The background image is A woman, who is visible out-of-focus, holds e-cigarettes.
Welcome to Penn State Center for Research on Tobacco and Health
Penn State Center for Research on Tobacco and Health’s mission is to be a national leader of scientific discovery that will translate into effective interventions and policies to reduce tobacco-caused harm in our communities.
The center comprises a multidisciplinary team of experts, including basic scientists, public health researchers and medical professionals, all dedicated to improving the lives of people touched by tobacco and nicotine addiction. It is based at Penn State College of Medicine and Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center in Hershey, Pa.
More than 16 million Americans are living with a disease caused by smoking. Across the world, tobacco is the leading cause of preventable death. The center’s overall goal is to conduct innovative research that will inform future policymaking on tobacco and health, investigate the toxicology and addictiveness of new and existing tobacco products and discover new treatments for addiction.
Current studies
The Center for Research on Tobacco and Health is currently conducting several studies on nicotine, smoking and health.Some of the studies are for people who are not planning to quit, and some are for people interested in quitting in the next 30 days.
See if you qualify for any current studies
Researchers will contact you about any available studies that you may qualify for. Interested participants may also call 844-207-6392 for details.Keeping participants safe
Penn State Center for Research on Tobacco and Health has taken several steps to keep research participants safe. This includes:- Conducting research visits remotely (from home) when possible
- Practicing social distancing and using appropriate personal protective equipment (masks, face shields, gloves) during in-person research visits
- Screening prior to all in-person research visits, including temperature checks for all employees and participants
- Sanitation of all research spaces and equipment
Driving and parking directions
The Center for NMR Research is at 30 Long Lane in Hershey, Pa.
The Clinical Research Center is a dedicated space on the fourth floor of Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center.
Study visits for people participating in smoking studies through the Center for Research on Tobacco and Health will either take place in the Clinical Research Center or the Center for NMR Research on the campus of Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and Penn State College of Medicine in Hershey, Pa.
Smoking cessation resources
For those who smoke and want to quit, Penn State Center for Research on Tobacco and Health and Penn State Health offer information, options and free smoking cessation classes.Contact the center
- Current studies
- Keeping participants safe
- Driving and parking directions
- Smoking cessation resources
- Contact the center
Some of the studies are for people who are not planning to quit, and some are for people interested in quitting in the next 30 days.
See if you qualify for any current studies
- Conducting research visits remotely (from home) when possible
- Practicing social distancing and using appropriate personal protective equipment (masks, face shields, gloves) during in-person research visits
- Screening prior to all in-person research visits, including temperature checks for all employees and participants
- Sanitation of all research spaces and equipment
The Center for NMR Research is at 30 Long Lane in Hershey, Pa.
The Clinical Research Center is a dedicated space on the fourth floor of Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center.
Study visits for people participating in smoking studies through the Center for Research on Tobacco and Health will either take place in the Clinical Research Center or the Center for NMR Research on the campus of Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and Penn State College of Medicine in Hershey, Pa.
The background image is An abstract background image based on Penn State's signature shield shape
Faculty
Meet the faculty members who are part of the Center for Research on Tobacco and Health.
Staff
Meet the staff who support the Center for Research on Tobacco and Health.
Trainees
See information on those completing their training at the Center for Research on Tobacco and Health.
Current trainees
Former trainees
Center history
The Center for Research on Tobacco and Health began in 2013 as one of the one of 14 institutions nationwide named as a Tobacco Center of Regulatory Science (TCORS), and as such, received a $20 million, five-year grant from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health. This grant ran until 2018 under principal investigators Dr. Joshua Muscat and Dr. Jonathan Foulds.The overarching goal of TCORS program was to generate scientific evidence that would inform the regulation of tobacco products in order to reduce the public health burden from tobacco use. The TCORS program included three separate projects:
- Switching to progressively reduced nicotine content cigarettes in smokers with lower socioeconomic status (partnered with Kimberly Horn at George Washington University)
- Reduced nicotine cigarettes in smokers with mood and anxiety disorders (partnered with Eden Evins at Harvard University)
- Switching to reduced oxidant or nicotine content cigarettes in smokers
In addition, the projects were supported by multiple cores – and administrative core; a biomarker and analytic chemistry core (director: Dr. John Richie); and a biostatistics and data management core.
Additionally, the TCORS program provided pilot funding to several investigators including Ping Du, Raghu Sinha, Yuan-Wan Sun, Ryan Elias, Kurt Kistler, Guodong Liu, Kun-Ming Chen, Dhimant Desai, Samantha Reilly, Reema Goel, Joshua Lambert, Robin Taylor-Wilson, Jeffrey Pu and Nengliang Yao.
Projects funded ranged from studies evaluating the impact of electronic cigarette use among HIV positive smokers to evaluating free radical production from charcoal filters.
The TCORS grant also had a training component that facilitated the education of young scientists in tobacco regulatory science research. Scholars in the program completed a series of courses on tobacco regulation, the epidemiology of smoking and biomarkers, and participated in networking events with scholars from other TCORS institutions. The program also supported several postdoctoral scholars.
