Thanh C. Bui, MD, DrPH, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, and a member of the Stephenson Cancer Center. Dr. Bui has an interdisciplinary background in medicine, global health, health promotion research and cancer prevention research. Dr. Bui's main research interest focuses on behavioral interventions for cancer prevention and control in high-risk populations, including immunizations against oncogenic viruses and tobacco cessation.
His current NCI-funded research projects use mobile health (mHealth) technology to help vulnerable patient populations quit smoking cigarettes in the United States, in Cambodia, and in Lao People's Democratic Republic. Two other studies examine the relationships between tobacco use, marijuana use, oncogenic (co)infections, and several health outcomes among Americans. Other research interests of Dr. Bui include sexual health promotion to prevent cancers (e.g., HPV vaccination) and the application of innovation generation tools to promoting cancer prevention behaviors.
He has extensive experience in working with vulnerable high-risk populations, such as people living with HIV/AIDS, sex workers, and people with low socioeconomic status. He also has strong partnerships with senior investigators and health practitioners in developing countries in Southeast Asia, such as Vietnam, Lao PDR and Cambodia.
Academic Section(s):
OUFMC Research Division
Education:
DrPH: Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences, The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, TX, 2006 – 2010.
MPH: Global Health, Yale University - School of Public Health, New Haven, CT, 2004 – 2006.
MD: Pham Ngoc Thach University of Medicine, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, 1996 – 2002.
Fellowship:
Postdoctoral Fellowship in Innovation in Cancer Prevention Research, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, 2012 – 2014.
Postdoctoral Fellowship in International Training on AIDS Research, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, 2010 – 2012.
Clinical/Research Interests:
- Behavioral interventions to prevent oncogenic sexually transmitted infections (particularly HIV and HPV)
- Sexual health promotion
- HPV vaccination
- Tobacco cessation in vulnerable populations (e.g., people living with HIV)
- Global health
Funding:
Active:
U01CA294811 (MPI: Bui, Vidrine, Xangsayarath)
08/12/2024 – 07/31/2029
Implementing Sustainable mobile health Technology to Optimize smoking cessation Program for Lao people with HIV (I-STOP).
The purpose of this research project is to compare 2 smoking cessation implementation strategies in 8 antiretroviral therapy (ART) clinics in the 5 most populous provinces/regions across Laos, using a hybrid type-2 pragmatic effectiveness-implementation study and a parallel cluster randomized trial design. Specifically, the study will compare an Ask-Advice-Connect (AAC) approach paired with an mHealth automated tobacco treatment program to an AAC approach paired with less resource intensive printed self-help material. The project has the potential to transform HIV care delivery and tobacco treatment throughout Laos to reduce tobacco-related cancers and other morbidities.
Total: $3,187,275 (Direct: $2,720,795)
OU Health Harold Hamm Diabetes Center Novel Pilot Grant (PI: Nguyen, Co-I: Bui)
07/01/2024 – 06/30/2026
Implementing A Culturally Adapted mHealth Intervention at Community Clinics.
The purpose of this mixed-methods pilot study is to assess the preliminary efficacy and implementation feasibility of our fully automated messaging program to support self-management in Vietnamese patients with diabetes in Oklahoma and Texas.
Role: Co-investigator
Total (direct): $140,000
U01 CA261598 (MPI: Bui, Vidrine)
09/17/2021 – 09/16/2026
Ending Tobacco Use through Interactive Tailored Messaging for Cambodian People Living with HIV/AIDS (EndIT).
This research project aims to evaluate efficacy and cost-effectiveness of our theoretically and empirically based mobile health (mHealth) smoking cessation intervention for smokers living with HIV in Cambodia. This mHealth approach includes a fully automated, interactive, personalized, smartphone-delivered intervention for behavioral treatment.
Total: $3,614,445 (Direct: $2,480,787)
R33CA253600 (R21/R33) (PI: Bui)
09/01/2020 – 08/30/2026
Mobile Health Technology for Personalized Tobacco Cessation Support in Laos (Support Laos).
This research project aims to adapt and evaluate the efficacy of our theoretically and empirically based mobile health (mHealth) technology to help people quit smoking cigarettes in Lao People’s Democratic Republic.
Total: $ 1,121,290 (Direct: $ 843,863)
Completed:
GRF00005968 (PI: Nguyen, Co-I: Bui)
New Investigator Grant - Presbyterian Health Foundation
07/01/2022 – 06/30/2024
mHealth Intervention for Self-Management among Vietnamese Americans with Type 2 Diabetes (SMART-D): A Feasibility Study.
This study aims to pilot a multilevel, multicomponent, culturally tailored Vietnamese intervention project to provide diabetes education, health behavior change support, and emotional support through secure, patient-facing mobile health technology to help patients understand the disease process, gain skills to manage their condition, and adopt a healthy lifestyle.
Total (direct): $100,000
2023 PHF Research Support Award (PI: Bui)
07/03/2023 – 07/02/2024
Mobile Health Technology for Personalized Tobacco Cessation Support in Laos (Support Laos) - PHF Research Support Award.
