Tobacco Center of Regulatory Science (TCORS)

Tobacco Center of Regulatory Science (TCORS)

The Tobacco Center of Regulatory Science (TCORS) generates critical research to inform the FDA’s regulation of tobacco products. A total of 14 Centers were funded in 2013, nine Centers (TCORS 2.0) received funding in 2018, and seven Centers (TCORS 3.0) received funding in 2023.

TCORS 2.0 (2018-2025)

In the second cohort of these centers, the University of Pennsylvania and Rutgers were awarded a $18 million grant in 2018 to study the effects of tobacco marketing, labeling, and packaging on users and non-users of tobacco products; the Center was led by Andrew Strasser (UPenn) and Cristine Delnevo (MPIs ). Project and core lead investigators from Rutgers included Cristine Delnevo, Olivia Wackowski and Ollie Ganz; co-investigators on cores and projects included Mary Hrywna, Kevin Schroth, and Andrea Villanti. Pilot and Rapid Response Projects were awarded to Mary Hrywna, Michelle Bover Manderski, Ollie Ganz, Marc Steinberg, Melissa Mercincavage, Stefanie Gratale and Julia Chen-Sankey.

Publications from TCORS 2.0 can be found here: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9530897#publications

TCORS 3.0 (2025-2028)

Funded in the second and third cohort of these centers, the Center for the Assessment of Tobacco Regulations (CAsToR) based at the University of Michigan, led by Rafael Meza, David Mendez, and DavidLevy (MPIs), is funded to provide evidence-based and expert-informed modeling of the behavioral and public health impacts of FDA tobacco rules or other regulatory actions, focusing on Impact Analysis, Behavior and Health Effects as Scientific Domains. Dr. Meza joined Rutgers in September 2025. Project and core lead investigators from Rutgers include Rafael Meza and Jamie Tam, who also joined Rutgers in September 2025.

For more information on CAsToR see: https://tcors.umich.edu/