# American Heart Association Tobacco Center for Regulatory Science (A-TRAC) 2.0

> **NIH NIH U54** · AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION · 2021 · $3,692,125

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
The overall goal of the American Heart Association (AHA) Tobacco Regulation Center (ATRAC) is to provide
scientific data relevant to the regulatory authority of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Center for Tobacco
Products (CTP). The integrative theme of the Center is to evaluate and communicate the cardiovascular effects
of tobacco products, within the scientific domains of Health Effects, Toxicity and Communications. Research
within the Center will contribute to the scientific base of tobacco regulatory science by evaluating the
cardiovascular effects of tobacco products and their constituents. The Center will support a multi-disciplinary
research program to assess the toxicity of tobacco products and their constituents in in vitro assays and animal
models (Project 1); evaluate short- and long-term cardiovascular health effects of tobacco products (Project 2)
and assess the cardiovascular disease risk associated with the use of non-cigarette tobacco products in multiple
large NIH-supported cardiovascular cohorts (Project 3). To communicate the knowledge generated within the
Center and other Tobacco Centers of Regulatory Science (TCORS), the Center will develop and test approaches
for effective communication of the cardiovascular consequences of tobacco product use (Project 4). To facilitate
uniformity, and quality control, all measurements will be conducted in a centralized Bioanalytical and Biomarker
Core. The research activities within the Center will be coordinated by an Administrative Core, while the Career
Enhancement Core will oversee the career development of new and early stage investigators. The
Administrative Core will maintain close communication with federal partners and will oversee the development,
funding and progress of Rapid Response Projects. Research supported by the Center will develop new
understanding of the cardiovascular effects of current, new and emerging tobacco products; aid in the
development of messages for communicating the cardiovascular risk associated with the use of tobacco
products; and build and deploy capacity and expertise to respond to new developments. Collectively, Center
research will broaden the scientific base of tobacco regulatory science to inform FDA's regulation of tobacco
manufacturing, distribution and marketing.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10246435
- **Project number:** 5U54HL120163-09
- **Recipient organization:** AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION
- **Principal Investigator:** Aruni Bhatnagar
- **Activity code:** U54 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $3,692,125
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2013-09-19 → 2023-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10246435

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10246435, American Heart Association Tobacco Center for Regulatory Science (A-TRAC) 2.0 (5U54HL120163-09). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-21 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10246435. Licensed CC0.

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