, Le S, Danforth OM, Pinnamaneni K, Rodriguez HJ, Luu E, Sievers RE, Schick SF, Glantz SA, Springer ML
• From the Cover: Thirdhand Cigarette Smoke Causes Stress-Induced Mitochondrial Hyperfusion and Alters the Transcriptional Profile of Stem Cells.
  Toxicological sciences : an official journal of the Society of Toxicology 2016 Bahl V, Johnson K, Phandthong R, Zahedi A, Schick SF, Talbot P
• Corrigendum: Metabolomics reveals metabolic changes in male reproductive cells exposed to thirdhand smoke.
  Scientific reports 2016 Xu B, Chen M, Yao M, Ji X, Mao Z, Tang W, Qiao S, Schick SF, Mao JH, Hang B, Xia Y
• Impairment of Endothelial Function by Little Cigar Secondhand Smoke.
  Tobacco regulatory science 2016 Liu J, Wang X, Narayan S, Glantz SA, Schick SF, Springer ML
• Cytotoxicity of Thirdhand Smoke and Identification of Acrolein as a Volatile Thirdhand Smoke Chemical That Inhibits Cell Proliferation.
  Toxicological sciences : an official journal of the Society of Toxicology 2015 Bahl V, Weng NJ, Schick SF, Sleiman M, Whitehead J, Ibarra A, Talbot P
• Thirdhand smoke: Chemical dynamics, cytotoxicity, and genotoxicity in outdoor and indoor environments.
  Toxicology in vitro : an international journal published in association with BIBRA 2015 Bahl V, Shim HJ, Jacob P, Dias K, Schick SF, Talbot P
• Metabolomics reveals metabolic changes in male reproductive cells exposed to thirdhand smoke.
  Scientific reports 2015 Xu B, Chen M, Yao M, Ji X, Mao Z, Tang W, Qiao S, Schick SF, Mao JH, Hang B, Xia Y
• Correction: A novel minimally-invasive method to sample human endothelial cells for molecular profiling.
  PloS one 2015 Waldo SW, Brenner DA, McCabe JM, De la Cruz M, Long B, Narla VA, Park J, Kulkarni A, Sinclair E, Chan SY, Schick SF, Malik N, Ganz P, Hsue PY
• A novel minimally-invasive method to sample human endothelial cells for molecular profiling.
  PloS one 2015 Waldo SW, Brenner DA, McCabe JM, Dela Cruz M, Long B, Narla VA, Park J, Kulkarni A, Sinclair E, Chan SY, Schick SF, Malik N, Ganz P, Hsue PY
• Thirdhand cigarette smoke: factors affecting exposure and remediation.
  PloS one 2014 Bahl V, Jacob P, Havel C, Schick SF, Talbot P
• Brief exposure to secondhand smoke reversibly impairs endothelial vasodilatory function.
  Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco 2013 Pinnamaneni K, Sievers RE, Sharma R, Selchau AM, Gutierrez G, Nordsieck EJ, Su R, An S, Chen Q, Wang X, Derakhshandeh R, Aschbacher K, Heiss C, Glantz SA, Schick SF, Springer ML
• Nicotelline: a proposed biomarker and environmental tracer for particulate matter derived from tobacco smoke.
  Chemical research in toxicology 2013 Jacob P, Goniewicz ML, Havel CM, Schick SF, Benowitz NL
• Thirdhand cigarette smoke in an experimental chamber: evidence of surface deposition of nicotine, nitrosamines and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and de novo formation of NNK.
  Tobacco control 2013 Schick SF, Farraro KF, Perrino C, Sleiman M, van de Vossenberg G, Trinh MP, Hammond SK, Jenkins BM, Balmes J
• Thirdhand smoke causes DNA damage in human cells.
  Mutagenesis 2013 Hang B, Sarker AH, Havel C, Saha S, Hazra TK, Schick S, Jacob P, Rehan VK, Chenna A, Sharan D, Sleiman M, Destaillats H, Gundel LA
• Thirty minute-exposure to aged cigarette smoke increases nasal congestion in nonsmokers.
  Journal of toxicology and environmental health. Part A 2013 Schick SF, van den Vossenberg G, Luo A, Whitlatch A, Jacob P, Balmes J, Shusterman D
• Aerosol Science and Technology
  An Apparatus for Generating Aged Cigarette Smoke for Controlled Human Exposure Studies 2012 Suzaynn F. Schick, Kathryn F. Farraro, Jiaxi Fang, Sarah Nasir, Justin Kim, Donald Lucas, Hofer Wong, John Balmes, D. Ken Giles, and Bryan Jenkins
• The exposure-dependent effects of aged secondhand smoke on endothelial function.
  Journal of the American College of Cardiology 2012 Frey PF, Ganz P, Hsue PY, Benowitz NL, Glantz SA, Balmes JR, Schick SF
• Pilot evaluation of the nasal nitric oxide response to humming as an index of osteomeatal patency.
  American journal of rhinology & allergy 2012 Shusterman DJ, Weaver EM, Goldberg AN, Schick SF, Wong HH, Balmes JR
• Thirdhand tobacco smoke: emerging evidence and arguments for a multidisciplinary research agenda.
  Environmental health perspectives 2011 Matt GE, Quintana PJ, Destaillats H, Gundel LA, Sleiman M, Singer BC, Jacob P, Benowitz N, Winickoff JP, Rehan V, Talbot P, Schick S, Samet J, Wang Y, Hang B, Martins-Green M, Pankow JF, Hovell MF
• Thirdhand smoke: here to stay.
  Tobacco control 2011 Schick SF, Schick S
• Brief secondhand smoke exposure depresses endothelial progenitor cells activity and endothelial function: sustained vascular injury and blunted nitric oxide production.
  Journal of the American College of Cardiology 2008 Heiss C, Amabile N, Lee AC, Real WM, Schick SF, Lao D, Wong ML, Jahn S, Angeli FS, Minasi P, Springer ML, Hammond SK, Glantz SA, Grossman W, Balmes JR, Yeghiazarians Y
• Pilot study of compliance with healthcare facility smoking laws in Georgia.
  Georgian medical news 2008 Schick S, Gvinianidze K, Tsereteli D, Novotny T, Hammond K
• The tobacco industry and the Data Quality Act.
  Science (New York, N.Y.) 2007 Schick SF, Bero LA, Cook DM
• Concentrations of the carcinogen 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone in sidestream cigarette smoke increase after release into indoor air: results from unpublished tobacco industry research.
  Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention : a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, cosponsored by the American Society of Preventive Oncology 2007 Schick SF, Glantz S
• Old ways, new means: tobacco industry funding of academic and private sector scientists since the Master Settlement Agreement.
  Tobacco control 2007 Schick SF, Glantz SA
• Sidestream cigarette smoke toxicity increases with aging and exposure duration.
  Tobacco control 2006 Schick SF, Schick S, Glantz SA
• Philip Morris toxicological experiments with fresh sidestream smoke: more toxic than mainstream smoke.
  Tobacco control 2005 Schick S, Glantz S
• Scientific analysis of second-hand smoke by the tobacco industry, 1929-1972.
  Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco 2005 Schick S, Glantz S
• Implications of ASHRAE's guidelines for ventilation in smoking permitted areas
  ASHRAE Journal 2004 Glantz, Stanton A Schick, Suzaynn F
• Adhesive interactions in peri-implantation morphogenesis and placentation.
  Reproductive toxicology (Elmsford, N.Y.) 1997 Damsky Ch, Schick SF, Klimanskaya I, Stephens L, Zhou Y, Fisher S