Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program

Effective community engagement in T₃-T₄ research is widespread, however, similar stakeholder involvement is missing in T₁-T₂ research. As part of an effort to embed community stakeholders in T₁-T₂ research, an academic community partnered team conducted discussion groups with researchers to assess perspectives on (1) barriers/challenges to including community stakeholders in basic science, (2) skills/training required for stakeholders and researchers, and (3) potential benefits of these activities. Engaging community in basic science research was perceived as challenging but with exciting potential to incorporate "real-life" community health priorities into basic research, resulting in a new full-spectrum translational research model.