Rutgers Team Builds Lung Cancer Screening Tools
New Jersey and national policymakers will get better modeling to decide who should be screened and how to regulate tobacco products.
Updated on Nov. 4, 2026 in Cancer
Rutgers School of Public Health and a multi-institution research consortium received a $6.5 million, five-year National Cancer Institute grant to build tools for lung cancer prevention and screening. The work will support tobacco control policy, lung cancer screening, survivorship care, and state-level cancer prevention planning for New Jersey residents and beyond.
Why it matters
Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States, and fewer than 20% of eligible people are screened, so better planning tools could change who gets checked and when. The research comes as new nicotine products reach the market and tobacco control programs face funding cuts, making evidence-based policy decisions more pressing.
The award is a five-year National Cancer Institute grant through the Cancer Intervention and Surveillance Modeling Network, with the team's findings still to come. Fewer than 20% of eligible people receive lung cancer screening, a gap the models are designed to help close, though the project has not yet reported outcomes.
The players
Rutgers School of Public Health
Public health school at Rutgers University, New Jersey's state university, leading research on tobacco control and cancer prevention.
National Cancer Institute
The U.S. federal agency that funds and conducts cancer research, including prevention, screening, and survivorship studies.
Cancer Intervention and Surveillance Modeling Network (CISNET)
NCI-supported research network that uses comparative modeling to evaluate cancer prevention, screening, and treatment strategies.
American Cancer Society
National nonprofit that tracks cancer statistics and promotes screening, including lung cancer screening rates cited in the project.
The details
The team uses simulation modeling and comparative modeling, drawing on a suite of six lung cancer natural history models, to test how different prevention and screening strategies would play out across populations. The goal is to give policymakers more accurate tools for evaluating emerging tobacco products and to identify the best way to detect lung cancer early in each subpopulation. Jamie Tam, an associate professor at the Rutgers School of Public Health, will lead a multidisciplinary team across seven universities, with Rafael Meza co-leading as one of six Principal Investigators.
Timeline
Five-year grant period beginning with the NCI award (announced November 2026)
Health Landscape
Comparative modeling through the CISNET Lung Working Group has informed lung cancer prevention and screening strategy for more than 25 years. This grant pushes that work toward state-level policy tools as the nation contends with new nicotine products and reduced tobacco control funding.
If you are a current or former smoker in the eligible age range, ask your doctor whether lung cancer screening is appropriate for you, since fewer than 20% of eligible people are currently screened. Research like this may eventually shape which groups are prioritized for screening and how tobacco policies are set in New Jersey.
The takeaway
Lung cancer screening is underused, and new modeling tools could help target it more effectively. If you are eligible, talk with your physician about whether screening fits your history and risk.
Further reading
For more on the disease at the center of this work, explore our Cancer coverage.
