Center for Research on Tobacco and Health

Penn State TCORS Career Enhancement Core

Training Program

The overall goal of the Penn State Tobacco Center of Regulatory Science (TCORS) Career Enhancement Training Program is to develop knowledge and skills in tobacco regulatory science (TRS) to advance promising scholars toward independent careers in TRS research. Our priorities are to facilitate a pipeline of TRS training for diverse investigators across career stages, foster specialized expertise in tobacco addiction and biomarkers of health and disease, enhance the regulatory impact of TRS research, and facilitate a culture of collaborative and multidisciplinary TRS research between TCORS faculty and trainees.

The training program is open to the following:

• Undergraduate students

  • Interested students should apply via the Summer Undergraduate Research Internship Program (SURIP).

    • SURIP is intended for college students who are interested in pursuing a career in the biological sciences.

    • SURIP provides a variety of career development and scientific research seminars are offered weekly as part of SURIP. Each summer’s program concludes with the Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium, where students present their work.

  • Predoctoral scholars

    • Interested students should apply via the Penn State DrPH Program, PhD in Epidemiology Program, PhD in Biostatistics Program, or PhD in Neuroscience or Biomedical Sciences Programs

      • Tuition coverage and stipend provided on competitive basis.

    • Contact Career Enhancement Core leadership to inform of application

    • Medical students enrolled at Penn State College of Medicine at Hershey or University Park can apply for summer internships through the

      Medical Student Research Program

      .

  • Postdoctoral scholars

    • Open positions will be posted through the Penn State careers website

      .

  • Early Career/New Investigators (must be current faculty member at Penn State)

    • Complete application for current faculty

Scholars in the training program will participate in the following:

• Mentor-directed TRS research

  • Scholars will be matched with a faculty mentor to work on a TRS-related project. Scholars will develop an individual develop plan (IDP) to identify learning objectives and goals for the project. In addition, scholars will complete annual mentoring evaluations.

• Didactic and laboratory-based education (pre- and postdoctoral scholars only)

  • Required coursework in tobacco regulatory science

  • Optional coursework in grant writing (PHS 510) or secondary data analysis (PHS 507)

• Collaborative learning

  • Participate in Penn State TCORS monthly seminars

  • Participate in Penn State TCORS writing group

  • Participate in CASEL journal club

  • Participate in cross-training events with scholars from other TCORS

  • Attend/present at annual TRS conference in October in Bethesda, Md. (pre- and postdoctoral scholars only)

  • Develop one presentation on area of expertise to be added to the shared library on the TRS Knowledge Center (pre- and postdoctoral scholars only)