Deborah Buckles, BS, RRT, NCTTP is the Program Director of the IU Simon Tobacco Control Program. Ms. Buckles has received her Bachelor of Science degree in Respiratory Therapy, the National Certificate in Tobacco Treatment Practice and serves on the Council for Tobacco Treatment Training Programs. Employed by the IU Simon Cancer Center since 1997, the first 13 years of Ms. Buckles’ career was dedicated to helping individuals overcome their tobacco addiction. Since 2008, Ms. Buckles has dedicated her career to the “ReThink Tobacco Indiana” project, focused on tobacco cessation systems change in mental health & substance abuse centers across Indiana.
Receipt of a grant from the National Cancer Institute’s Moonshot Initiative in 2017 allowed Ms. Buckles the opportunity to develop a tobacco treatment program for cancer patients. Currently, she oversees the IU Simon Tobacco Treatment Program and ReThink Tobacco Indiana project. During Ms. Buckles’ 25 years in the field of tobacco treatment she has coordinated and developed training programs for health care professionals and lay persons across Indiana, worked on multiple research efforts, and been a leader in the state.