NCI partnered with the American Legacy Foundation to develop and implement the Tobacco Research Network on Disparities (TReND). The mission of the Network is to understand and address tobacco-related health disparities by advancing the science, translating that scientific knowledge into practice, and informing public policy. TReND is designed to stimulate new studies, challenge existing paradigms, and address significant gaps in research on understudied and underserved populations. This is the only national research network on tobacco and health disparities that provides a forum for stimulating scientific inquiry, promoting scientific collaborations, and evaluating the relevant scientific evidence. TReND includes experts from several disciplines who focus on the following goals: 1. encourage collaborations among relevant research disciplines; 2. serve as a forum for generating new research questions and projects focusing on tobacco-related health disparities; 3. establish a translation mechanism for communicating and interacting with other networks and community advocacy groups; 4. promote the involvement and training of junior investigators and the participation of senior researchers in health disparities research;and 5. provide scientific information and serve as a resource on tobacco and health disparities issues to public health practitioners.
