As an attorney with research experience in tobacco science and health policy studies, Brion J. Fox, JD, is an excellent candidate to fulfill the goals of the Cancer, Prevention, Control, Behavioral, and Population Sciences Career Development Award (K07). His professional focus is the integration of science, law, and policy as it relates to tobacco control and cancer prevention. The proposal is designed to augment his training and support a transdisciplinary research project that with a goal of establishing him as an independent cancer prevention researcher. Mr. Fox will devote 75 percent of his efforts toward the goals of the K07. His proposed research will provide a needed perspective for cancer prevention, by integrating the study of tobacco science, law and policy around a question of high relevance to each discipline. The research proposal is designed to: 1) examine scientifically whether smokers personalize the health risks of smoking through the use of large population-based surveys; 2) integrate the scientific findings with legal analysis to examine the impact of the science on the law; and 3) apply the scientific and legal findings to policy approaches to tobacco control. The educational goals of this proposal are threefold: 1) he will work with his mentor team to design a course of study to augment his training. Although well-trained as an attorney and in transdiciplinary approaches to research, Mr. Fox will benefit greatly from additional coursework and experience in areas such as behavioral science, research methodology, statistics, epidemiology/oncology, and policy theory; 2) he will expand his existing collegial relationships with tobacco scientists and transdisiplinary researchers; 3) he will actively participate in professional societies and attend conferences, such as the World Conference on Tobacco OR Health. The above goals are consistent with the intent of the K07, which is to provide an opportunity for promising individuals who wish to become independent investigators in cancer prevention.
