About
Born and raised in Egypt, Dr. Mary Rezk-Hanna brings a global perspective to her research at the intersection of cardiovascular physiology, tobacco product science and use, and public health policy. Her work investigates vascular regulation and both short- and long-term cardiovascular responses to novel combustible tobacco products and electronic nicotine delivery systems (vaping). She leads translational human studies combining real-time vascular imaging and targeted biomarker analysis of exposure, inflammation, and oxidative stress to elucidate the mechanisms of tobacco-related vascular harm. Complementing this, Dr. Rezk-Hanna conducts secondary analyses of nationally representative surveys, including the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health Study, to elucidate patterns of tobacco use, cardiovascular risk, and disparities among high risk groups. By combining mechanistic and epidemiologic approaches, her research generates objective evidence that informs FDA regulatory strategies, tobacco control policy, and public health prevention campaigns—particularly on flavored tobacco and nicotine products. She has contributed to American Heart Association scientific and policy statements and led the smoking chapter in the Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics reports, amplifying the role of tobacco and nicotine use in national cardiovascular surveillance.
Dr. Rezk-Hanna’s research has been supported by the National Institutes of Health and the Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program and her contributions have been recognized through fellowships and awards from the American Academy of Nursing, the American Heart Association, and the Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association. As a board-certified nurse practitioner, she brings clinical insight to her scientific work, strengthening its relevance to real-world cardiovascular health.
Education
- PhD, University of California, Los Angeles
- MSN, NP-C, University of California, Los Angeles
- BSN, George Mason University, Virginia
Honors and Awards
- 2024 | Fiat Lux Chancellor’s Award, UCLA
- 2024 | Fellow of the Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association
- 2023 | Poster Award, Best Research / Innovation Poster, 19th Annual UCLA Nursing Science and Innovation Conference, UCLA Health
- 2022 | Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing
- 2020 | Hellman Fellow Award, UCLA
- 2020 | Fellow of the American Heart Association
- 2020 | Marie Cowan Promising Early Career Investigator Award, Council on Cardiovascular and Stroke Nursing, American Heart Association
- 2019 | Research Article of the Year, Council on Cardiovascular and Stroke Nursing, American Heart Association
- 2016 | Martha Hill Young Investigator Award Finalist, Council on Cardiovascular and Stroke Nursing, American Heart Association
Selected Publications
Original Contributions
Rezk-Hanna M, BenTaleb Z, Benowitz NL. Nicotine Levels in Flavored Hookah (Waterpipe) Tobacco Products: Discrepancies between Labeled and Measured Levels. Tobacco Control. 2025. 11:tc-2024-058939. doi: 10.1136/tc-2024-058939.
Rezk-Hanna M, Rossman M, Ludwig K, Sakti P, Cheng CW, Brecht ML, Benowitz N, Seals D. Electronic Hookah (Waterpipe) Vaping Reduces Vascular Endothelial Function: The Role of Nicotine. American Journal of Physiology-Heart and Circulatory Physiology. 2024. 326(3):H490-H496. doi: 10.1152/ajpheart.00710.2023.
Rezk-Hanna M, Mosenifar Z, Benowitz NL, Rader F, Rashid M, Davoren K, Moy N, Doering L, Robbins W, Sarna L, Li N, Chang C, Elashoff R, Victor RG. High Carbon Monoxide Levels from Charcoal Combustion Mask Acute Endothelial Dysfunction Induced by Hookah (Waterpipe) Smoking in Young Adults. Circulation. 2019 139(19): 2215-2224. doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.118.037375.
Rezk-Hanna M, Warda US, Stokes AC, Fetterman J, Li J, Macey PM, Darawad M, Song Y, Taleb ZB, Brecht ML, Benowitz NL. Associations of Smokeless Tobacco Use with Cardiovascular Disease Risk: Insights from the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health Study. Nicotine & Tobacco Research. 2022. 24(7):1063-1070. doi: 10.1093/ntr/ntab258.
Rezk-Hanna M, Seals D, Rossman M, Gupta R, Nettle C, Means A, Cheng C, Brecht L, Mosenifar Z, Araujo J, Benowitz NL. Ascorbic Acid Prevents Vascular Endothelial Dysfunction Induced by Electronic Hookah (Waterpipe) Vaping. Journal of the American Heart Association. 2021 (5):e019271. doi: 10.1161/JAHA.120.019271.
Rezk-Hanna M, Holloway I, Toyama J, Warda U, Berteau L, Brecht M, Sarna L. Transitions in Hookah (Waterpipe) Smoking by U.S. Sexual Minority Adults between 2013-2015: The Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health Study Wave 1 and Wave 2. BMC Public Health. 2021 21(1):445. doi: 10.1186/s12889-021-10389-5.
