Research Network

A Description: The research network is an "institute without walls." It is transdisciplinary by design, centered on a scientific core group of distinguished scientists who have made a commitment to work collaboratively and intensely for seven years. These scientists represent diverse disciplinary perspectives (including anthropology, behavioral pharmacology, economics, epidemiology, genetic epidemiology, neurobiology, psychology, quantitative methods in behavioral research, and sociology), expertise on other addictive substances as well as tobacco, and interests spanning the range from basic laboratory research, to applied clinical research, to the development and evaluation of intervention strategies in the community. However, rather than constituting an exclusive working group, the core group will serve as a catalyst and stimulus to the field, attracting senior scholars to include tobacco dependence in their research agenda and building capacity in the field by attracting junior scholars into research on tobacco use and dependence.

The principal goals of the Research Network on the Etiology of Tobacco Dependence (TERN) are to:

1. make major scientific advances in understanding the transitions from initial to regular use to dependence on tobacco;

2. develop and introduce new paradigms and methods for understanding these transitions, perhaps moving the study of these phenomena in new directions;

3. demonstrate the critical importance and practical utility of transdisciplinary research in understanding complex and recalcitrant problem behaviors;

4. significantly expand the scientific research capacity in the study of nicotine and tobacco in all the relevant disciplines; and

5. create a comprehensive scientific knowledge base out of which can emerge a variety of truly effective prevention and treatment strategies and interventions for youth tobacco use and dependence.