Natacha M DeGenna, PhD

Current Appointments

Assistant Center Director, Community Outreach and Engagement, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center

Areas of Expertise

Substance Use Disorders
Children & Adolescents
Women & Reproductive Health

Expertise & Interests Selected Publications Education & Credentials Related News

Expertise & Interests

Research Interests

Perinatal nicotine, cannabis, and alcohol use; Inequities in reproductive health; Cancer prevention

Education Interests

Research mentorship; Graduate student mentorship

Selected Publications

Boss N, Frankeberger J, Hossain F, Mark E, Coulter RW, De Genna NM. Exploring peripartum cannabis use among young sexual minority people: A qualitative study. Substance Use & Addiction journal.2025 Jan 16:29767342241310950. doi: 10.1177/29767342241310950. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 39817350.
De Genna NM, Boss N, Hossain F, Frankeberger J, Mark E, Coulter RW. A qualitative investigation of nicotine and tobacco use in young pregnant and birthing sexual minority people. Nicotine and Tobacco Research. 2024 Jul 26:ntae189. PMID: 39058322
De Genna NM, Willford JA, Richardson GA. Long-term effects of prenatal cannabis exposure: Pathways to adolescent and adult outcomes. Pharmacol Biochem Behav, 2022; 214:173358. PMID: 35216971
De Genna NM, Goldschmidt L, Day NL, Cornelius MD. Prenatal tobacco exposure, maternal postnatal nicotine dependence and adolescent risk for nicotine dependence: Birth cohort study. Neurotoxicology and Teratology. 2017 Feb 24;61:128.
De Genna NM, Feske U, Larkby C, Angiolieri T, Gold MA. Pregnancies, abortions, and births among women with and without borderline personality disorder. Women's Health Issues. 2012 Jul 1;22(4):e371-7.
De Genna NM, Jacobsen E, Ganguli M. Marijuana use among community-dwelling older adults: A population-based study. International journal of geriatric psychiatry. 2024 Apr;39(4):e6086. PMID: 38613138
De Genna NM, Hossain F, Dwarakanath M, Ms Balascio P, Ms Moore M, Hill AV. Pandemic stressors and vaccine hesitancy among young, pregnant Black people: A qualitative study of health disparities during a global pandemic. Birth Defects Research. 2023 Dec 1;115(20):1912-22. PMID: 37807480
De Genna NM, Qu Y, Cheng Y, Emery Tavernier RL, Kolko Conlon RP, Levine MD. Trajectories of return to cigarette smoking up to 1 year postpartum among people who quit smoking during pregnancy. Nicotine and Tobacco Research. 2023 May 1;25(5):875-81.
Hill AV, Balascio P, Moore M, Hossain F, Dwarkananth M, De Genna NM. Young black women's desired pregnancy and birthing support during coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. SSM. Qualitative Research in Health. 2023 Dec;4. PMID: 38106375
De Genna NM, Feske U. Phenomenology of Borderline Personality Disorder: The Role of Race and Socioeconomic Status. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease. 2013 Dec 1;201(12):1027-34. PMID: 24284636

Education & Credentials

Education & Training

Education

PhD, Developmental Psychology, Concordia University

Postdoctoral

Substance Use Epidemiology, University of Pittsburgh

Professional Affiliations

Member, Society for Research in Nicotine and Tobacco
Member, College for Problems of Drug Dependence
Member, Developmental Neurotoxicology Society

Selected Honors & Awards

Patricia Rodier Mid-Career Award for Research and Mentoring, Developmental Neurotoxicology Society
Medical Student Research Mentoring Merit Award, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Diversity, Equity and Inclusivity Accolade, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine