The Institute for Translational Medicine and Therapeutics (ITMAT) was founded by the Medical School of the University of Pennsylvania in January 2005. It became the academic home of the Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) after the first round of funding by the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR). The CTSA transformed ITMAT to embrace 9 schools at Penn, the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, the Wistar Institute and the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia. Each year ITMAT has held an international conference, attracting speakers and attendees from academia, pharma, biotech, venture, politics, the media and regulatory bodies. Topics have included the Personalization of Medicine and the Role of Academia in Drug Development. The meeting to be held on April 14 and 15, 2009 is entitled Global Approaches to Translational Research. Speakers are drawn from the United States, Europe, Asia and Australia several entities including the Wellcome Trust and the United Kingdom Medical Research Council are supporting their constituents to attend the meeting. This application is to seek funds to discount the cost to CTSA leaders to attend the meeting. This will afford the chance for them to develop collaborations with their international peers, share best practices and discuss common challenges.
This proposal will foster the interaction of those leading Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSAs) with their international peers at a meeting that considers challenges and opportunities confronting this emerging discipline. It has attracted enthusiastic support from the leadership of NCRR and the Director, together with several PIs of CTSAs featured on the program.
