The overarching goal of the University of Cincinnati (UC) Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) Planning Grant application is to plan an Institutional CTSA application, in which we will develop an academic home for clinical and translational research by transforming the current clinical and translational research environment at the UC academic health center (AHC), which is comprised of 3 organizationally separate but partnering medical centers: University of Cincinnati Medical Center, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, and the Cincinnati Veterans Affairs Medical Center. As evidenced by its strong support of its General Clinical Research Center, K30, pilot project programs, Translational Research Initiative, Computational Medicine Center, bioinformatics programs, biostatistics and study design cores, the UC AHC administration is strongly supportive of clinical and translational and the planned Institutional CTSA. ? ? The Institutional CTSA will be created within the new Center for Clinical and Translational Science and Training in the Office of the Dean of the College of Medicine. The Center, whose goals are perfectly aligned with the goals of the Institutional CTSA, is co-directed by Joel Tsevat, MD, MPH and James Heubi, MD, co-Pis on this CTSA Planning Grant. The CTSA planning process will involve a needs analysis of each of the potential Institutional CTSA focus areas: pilot and collaborative translational and clinical studies; biomedical informatics; novel clinical and translational methodologies; design, biostatistics and ethics; participant and clinical interactions resources; community engagement; education, training and career development; and regulatory knowledge and support. Working groups comprised of stakeholders from the entire UC academic health center and its community partners will meet regularly throughout the year with Dr. Tsevat, Dr. Heubi, and an advisory board to critically assess each focus area and propose ways to break down existing barriers to carrying out collaborative interdisciplinary clinical and translational research. We will evaluate the actual planning process and plan the evaluation of the Institutional CTSA's development, implementation, and effectiveness. We anticipate that the Institutional CTSA process will transform the way that clinical and translational science and training is carried out both locally and nationally. ? ? ?
