USC Tobacco Center of Regulatory Science

The mission of the USC TCORS in the upcoming funding period is to provide the FDA with evidence to inform regulation across the spectrum of non-combustible tobacco products to protect young people. The Administrative Core (AC) will catalyze, coordinate, monitor, and evaluate research within the USC TCORS 3.0 Center. It will serve as a hub for the coordination of the scientific interactions among the integrated projects and cores that comprise this U54 Center. The AC will utilize strategic planning and evaluation processes with tangible deliverables and milestones to ensure quality and productivity of the science generated. The Specific Aims are: 1) To ensure the scientific and regulatory impact of the USC TCORS through effective oversight, management, planning, and evaluation; 2) To enhance communication and interdisciplinary team science; 3) To implement a rapid response project program that addresses emerging scientific and regulatory developments; and 4) To facilitate interactions with other TCORS, CASEL, CRST, and federal agencies and disseminate the results of TCORS research. The experts comprising the External Advisory Committee will convene annually to review the progress of all TCORS components and to identify new scientific opportunities. To evaluate our progress, the AC will apply several metrics including : (1) number of publications, impact factors, and new translational and interdisciplinary grant applications; (2) number of publications cited in FDA policy documents including PMTA rulings, enforcement priorities, advanced notice of proposed rule-making, proposed rule, and final rule, and guidances; (3) evidence of new synergistic collaborations among TCORS investigators and trainees and, importantly, with other TCORSs and federal partners; (4) ability to attract new investigators to TCORS and regulatory science and develop their careers, emphasizing capacity to increase the TRS workforce; (5) development of novel materials and methods for dissemination; and (6) application of new theories and models for tobacco regulatory science. Leveraging a strong base of existing resources and programs developed within the USC TCORS and supplementing this with new activities, the AC will provide and connect Center investigators and trainees with the essential resources they need to optimize their success and the impact of the overall center. The AC will be co-led by MPIs Adam Leventhal, PhD (MPI of the USC TCORS 2.0) and Caryn Lerman, PhD (MPI of the UPENN TCORS 1.0).