TRDRP Update
by Charles L. Gruder, Ph.D.

TRDRP Will Be Changing
The TRDRP is in the final stages of a strategic planning process to decide how best to continue to have a significant impact on tobacco-related disease and tobacco control in California despite continually declining revenue. In 1990, TRDRP’s appropriation was $32 million; with inflation over the past 18 years, the $14.55 million in the governor’s 2008-09 budget amounts to only $8 million in 1990 dollars.

The strategic planning, which included stakeholder input, is designed to result in program changes that will serve anticipated research needs over the next 5-7 years. There are likely to be new and modified award mechanisms with new budget caps and durations. TRDRP remains committed to funding research that will have an impact on the human and economic costs of tobacco-related disease in California. The plan will be incorporated in the 2008-09 Call for Applications, which will be issued in late summer 2008 for new grants to be awarded July 1, 2009. The staff plan to host informational meetings to explain the changes. Look for announcements in your e-mail and on our Web site, www.trdrp.org.

17th Cycle Grant Proposals
TRDRP received 193 proposals in the 17th grant cycle. They will undergo peer review to determine scientific merit during the spring, after which the Scientific Advisory Committee will recommend those to be funded based on program priorities and available funds. The number submitted is 9% fewer than in 2007. New grants will start on July 1, 2008

The Russians Have Come!
On February 19, 2008 members of the Tobacco Related Disease Research Program’s (TRDRP) Senior Staff had the distinct pleasure to meet with 10 tobacco control advocates and researches at our offices in Oakland California. The delegation was very diverse in their fields of interest ranging from representatives of the Moscow health department and professors of toxicology to members of the Russian Education Department and the Moscow Red Cross. This delegation was sponsored by the United States State Department’s Institute of International Education, whose representatives and 2 translators accompanied them. As the delegation pointed out to us, little has been done in Russia to curb smoking, especially since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.		The TRDRP was one of several stops this delegation made in the United States. They are hopeful that their meetings with tobacco control advocates and researchers will be instrumental in forging a tobacco control movement in Russia.

TRDRP Appropriation in 2008-09 State Budget
The Governor’s 2008-09 budget, which was released in January, includes an appropriation of $14,553,000 for TRDRP. This is a $2 million reduction from 2007-08, a difference which was due to a one-time augmentation from the unrestricted reserve in the Proposition 99 Research Account, TRDRP’s sole funding source. The University of California asked the State Department of Finance to reinstate to TRDRP the $5,800,000 that is currently budgeted for the Department of Public Health, primarily for support of the California Cancer Registry. The University pointed out that the Registry budget could be maintained if its funds were appropriated instead from the Proposition 99 Unallocated Account. The rationale for this switch of funds is that the Research Account is limited, by constitution, statutes, and court rulings, to research on tobacco-related disease, and TRDRP is the program designated by the state to carry out this mission. Despite this request, these funds were not reinstated to TRDRP’s 2008-09 budget.

If this $5.8 million is not appropriated to TRDRP, we will for yet another year be unable to fund a significant number of important scientific research projects on the prevention and treatment of tobacco-related disease. The research program is an integral component of California’s effective and internationally recognized effort to reduce the severe human and economic toll of tobacco use. TRDRP-funded research has contributed to the success of the state’s tobacco control efforts by identifying more effective policies and strategies for tobacco use prevention and cessation, particularly among those of our state’s diverse communities that are disproportionately affected by tobacco use and tobacco-related disease.

Cornelius Hopper Diversity Award Supplement applications due April 25
One of TRDRP’s most rewarding initiatives is the Cornelius Hopper Diversity Award Supplements (CHDAS), which provides principal investigators of active TRDRP grants additional funds to mentor young scientists or community members. CHDAS is limited to trainees who either (a) experienced situations or conditions that were an impediment to their education, or (b) who want to conduct research on cultural, societal, or educational problems as they affect the diverse segments of California populations (e.g., socioeconomic, cultural, ethnic, racial, linguistic, and geographic). The aim of the CHDAS is to enhance the trainees’ experience and qualifications for tobacco research careers and to expand and strengthen the infrastructure for tobacco research in California. Trainees must be California residents, including those from backgrounds that have been underrepresented in tobacco research.

Currently funded TRDRP principal investigators are encouraged to find qualified candidates and apply for a $15,000 supplement to their grants. In the past six years, TRDRP has funded 33 CHDAS awards to 27 principal investigators at 15 institutions totaling $830,132. Please visit the TRDRP Web site www.trdrp.org “CHDAS Awardees” for the complete list of CHDAS awardees and applications for new supplements.

Two New TRDRP Scientific Advisors
Two new members were appointed to the Scientific Advisory Committee: