Tobacco Regulatory Science Small Grant Program for New Investigators (R03 Clinical Trial Optional)
This program funds small, early-career tobacco regulatory science research projects that can inform FDA regulation of tobacco product manufacturing, distribution, and marketing.
⚑ R03 small grant; award ceiling $75,000 · For new investigators in early stages of independent careers · Clinical Trial Optional · Foreign organizations and foreign components are not allowed
Unit fits — one characterization, each unit's own rules
| IPPRA | 92 strong | portfolio topic: public_health (primary); social/behavioral work is substantial; funds applied research |
| Physical Sciences & Engineering (demo) | 80 strong | technical depth: substantial; funds applied research |
| Tom Love Innovation Hub | 30 weak | funds applied research; deep-tech content |
Description
This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) aims to support new biomedical, behavioral, and social science investigators who are in the early stages of establishing independent careers in tobacco regulatory research. The R03 grant mechanism supports different types of projects, including pilot and feasibility studies, secondary analysis of existing data, small, self-contained research projects, development of research methodology, and development of new research technology. Applicants are encouraged to conduct projects that ultimately have the potential to inform regulations on tobacco product manufacturing, distribution, and marketing. Research projects must address one or more High-Priority Research Topic(s) related to the regulatory authority of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) as mandated by the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (FSPTCA), Public Law 111-31. The awards under this NOFO will be administered by NIH using funds made available through FDA CTP and the FSPTCA. Research results from this NOFO are expected to generate findings and data directly relevant to informing the FDA's regulation of the manufacture, distribution, and marketing of tobacco products to protect public health.
Eligibility
Other Eligible Applicants include the following: Eligible Agencies of the Federal Government; Faith-based or Community-based Organizations; Indian/Native American Tribal Governments (Other than Federally Recognized); Regional Organizations; U.S. Territory or Possession; Non-domestic (non-U.S.) Entities (Foreign Organizations) are not eligible to apply.
Non-domestic (non-U.S.) components of U.S. Organizations are not eligible to apply.
Foreign components, as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are not allowed.
Apply
View on Grants.gov → CONTACT: National Institutes of Health <grantsinfo@nih.gov>
Proposal brief
Proposal shell · National Institutes of Health conventions
Legacy IPPRA LLM assessment (v2.0, for comparison)
25/100 · gpt-5.4-mini · 2026-07-06
This is a tobacco regulatory science research R03 with a clear public health and behavioral science component, so IPPRA could be relevant if the project focused on risk communication, attitudes, or policy-relevant behavior. However, the topic is tobacco regulation rather than one of IPPRA’s core portfolio areas, and the opportunity is aimed at early-career investigators with small pilot-style projects, making the fit only partial. Public universities are eligible, so there is no eligibility barrier.
Legacy scoring history
| 2026-07-06 | 25 | gpt-5.4-mini | This is a tobacco regulatory science research R03 with a clear public health and behavioral science component, so IPPRA could be relevant if the project focused on risk communication, attitudes, or policy-relevant behavior. However, the topic is tobacco regulation rather than one of IPPRA’s core portfolio areas, and the opportunity is aimed at early-career investigators with small pilot-style projects, making the fit only partial. Public universities are eligible, so there is no eligibility barrier. |
| 2026-07-06 | 45 | gpt-5.4-mini | This is a solid public health/regulatory science opportunity, but it is centered on tobacco product regulation and early-career biomedical/behavioral investigators rather than IPPRA’s core strengths in weather, energy, national security, or environmental policy. IPPRA could contribute on survey, behavior-change, risk-perception, or policy-evaluation elements if a project were aligned with health communication, but the fit is only partial. A public university is eligible, so there is no eligibility cap issue. |