Tobacco Centers of Regulatory Science (TCORS)
FDA and NIH, as part of an on-going interagency partnership, awarded seven Tobacco Centers of Regulatory Science (TCORS) grants in September 2023 to support research to inform the regulation of tobacco products. In this third round of funding, the TCORS 3.0 research centers will receive, in total, approximately $140 million in grants from FY 2023-2027.
What scientists learn about tobacco through the TCORS program helps inform and assess FDA's ongoing and potential regulatory activities. TCORS investigators also have the flexibility and capacity to respond to FDA's research needs as issues are raised in today's rapidly evolving tobacco marketplace.
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Investing in Tobacco Regulatory Science
The TCORS 3.0 program is designed to generate scientific evidence in eight scientific domains:
- Understanding tobacco product composition and design
- Approaches that test the toxicity of non-cigarette tobacco smoke, aerosol, or specific constituents
- Effects of tobacco product characteristics on addiction and abuse liability
- Short- and long- term health effects of tobacco products
- Understanding of knowledge, attitudes and behaviors related to tobacco product use
- Understanding how to effectively communicate the health effects of tobacco products
- Influences of tobacco marketing
- Understanding of the impact of potential or actual FDA regulatory actions
The TCORS Scientists
TCORS proposals were selected for funding based on scientific and technical merit as determined by NIH scientific peer review, availability of funds, and relevance of the proposed projects to the TCORS program priorities.
The following organizations and investigators received grants:
| Organization | Title | Investigator(s) |
|---|---|---|
| The Ohio State University | The Ohio State University Tobacco Center of Regulatory Science (OSU-TCORS) | Theodore Wagener, Peter Shields |
| The Pennsylvania State University, Hershey Medical Center | Penn State TCORS: Tobacco Product Composition Effects on Toxicity and Addiction | Joshua Muscat, Jonathan Foulds |
| University of Southern California | USC Tobacco Center of Regulatory Science | Adam Leventhal, Caryn Lerman |
| University of Kentucky | Appalachian Tobacco Regulatory Science Team (AppalTRuST) | Seth Himelhoch |
| University of Michigan at Ann Arbor | Center for the Assessment of Tobacco Regulations (CAsToR) TCORS 3.0 | Rafael Meza; David Levy, David Mendez |
| The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill | Advancing Tobacco Regulatory Science to Reduce Health Disparities | Kurt Ribisl |
| Yale University | Yale Center for the Study of Tobacco Product Use and Addiction (YCSTP) | Suchitra Krishnan-Sarin, Stephanie O’Malley |
Significant updates on the TCORS projects will be posted on this webpage, as well as on the NIH's Tobacco Regulatory Science Program (TRSP)'s TCORS webpage.