The PHF Research Support Grant Program provides stipend support for a senior doctoral graduate student (Shweta Kulkarni) working on Dr. Bui’s externally funded research project (Support Laos) in order to accelerate the project’s progress, increase the number of publications, and position the project for continued external funding. Nested in Dr. Bui’s Support Laos project, Ms. Kulkarni’s proposed dissertation research project aims to examine the correlation between COVID-19-related stress and smoking cessation in Lao PDR.
Total: (Direct): $15,000
Oklahoma Shared Clinical & Translational Resources (OSCTR) Pilot Award (MPI: Bui, Braun)
01/17/2023 – 06/30/2024
Mobile health-based motivational interviewing to promote SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in Oklahomans (CoVacc).
This study aims to evaluate the preliminary efficacy and acceptability of our mHealth-based motivational interviewing intervention to promote SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in an Oklahoman rural population.
Total (direct): $50,000
2023 PHF Bridge Grant (PI: Bui)
10/01/2023 – 09/30/2024
Empower Patient with HPV-associated Disease to Promote HPV Vaccination (Empower) – PHF Bridge Grant component.
The purpose of the PHF Bridge Grant program is to provide funding of limited duration to OUHSC faculty members who have submitted applications (requesting >$750,000 in total direct costs) to extramural funding agencies (e.g., NIH, DoD, PCORI, or ARHQ), which have been reviewed and scored but not funded. The PHF Bridge Grant support provides a mechanism through which investigators can address scientific issues raised in peer review critiques, generate essential preliminary data, and submit more competitive revised applications. In this PHF Bridge Grant, Dr. Bui’s team plans to expand their current cervical cancer–based interactive HPV vaccination education program (IHVEP) for use by patients with oropharyngeal dysplasia or cancer, which will help to strengthen their R01 resubmission.
Total (direct): $97,666
R01CA243552 (PI: Damon Vidrine) (Co-I, Site PI: Bui)
09/01/2019 – 08/31/2024
Randomized Trial of Automated Video-Assisted Smoking Treatment for People Living with HIV.
The purpose of this randomized controlled trial is to evaluate a fully automated smartphone smoking-cessation intervention for HIV-positive smokers.
3R21CA253600-02S1 (PI: Bui)
09/01/2021 – 08/31/2022
Mobile Health Technology for Personalized Tobacco Cessation Support among Cancer Survivors in Laos (SurvLaos).
This pilot randomized controlled trial aims to adapt and evaluate the efficacy of our theoretically and empirically based mobile health (mHealth) technology to help cancer survivors and their caregivers quit smoking tobacco in Lao People’s Democratic Republic.
Total: $99,846 (Direct: $76,293)
Stephenson Cancer Center - Pilot Award (PI: Bui)
07/01/2018 – 04/30/2022
Promoting human papillomavirus vaccine uptake in high-risk adults.
This pilot study aims to determine the preliminary efficacy of an innovative, theory-based approach that combines partner referral and peer-driven intervention to increase human papillomavirus vaccine uptake in eligible high-risk adults in Oklahoma City, OK, USA.
Total: $40,000 (Direct: $40,000)
NCORP-Gogoi-GY7, NRG Oncology - NCI Community Oncology Research Program (NCORP) Pilot Award (PI: Gogoi, Radhika)
01/15/2021 – 06/30/2022
Relational Agents in HPV Vaccine Education.
This project aims to explore the efficacy of a computerized simulated interactable healthcare provider in educating survivors of an HPV related disease (e.g., cervical cancer) about the importance of HPV vaccination and engaging them in promoting HPV vaccination. Study sites include the NCI-designated Stephenson Cancer Center at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center and the Karmanos Cancer Institute (KCI) at Wayne State University.
Role: Co-investigator, Site PI
NCI SBIR PHS 2021-1 (PI: Amarasingham)
09/16/2021 – 06/15/2022
Screening for Social Determinants of Health and Interventions to Improve Outcomes in the Cancer Patient Population.
The goal of this project is to design and launch an Information Technology (IT) platform that enables easy incorporation of Social Determinants of Health data into cancer patients’ electronic health records in order to improve coordination of care for cancer patients in multiple cancer centers across the US.
Role: Co-investigator
Presbyterian Health Foundation - Seed Grant (PI: Bui)
07/01/2018 – 06/30/2020
Using partner referral to increase human papillomavirus vaccine uptake.
The purpose of this mixed-methods pilot study is to determine the feasibility of an innovative, evidence-based approach—partner referral—to increase HPV vaccine uptake in people living with HIV in Oklahoma City, OK, USA.
Select Publications:
For a full list of Dr. Bui's publications, please visit THIS LINK.
