Dr. Timothy Baker is a faculty member in the Division of General Internal Medicine within the Department of Medicine. He holds the Glaxo Wellcome Chair for the Study of Tobacco Dependence, and has been the director of research at the University of Wisconsin Center for Tobacco Control and Intervention (UW-CTRI) since its inception in 1992.
The former editor of The Journal of Abnormal Psychology, Dr. Baker is a recipient of the James McKeen Cattell Award from the American Psychological Society.
View Dr. Timothy Baker's publications on PubMed
Dr. Baker is the principal investigator on a Transdisciplinary Tobacco Use Research (TTURC) grant that began in 2004 and concentrates on tobacco-dependence treatment and outcomes. In these studies, various pharmacotherapies are being examined head-to-head in two large treatment studies. The research is comparing the efficacy and effectiveness of five different pharmacotherapies as well as the effects of various treatments in primary care clinics. The UW-TTURC researchers are not only looking at the effects of treatment on smoking cessation, but will also determine how quitting affects the person's physical health, mental health, quality of life and social interactions. In addition, researchers are exploring the genetics of nicotine dependence and treatment response.
In 2008, the National Cancer Institute awarded Baker a five-year, $860,000 career scientist award.
Dr. Baker served as the senior scientist on the panel that produced the United States Public Health Service Clinical Practice Guideline: Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence in 2008. This document provides a gold standard for healthcare providers.