# AppalTRuST Career Enhancement Core > **NIH NIH U54** · UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY · 2024 · $483,448 ## Abstract ABSTRACT – CAREER ENHANCEMENT CORE The need for researchers who understand Tobacco Regulatory Science (TRS) and can translate science to support effective regulatory policies is vital for rural communities which have some of the highest tobacco use and associated morbidity rates in the nation. The goal of the AppalTRuST Career Enhancement Core (CEC) is to create a transformative environment that provides mentored, multidisciplinary and immersive career enhancement experiences to expand and support TRS scholars, with a critical emphasis on the impact of regulatory policies in rural communities. The CEC will target inquisitive and dedicated scholars with diverse professional and demographic backgrounds and high potential to become independent TRS researchers. Building on Center expertise, we will recruit two cohorts of AppalTRuST Scholars, each consisting of two Faculty Scholars and two Postdoctoral Scholars. These AppalTRuST Scholars will be recruited for a two-year, non-overlapping experience. Each scholar will work with a mentoring team and participate in multidisciplinary TRS enrichment activities, enjoying close monitoring of progress toward scientific career independence. Specifically, AppalTRuST Scholars will receive personalized mentoring and career enhancement experiences through cohort-building, multidisciplinary TRS enrichment activities including weekly meetings, seminars, journal clubs and a NIH-modeled grant writing series of workshops. AppalTRuST Scholars will also receive hands-on experience in TRS research working as part of the research team of one of three AppalTRuST projects and then developing their own (Scholar-led) TRS pilot project. AppalTRuST Scholars will benefit from the Cross-TCORS Visiting Scholars Program that will introduce them to scientific domains outside of AppalTRuST and promote collaborative networks among other TCORS investigators. CEC will work closely with Project Leads, the Administrative Core, the Community Outreach and Participant Engagement Core (COPE) and the Biostatistics and Informatics Core (BIC) to ensure AppalTRuST Scholars have ample resources and opportunities to learn innovative methodologies applied to the rural context. Finally, CEC will collaborate with the Administrative Core to sponsor an AppalTRuST TRS Seminar Series. Four times a year, CEC will host these seminars to create collegial and collaborative networks. We will specifically invite FDA scientists and TCORS faculty and scholars from other TCORS to present and inform AppalTRuST researchers and the broader TRS community about synergistic opportunities, methodologic advances, and new research findings across the TCORS community. The seminars will be open to all, as they will be streamed, recorded, and archived on the AppalTRuST website. Impact. The AppalTRuST Career Enhancement Core will develop independent scholars who can design and lead rigorous studies that inform FDA’s tobacco regulatory decision-making in underserved and understud... ## Key facts - **NIH application ID:** 10934537 - **Project number:** 5U54DA058256-02 - **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY - **Principal Investigator:** Kristin H. Ashford - **Activity code:** U54 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.) - **Funding institute:** NIH - **Fiscal year:** 2024 - **Award amount:** $483,448 - **Award type:** 5 - **Project period:** 2023-09-30 → 2028-08-31 ## Primary source NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10934537 ## Citation > US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10934537, AppalTRuST Career Enhancement Core (5U54DA058256-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10934537. Licensed CC0. --- *[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*