Overview

The Kentucky Tobacco Research and Development Center (KTRDC) conducts and supports unique research programs that examine new agricultural crop opportunities based on tobacco and other plants. The Center's research projects explore the development and use of tobacco as a production system for plant-made pharmaceuticals, and the discovery of new plant natural products having potential for commercialization. The KTRDC program emphasizes applications-oriented research designed to facilitate the development of new crop-based businesses and technologies for Kentucky agriculture. Located in its own building on the University of Kentucky campus in Lexington, the Center is funded by a dedicated tax on cigarette sales in Kentucky.