TTURC Cores

Administrative Core

The Administrative Core has overall responsibility for effective coordination, monitoring, and evaluation – activities that are central to the success of the TTURC. A key part of the coordinating role is supporting, stimulating, and reinforcing transdisciplinary learning and collaboration in tobacco research among its participants.
Core Directors: Caryn Lerman, Ph.D., Julie Blendy, Ph.D. & Steven Siegel M.D., Ph.D.

Genetics Core

The TTURC Genetics Core provides state-of-the-art genotyping services and, together with the TTURC Bio-Medical Informatics Core, assists with genetic analysis to test hypotheses regarding the role of specific genetic variations influencing response to pharmacotherapy for tobacco dependence.
Core Director: Donald Baldwin, Ph.D.

Bio-Medical Informatics Core

The TTURC Bio-Medical Informatics Core is an integrated data resource for TTURC projects that promotes the TTURC mission by providing quality data services. The TTURC Bio-Medical Informatics Core seeks to accomplish this goal by creating an integrated data resource for human and mouse studies, providing seamless access to public data repositories, providing quality assurance for all study procedures and study data, extracting new high-level knowledge from data resources, and providing biostatistical support.
Core Director: Daniel Heitjan, Ph.D.

Research to Practice Core

The Research to Practice Core works closely with TTURC scientists to identify key ethical, practical, economic and policy issues related to the translation of research into clinical practice. By conducting targeted investigations to address these issues and concerns, and working to effectively communicate the potential clinical value of TTURC research to key policy makers, the Research to Practice Core seeks to improve the likelihood that new knowledge generated through the TTURC will be applied in clinical settings.
Core Directors: David Asch M.D., M.B.A, Alexandra Shields, Ph.D. & Janet Weiner, M.P.H.

Training Core

The goal of the TTURC Training Core is to provide transdisciplinary training in tobacco use research and practice for medical students, medical residents, and post-doctoral fellows. The Training core seeks to promote the involvement in, and preparation for, patient, population-based, or basic research in tobacco use. In keeping with the TTURC's focus, the Training Core fosters training in the following areas of relevance to nicotine dependence: neuroscience, pharmacology, genetics, clinical and behavioral science and health policy and communication.
Core Directors: Janet Audrain-McGovern, Ph.D. &  J. Sanford Schwartz, M.D.