Bruce Christiansen, PhD, senior scientist, General Internal Medicine and UW Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention, is receiving the 2017 C. Everett Koop Unsung Heroes Award from the American Lung Association. 

Dr. Christiansen was recognized for his tireless work “to serve the most vulnerable of smokers, including those who are homeless, struggle with addiction or mental-health issues, live in an inner-city environment, or are prisoners waiting to be released.”

One of Dr. Christiansen's efforts was to found the ZIP Code Project, a community-based research program designed to increase the use of evidenced-based quit-tobacco treatments among people living in the two most impoverished Milwaukee inner-city ZIP code areas. 

Collaborating with a local unit of the Salvation Army and the Vincent Family Resource Center, the project hired surveyors from the community to go door to door, gather residents' ideas about smoking, educate them about smoking and quitting, and offer resources to help them and their loved ones to quit. The effort also held held community health events to connect with individuals and raise awareness of tobacco cessation resources.

Dr. Christiansen also manages the  Wisconsin Nicotine Treatment and Integration Program, which integrates tobacco cessation treatment into standard services of  Wisconsin's healthcare providers and residential programs, and worked with the state Department of Corrections on efforts to help people who are newly released from incarceration stay smoke-free.

Resources:

• "2017 C. Everett Koop Unsung Heroes Award: Bruce Christiansen, PhD," American Lung Association
• "UW-CTRI's Dr. Bruce Christiansen Wins National Unsung Hero Award," UW Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention