M/A/R/C® Research announced that Elsa Larson, PhD, has joined as Vice President of its Health and Well-Being practice, bringing her extensive expertise in public health, behavioral science, and applied research to the organization’s growing health and well-being portfolio. With the recent addition of Stacey Bell as Vice President of Insights and Strategy, M/A/R/C continues to strengthen their consulting bench in Regulated Sciences.
Dr. Larson is a well-established expert in applied behavioral science, with a career spanning industry, consulting, academic medicine, government, and nonprofit sectors. Her work has focused on some of the most complex and hard-to-change behaviors—such as smoking cessation, HIV prevention, and vaccine uptake—making her a trusted leader in the field of health behavior change.
She is the author of numerous peer-reviewed articles and scientific abstracts and is known for generating deep human insights into risk behavior, risk perceptions, motivation to change, and decisional balance. Her research has informed both commercial innovation and regulatory science, including FDA submissions for reduced-risk nicotine products and public health interventions aimed at harm reduction.
“We are thrilled to welcome Elsa to M/A/R/C Research,” said Brad Seipel, Executive Vice President at M/A/R/C® Research. “Elsa’s leadership and cross-functional experience will be invaluable as we expand our work in health and well-being. We’re especially excited that her public health research consulting and client-side experience will enhance our thought leadership through published articles and abstracts as M/A/R/C contributes to the science and practice of public health.”
Prior to joining M/A/R/C Research, Dr. Larson served as Director of Programs at Global Action to End Smoking, leading scientific review of grants focused on global tobacco harm reduction research and education. She also served in multiple senior scientist roles at Altria spanning commercial and regulatory research, in addition to holding consulting roles with regulatory and innovation-focused organizations, where she delivered strategic insights for industry clients.
Dr. Larson holds a Ph.D. and M.A. in Behavioral Science with a concentration in Health Psychology, as well as an M.S. in Pharmacoepidemiology from the University of Rhode Island, which is home to the development of the Transtheoretical Model (TTM) of behavior change.
“I’m honored to join M/A/R/C Research and contribute to its mission of advancing health through evidence-based insights,” said Dr. Larson. “I look forward to collaborating with this talented team to help clients successfully bring products and services to market that enhance public health.”