James Grobe, PhD

More About James

After getting his Bachelor of Science degree in Applied Mathematics-Computer Science & Psychology from Carnegie Mellon University, James pursued research on the behavioral pharmacology of nicotine at Western Psychiatric Institute & Clinic, working under Ken Perkins, PhD. He completed his PhD in Clinical Health Psychology from the University of Pittsburgh, moving on to his first academic position at the University of Kansas, Department of Psychology & Department of Preventive Medicine.   At KU, James served as the Director of the Clinical Health Psychology Graduate Program.   

James left his academic position to become a full-time homemaker in a household with four children.  During this time, he became actively involved in Destination Imagination along with tackling several major home renovation projects.  As his children became more independent, James began providing part-time scientific support to several clients.   

Eventually, James was recruited by Juul Labs and joined their team as a Principal Scientist in Scientific Affairs.   At Juul, his projects included working on regulatory submissions (PMTA), data access and research transparency policy, analyzing external research, and producing content for use in external engagements.  He particularly enjoyed the numerous external engagements with policy makers educating them on the science of harm reduction and presenting the research in our regulatory submissions, often working collaboratively with contract lobbyists.  He is proud of the surveillance and knowledge management systems that he helped build which support numerous groups across the organization (e.g., regulatory science, submissions, product development, external affairs, company strategy).  After being impacted by workforce reductions at Juul, James resumed his scientific consulting work, ultimately leading to his joining the Sanova team.