Phases of the Research Network

The first phase of the Network will consist of an approximately two-year period during which the Scientific Core Group and a number of consultants will identify the salient gaps in the knowledge base from various disciplinary perspectives and develop a strategic research agenda to fill in those gaps. This will be accomplished primarily through scheduled meetings of the entire Scientific Core Group, informal visits among core group members to discuss specific research studies, and the creation of task forces comprising two or three core group members and outside consultants.

During the second and most research-intensive phase (Years 3 to 7), the Network will conduct a number of studies designed to fill in the gaps in the knowledge base and significantly expand the theoretical, conceptual, measurement, and analytical paradigms guiding work on tobacco dependence. In addition, the Network will expand the scientific capacity for conducting research on tobacco through scheduled workshops, summer institutes, and special topical sessions at professional meetings.

Explicit objectives of the Network during this phase are to:

1. challenge existing paradigms of tobacco dependence;

2. create new paradigms for understanding tobacco dependence;

3. energize the scientific community to make tobacco research and the creation of effective prevention and treatment strategies a high priority; and

4. demonstrate that transdisciplinary research initiatives provide a mechanism by which significant advances can be made in understanding complex phenomena. The ultimate goal is a significant reduction in the morbidity and mortality associated with the use of on tobacco.

The final phase of the Network will last approximately one year and will involve integrating the scientific findings emerging from its work into presentations for a variety of audiences, including the scientific community, public policy makers, and the general public.

One of the most important objectives for the initial phase of the TERN will be to create a milieu in which the members of the Scientific Core Group learn each others' research nomenclature so well they can think about research questions and issues from the perspective of their colleagues in the core group. The ultimate objective is for the members of the Network to jell as a very effective research team, working together in an intellectually stimulating, personally and professionally rewarding process. Such a group of scientists will make significant contributions to our understanding of the etiologies of tobacco dependence and generate widespread excitement about the potential of transdisciplinary research.

This will be accomplished through frequent interaction among core group members. The group will meet quarterly to review progress during the previous quarter and to plan activities for the subsequent one. One of these meetings, a retreat, will serve to conduct a more in-depth review of the previous year's work and to engage in longer-term planning. In addition to the quarterly meetings, there will be smaller and more informal meetings to facilitate the interaction of working group and task force members and the inclusion of a larger number of experts in the Network's activities. As the Network matures, it may also conduct training workshops and institutes designed to attract young scientists into research on tobacco dependence or to disseminate Network-generated methods and concepts into the larger field.

The Network Chair and Network Administrator--the Network's administrative core unit--facilitate program coordination and implementation. They both attend all Network meetings and represent the primary liaison between Network members and The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.