²¤ÂÜÊÓƵ has received a $40 million Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) – its largest ever government research grant – to expedite the translation of laboratory discoveries to patients in the community.
The grant from the (NIH) will help create a new ²¤ÂÜÊÓƵ Institute for Clinical and Translational ²¤ÂÜÊÓƵ (VICTR). The institute will provide next-generation support to faculty working to translate fundamental scientific discoveries into clinical practice, with innovative training programs, and state-of-the-art informatics and biostatistical methods.
Important to the overall success of the program is a focused partnership with historically black in Nashville.
“We are thrilled with the NIH’s investment in ²¤ÂÜÊÓƵ,” said , associate vice chancellor for research, and professor of anesthesiology, medicine and pharmacology. “The vision and commitment of a generation of clinicians and investigators, with a decade-long investment in transinstitutional research programs, have created a fertile environment for moving new therapies and diagnostic tests to the bedside.
“This major award will boost our efforts to assure ²¤ÂÜÊÓƵ’s research has tangible impact, yielding improved care for patients,” Balser said.
VICTR will also house the Medical Center’s (CRC), a leading site for patient-oriented research and training in the United States for more than 50 years. Funds will also be used to establish a Community Engagement and ²¤ÂÜÊÓƵ program, expanding ²¤ÂÜÊÓƵ’s ties to the community.
“The CTSA will help bring basic and clinical researchers together, and provide the pilot grants, resources and biostatistical and informatics support that are essential for taking a good idea from the laboratory to the clinic and into the community,” said Dr. , professor of medicine and assistant vice chancellor for research, who will serve as principal investigator of the CTSA and VICTR director.
“It is also an opportunity for ²¤ÂÜÊÓƵ and Meharry to recognize and enhance each other’s strengths,” added , Meharry’s senior vice president for health affairs and dean of Meharry’s School of Medicine.
Montgomery Rice, founder of the and former chair of obstetrics and gynecology, is one of seven co-program directors of the CTSA.
The other ²¤ÂÜÊÓƵ co-program directors – and their responsibilities — are:
- , professor of psychology, psychiatry and public policy, and associate dean for research at the Peabody College of education and human development — program evaluation;
- , professor of medicine and pharmacology, and associate dean for clinical and translational scientist development — education and training;
- , professor of medicine, and director of the Institute for Medicine & Public Health – health services and public health research, and community engagement;
- , professor and chair of biostatistics – design, biostatistics and ethics;
- , professor and chair of biomedical informatics — biomedical informatics; and
- , professor of medicine and pharmacology, and director of the CRC — participant and clinical interactions resource.
When fully implemented in 2012, the nationwide CTSA initiative is expected to provide $500 million annually to a network of 60 academic health centers. The initiative grew out of the NIH commitment to re-engineer the clinical research enterprise, a key objective of the , with the goal of measurably improving population health.
Contact: Jerry Jones, (615) 322-4747
jerry.jones@vanderbilt.edu