Rezk-Hanna M, Adolfo A, Warda US, Brecht ML, Benowitz NL. Association of Non-Daily Hookah Tobacco Smoking and Cardiovascular Disease-Related Exposure Biomarkers Among U.S. Users: The Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health Study. Preventive Medicine Reports. 2023. 13(36):102417. doi: 10.1016/j.pmedr.2023.102417.
Rezk-Hanna M, Gupta R, Nettle C, Dobrin D, Cheng CW, Means A, Brecht ML, Tashkin D, Araujo J. Differential Effects of Electronic Hookah Vaping and Traditional Combustible Hookah Smoking on Oxidation, Inflammation and Arterial Stiffness. CHEST. 2021. S0012-3692(21)01360. doi: 10.1016/j.chest.2021.07.027.
Rezk-Hanna M, Nelson MD, Rader F, Benowitz NL, Rosenberry R, Chang C, Li N, Tashkin DP, Elashoff RM, Victor RG. Peripheral Blood Flow Changes to Cutaneous and Muscular Beds in Response to Acute Hookah Smoking. American Journal of Cardiology. 2020 125(11):1725-1731. doi: 10.1016/j.amjcard.2020.02.042.
Policy and Regulatory Science Contributions
Bhatnagar A, Maziak W, Eissenberg T, Ward K, Thurston G, King B, Sutfin E, Cobb C, Griffiths M, Goldstein L, Rezk-Hanna M; American Heart Association Behavioral Change for Improving Health Factors Committee of the Council on Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health and Council on Epidemiology and Prevention; Council on Cardiovascular and Stroke Nursing; Council on Quality of Care and Outcomes Research; and Stroke Council. Waterpipe (Hookah) Smoking and Cardiovascular Disease Risk: A Scientific Statement from the American Heart Association. Circulation, 2019 139(19):e917-e936. doi: 10.1161/CIR.0000000000000671.
Rezk-Hanna M, Talhout R, Jordt S. Sugars and Sweeteners in Tobacco and Nicotine Products: FDA Regulatory Implications. Nicotine & Tobacco Research. 2022. ntac222. doi: 10.1093/ntr/ntac222
Martin SS, Aday AW, Allen NB, Almarzooq ZI, Anderson CAM, Arora P, Avery CL, Baker-Smith CM, Bansal N, Beaton AZ, Commodore-Mensah Y, Currie ME, Elkind MSV, Fan W, Generoso G, Gibbs BB, Heard DG, Hiremath S, Johansen MC, Kazi DS, Ko D, Leppert MH, Magnani JW, Michos ED, Mussolino ME, Parikh NI, Perman SM, Rezk-Hanna M, Roth GA, Shah NS, Springer MV, St-Onge MP, Thacker EL, Urbut SM, Van Spall HGC, Voeks JH, Whelton SP, Wong ND, Wong SS, Yaffe K, Palaniappan LP; American Heart Association Council on Epidemiology and Prevention Statistics Committee and Stroke Statistics Committee. 2025 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics: A Report of US and Global Data From the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2025. 25;151(8):e41-e660. doi: 10.1161/CIR.0000000000001303.
Rezk-Hanna M, Maziak W. Unsubstantiated Claims by the Hookah Tobacco Industry to Exempt Flavored Hookah Tobacco Products from Flavor Bans. Nicotine & Tobacco Research. 2024. ntae114. doi: 10.1093/ntr/ntae114.
Himmelfarb CR, Benowitz NL, Blank MD, Bhatnagar A, Chase PJ, Davis EM, Fetterman JL, Keller-Hamilton B, Ogungbe O, Page RL 2nd, Rezk-Hanna M, Robertson RM, Whitsel LP; on behalf of the American Heart Association Advocacy Coordinating Committee. Impact of smokeless oral nicotine products on cardiovascular disease: implications for policy, prevention, and treatment: a policy statement from the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2024. 7;151(1):e1-e21. doi: 10.1161/CIR.0000000000001293.
Rose JJ, Krishnan-Sarin S, Exil VJ, Hamburg NM, Fetterman JL, Ichinose F, Perez-Pinzon M, Rezk-Hanna M, Williamson E; on behalf of the American Heart Association Council on Cardiopulmonary, Critical Care, Perioperative and Resuscitation; the Council on Epidemiology and Prevention; the Council on Cardiovascular Radiology and Intervention; the Council on Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health; the Council on Peripheral Vascular Disease; the Stroke Council; and the Council on Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology. Cardiopulmonary Impact of Electronic Cigarettes and Vaping Products: A Scientific Statement from the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2023. 148(8):703-728. doi: 10.1161/CIR.0000000000001160