UC and partners receive $23 million to translate health discoveries into real-world solutions

The University of Cincinnati (UC) has a long track record of making an impact in the real world.  Considering much of these real-world results have been in the form of medical advancements, its recent receipt of a five-year $23 million grant from the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) program is justified.With this funding, the first CTSA awarded in 2009, UC and its affiliated health care partners are launching a campaign to translate medical research into real-world solutions – or taking results from bench to bedside, in medical parlance."There are 2 types of translational research," says Joel Tsevat, MD, professor of medicine and associate dean for clinical and translational research.  "Type 1 involves taking new drugs, devices, biomarkers, and treatment strategies from the lab to clinical testing, whereas type 2 involves implementing evidence-based healthcare into the community, and with the CTSA, also involving the community in developing topics for research." Towards this end, the award will be used to support programs within UC's Center for Clinical and Translational Science and Training (CCTST), a research and academic base for clinical and translational scientists and programs.  The CCTST is a joint-effort between UC, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center (CCMC), University Hospital and the Cincinnati Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC).  "We also plan to collaborate with other local and regional healthcare organizations and with other CTSA sites around the country, such as Ohio State, Vanderbilt, and Harvard," Tsevat says.UC's receipt of this award attests to the pressing need for practical returns on clinical discoveries, which UC researchers have a knack for.  "The CTSA program is a clear recognition by the NIH of the need to speed up the translation of the important work happening at the basic scientific level," says David Stern, MD, College of Medicine dean and UC vice president for health affairs.  "UC's award is indicative of the quality of scientific discovery happening on our campus and in the labs of our close partners." UC's NIH-funded General Clinical Research Center, housed in CCMC, has a long history of successes, including breakthroughs in research on Reye's Syndrome, Gaucher Disease and rare conditions like lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM) and Fanconi anemia."Successes already realized at our NIH-supported clinical research center are strong indicators of what Cincinnati researchers and clinicians will be able to do with continued support and an emphasis on translational research," says James Heubi, MD, of CCMC and UC's department of pediatrics, and associate dean for clinical and translational research.An exciting aspect of UC's recent receipt of the CTSA is the opportunity for engaging the community through research, thus truly taking results from bench to bedside.  "We plan to involve the community in clinical and translational research," Tsevat says.  "Not only will we work to increase enrollment for our clinical studies, but we will also turn to the community for research topics. We envision a bi-directional relationship with the community."  Tsevat adds that the CCTST will first direct its community outreach efforts at underserved neighborhoods like Avondale, Price Hill and Covington.  Specifically, Tsevat explains the CCTST will direct the funds into "creating a Community Partner Council, consisting of community members, neighborhood activists, and UC/CCHMC researchers in order to facilitate connections through advice, education, and action; expanding our successful pediatric and family medicine practice-based research networks to other specialties; training a cadre of Community Health Educators to send out into the communities; offering training in community-based participatory research and expanding our quality improvement initiatives into the community."  UC's CCTST provides support in applying for various types of funding, fosters interdisciplinary collaboration and helps facilitate the university's new Master of Science in clinical and translational research.Alongside Stern, Huebi and Tsevat, a governance committee composed of leadership from UC, CCMC, UH and VAMC lead the campaign that won this significant award.  To learn more about the CTSA Consortium and UC's clinical and translational research efforts, visit here.   Writer:  Jonathan DeHartSource:  University of Cincinnati, Wendy Beckman, Dama Kimmon, Joel Tsevat