Samir Soneji, PhD

Samir Soneji is demographer who develops and applies innovative quantitative methods to questions in tobacco control and cancer screening.

Two main questions motivate Soneji's research. First, what are the long-term impacts of novel tobacco product use (e.g., electronic cigarettes and hookah) on the future burden of tobacco-associated disease? Second, how will this future burden affect life expectancy and, consequently, the solvency of large entitlement programs (e.g., Social Security)? Although Soneji utilizes sophisticated methods to generate robust evidence around these questions, he strives to present his research findings in an approachable manner that is widely understood by the media and the public.

Soneji’s research was among the first to conclude that e-cigarette use increases the risk of cigarette smoking initiation. Using statistical and simulation modeling, he now quantifies the balance of harms and benefits associated with e-cigarette use and concludes that e-cigarette use currently represents a net harm for the population. Soneji’s work also identifies and quantifies public health opportunities to reduce the overall harm associated with e-cigarettes.

Soneji earned a BS in Mathematics from the University of Chicago, an MA in Statistics from Columbia University, and a PhD in Demography from Princeton University. He completed postdoctoral training in population health from the University of Pennsylvania.

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