Dr. Matthew Carpenter received his PhD in Clinical Psychology from the University of Vermont in 2002, and relocated to Charleston SC for internship, postdoctoral training and faculty positions at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). He currently holds the Flora McLeod Edwards Distinguished Endowed Chair in Cancer Research and is Professor within the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at MUSC, where he also serves as Associate Director of Cancer Control and Prevention of the NCI Designated Hollings Cancer Center. Dr. Carpenter’s research interests relate to tobacco use across a broad methodological continuum: from lab-based studies of tobacco product reinforcement and nicotine dependence, to small- and large-scale clinical trials for smoking cessation and cessation induction, to public health policy for effective tobacco control. He has led and participated in many number of studies and trials that investigate novel methods to deliver cessation treatment, as well studies to evaluate alternative tobacco products. Many of these studies have involved innovative strategies to expand remote methodologies within clinical trials. Collectively, these trials have been themed around one central question: How to get more people who smoke to make better quit attempts sooner.
Dr. Carpenter has been continuously funded as Principal Investigator of NIH grants since 2007, with multiple R01s, R21s (NCI & NIDA) and foundation grants. He has served on a number of NIH study sections, including several as Chair. He recently completed service as a standing member of the NIH CSR Advisory Council. He also serves on the editorial board of both CNS Drugs and the Journal of Behavioral Medicine. Dr. Carpenter has mentored a number of junior investigators across various grant mechanisms (T32, F32, K01, K07, K23; American Cancer Society), many of whom have achieved their own level of independent success: faculty positions, grant funding. He regularly accepts new trainees at either pre- or postdoctoral levels and is committed to the growth of early-stage investigators.
As previous co-leader of the Cancer Prevention and Control Program of the Hollings Cancer Center between 2018-2025, and now as Associate Director, Dr. Carpenter has played a significant role in the growth of the cancer prevention research, expanding in breadth and depth. This includes a near four-fold increase in NIH funding, a 20+ fold return on investment from intramural pilot funding, and demonstrable impact on practice, policy and paradigms.
Recent awards include the Peggy Schachte Mentoring Award at MUSC, the Joseph W. Cullen Award (for distinguished contributions to national tobacco control) from the American Society for Preventive Oncology, and Fellowship status from SRNT.
A full listing of Dr. Carpenter’s publication history can be found in PubMed link above.