- Keopaseuth P, Xangsayarath P, Kulkarni S, Phandouangsy K, Soulaphy C, Alounlungsy P, Dittaphong V, Xayavong D, Vongdala C, Siengsounthone L, Businelle M, Frank-Pearce SG, Vidrine DJ, Vidrine JI, Bui TC. Mobile Health Technology for Personalized Tobacco Cessation Support Among Cancer Survivors and Caregivers in Laos (Project SurvLaos): Protocol for a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial. JMIR Research Protocols, 2025 Jul 30; 14: e66517. DOI: 10.2196/66517. PMID: 40736921
- Das S, Greene T, Braun A, Bui T, Gogoi R. Unveiling Oropharyngeal Cancer Patients' Perceptions of HPV Vaccination. Journal of Cancer Education, 2025 Jul 8. DOI: 10.1007/s13187-025-02678-z. PMID: 40627293
- Braun A, Corcoran S, Tu Doan K, Jernigan C, Moriasi C, Businelle M, Bui T. Mobile Health-Based Motivational Interviewing to Promote SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination in Rural Adults: Protocol for a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial. JMIR Research Protocols, 2025 Apr 28; 14: e64010. DOI: 10.2196/64010. PMID: 40294409; PMCID: PMC12070004
- Jernigan C, Le TN, Doan KT, Frank-Pearce SG, Kendzor DE, Kurien J, Drevets DA, McGough P, Moriasi C, Bui TC. Using Partner Referral to Increase Human Papillomavirus Vaccine Uptake: Protocol for a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial. Journal of Community Medicine & Public Health, 2025; 9: 493. https://doi.org/10.29011/2577-2228.100493
- Pham H, Bui TC, Glass JE, Back SE, Le P. Trends in use of tobacco and cannabis across different alcohol consumption levels in the United States, 2010-19. Alcohol and Alcoholism, 2024 Nov 18; 60(1): agae091. doi: 10.1093/alcalc/agae091. PMID: 39761685
- Nguyen A, Nagykaldi Z, Bui T, Chen S, Businelle M, Eschiti V, et al. mHealth Intervention for Vietnamese Living With Diabetes: Protocol for a Stepped Wedge Pilot Study. JMIR Research Protocols, 2023; 12, e48585. DOI: 10.2196/48585
- Bui TC, Hoogland CE, Chhea C, Sopheab H, Ouk V, Samreth S, et al. Ending Tobacco Use Through Interactive Tailored Messaging for Cambodian People With HIV (Project EndIT): Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial. JMIR Research Protocols, 2023; 12, e48923. DOI: 10.2196/48923
- Le P, Bui TC, Abramowitz J, Herman WH, Misra-Hebert AD, Rothberg MB. Trends in use of high-cost antihyperglycemic drugs among US adults with type 2 diabetes. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 2022; 38(1), 49-56. DOI: 10.1007/s11606-022-07621-2
- Gogoi RP, Wallbillich JJ, Winer I, Morris R, Ritchie C, Larson S, Walker J, Bickmore T, Spencer E, Jang H, Kim S, Phalore J, Bui TC. Computer-animated relational agents in human papillomavirus vaccination education. Obstetrics & Gynecology, 2022; 139(5), 913-915. DOI: 10.1097/AOG.0000000000004763
- Bui TC, Sopheab H, Businelle MS, Chhea C, Ly SP, Vidrine JI, Thol D, Frank-Pearce S, Vidrine DJ. Mobile-health intervention for smoking cessation among Cambodian people living with HIV: A mixed-methods pilot study. AIDS Care, 2022; 34(4), 430-439. DOI: 10.1080/09540121.2021.1887443
- Kulkarni SV, Xangsayarath P, Douangvichith D, Siengsounthone L, Phandouangsy K, Tran LT, Lee PH, Bui TC. Secondhand smoke exposure in Lao People's Democratic Republic: Results from the 2015 National Adult Tobacco Survey. International Journal of Public Health, 2021; 66, 1604436. DOI: 10.3389/ijph.2021.1604436
- Vidrine DJ, Bui TC, Businelle MS, Shih YT, Sutton SK, Shahani L, Hoover DS, Bowles K, Vidrine JI. Evaluating the efficacy of automated smoking treatment for people with HIV: protocol for a randomized controlled trial. JMIR Research Protocols, 2021; 10(11), e33183. DOI: 10.2196/33183
- Bui TC, Pineiro B, Vidrine DJ, Wetter DW, Frank-Pearce SG, Vidrine JI. Quitline treatment enrollment and cessation outcomes among smokers linked with treatment via Ask-Advise-Connect: Comparisons among smokers with and without HIV. Nicotine & Tobacco Research, 2020; 22(9), 1640-1643. DOI: 10.1093/ntr/ntz227
- Bui TC, Xangsayarath P, Douangvichith D, Siengsounthone L, Phandouangsy K, Tran LT, Businelle, MS. Factors associated with cigarette smoking cessation in Lao People’s Democratic Republic: Results from the 2015 National Adult Tobacco Survey. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2020; 17(14), 4953. DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17144953
- Sopheab H, Suy S, Chhea C, Chhit S, Mun P, Bui TC. Psychological distress among Cambodian people who use drugs. Drug and Alcohol Review, 2020; 39(1), 66-70. DOI: 10.1111/dar.13000