Penn State Center for Research on Tobacco and Health is designed to expand on the accomplishments of the TCORS program.
Resources
Nicotine Dependence Index
The Penn State Nicotine Dependence Index was developed by Dr. Jonathan Foulds in 2011.
This 10-item scale (with scores ranging from 0 to 20) was developed to measure nicotine dependence across all nicotine product types, and an adapted version was the first dependence measure designed to evaluate electronic cigarette dependence.
The index is available for use by clinicians and researchers at other institutions using the proper citation.
See more about the Dependence IndexMRI Electronic Aerosol Delivery System (MEADS)
The MRI Electronic Aerosol Delivery System was developed through a collaboration between the Center for Research on Tobacco and Health, the Center for NMR Research and University Park.
The device works in coordination with an olfactometer to deliver up to four e-cigarette aerosols for functional MRI experiments.
With questions on this device, contact Dr. Andrea Hobkirk or Dr. Zachary Bitzer.
See protocol paper in Substance Abuse: Research and Treatment
Facilities
A number of facilities are available for smoking and tobacco research at Penn State.The Clinical Research Center is a dedicated space on the fourth floor of Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center.
The Center for NMR Research is at 30 Long Lane in Hershey, Pa.
Laboratory space for the Center for Research on Tobacco and Health is available on the third floor of Penn State Cancer Institute.
The MRI laboratory is part of the Center for NMR Research at Penn State College of Medicine.
Penn State is also home to this human smoking and addiction laboratory space.
Penn State Center for Research on Tobacco and Health also makes use of this smoking health and behavior laboratory at Penn State University Park.
Current research funding
The following list shows a selection of current research grant funding for Center for Research on Tobacco and Health faculty members.
Publications
The following list shows recent publications by Center for Research on Tobacco and Health faculty and staff members.
In the news
The following list shows selected mentions of the work of Center for Research on Tobacco and Health investigators in local and national media.
- Faculty
- Staff
- Trainees
- Center history
- Resources
- Facilities
- Current research funding
- Publications
- In the news
Current trainees
Former trainees
The overarching goal of TCORS program was to generate scientific evidence that would inform the regulation of tobacco products in order to reduce the public health burden from tobacco use. The TCORS program included three separate projects:
- Switching to progressively reduced nicotine content cigarettes in smokers with lower socioeconomic status (partnered with Kimberly Horn at George Washington University)
- Reduced nicotine cigarettes in smokers with mood and anxiety disorders (partnered with Eden Evins at Harvard University)
- Switching to reduced oxidant or nicotine content cigarettes in smokers
In addition, the projects were supported by multiple cores – and administrative core; a biomarker and analytic chemistry core (director: Dr. John Richie); and a biostatistics and data management core.
Additionally, the TCORS program provided pilot funding to several investigators including Ping Du, Raghu Sinha, Yuan-Wan Sun, Ryan Elias, Kurt Kistler, Guodong Liu, Kun-Ming Chen, Dhimant Desai, Samantha Reilly, Reema Goel, Joshua Lambert, Robin Taylor-Wilson, Jeffrey Pu and Nengliang Yao.
Projects funded ranged from studies evaluating the impact of electronic cigarette use among HIV positive smokers to evaluating free radical production from charcoal filters.
The TCORS grant also had a training component that facilitated the education of young scientists in tobacco regulatory science research. Scholars in the program completed a series of courses on tobacco regulation, the epidemiology of smoking and biomarkers, and participated in networking events with scholars from other TCORS institutions. The program also supported several postdoctoral scholars.
Penn State Center for Research on Tobacco and Health is designed to expand on the accomplishments of the TCORS program.
Nicotine Dependence Index
The Penn State Nicotine Dependence Index was developed by Dr. Jonathan Foulds in 2011.
This 10-item scale (with scores ranging from 0 to 20) was developed to measure nicotine dependence across all nicotine product types, and an adapted version was the first dependence measure designed to evaluate electronic cigarette dependence.
The index is available for use by clinicians and researchers at other institutions using the proper citation.
MRI Electronic Aerosol Delivery System (MEADS)
The MRI Electronic Aerosol Delivery System was developed through a collaboration between the Center for Research on Tobacco and Health, the Center for NMR Research and University Park.
The device works in coordination with an olfactometer to deliver up to four e-cigarette aerosols for functional MRI experiments.
With questions on this device, contact Dr. Andrea Hobkirk or Dr. Zachary Bitzer.
See protocol paper in Substance Abuse: Research and Treatment
The Clinical Research Center is a dedicated space on the fourth floor of Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center.
The Center for NMR Research is at 30 Long Lane in Hershey, Pa.
Laboratory space for the Center for Research on Tobacco and Health is available on the third floor of Penn State Cancer Institute.
The MRI laboratory is part of the Center for NMR Research at Penn State College of Medicine.
Penn State is also home to this human smoking and addiction laboratory space.
Penn State Center for Research on Tobacco and Health also makes use of this smoking health and behavior laboratory at Penn State University Park.