This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing theresources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject andinvestigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source,and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed isfor the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator.The overall goal of this application is to enhance the clinical research infrastructure at Drew through the continuation of a clinical research center of excellence focused on the investigation of diabetes and metabolic-related diseases. These are among the areas of unacceptably high disparity of mortality rates highlighted in President Clinton's 'Racial and ethnic health disparities initiative.' As highlighted in a recent article by NHLBI director Dr. Claude Lenfant , a tremendous need remains for the translation of state-of-the-art research advances into improved patient outcomes. Dr. Lenfant notes that many researchers who have attempted to address the issue have focused only on the broad, high-speed part of the highwaythe part that is concerned with taking the findings of basic research and translating them into clinical investigationsand not on the last and perhaps most important segment, which is concerned with taking the findings into practice at the community level. As a response, the National Institutes of Health have set out to transform the nation's medical research capabilities and accelerate translation of research into practice through the NIH Roadmap for Medical Research. Involved in the NIH Roadmap initiatives, Drew proposes to implement research practices that positively affect the quality and outcomes of care across diverse healthcare systems. Translational research is critical for diabetes and related disorders, in which considerable gaps exist between existing practice and recommended standards of diabetes care. Therefore, effectiveness, feasibility, and sustainability of several recognized interventions in real-life settings are less than clear. Despite evidence, many risk-reduction therapies continue to be underutilized or ineffectively implemented. , Stakeholders have to participate in activities that accelerate translation of diabetes research into practice. This not only includes the clinicians and researchers who develop and use interventions, but also patients (and patient-centered innovations) and health systems that provide resources and incentives to make these changes more population-wide. CUREDM proposes to translate crucial findings into strategies to improve clinical outcomes for all persons. Such translational research is particularly crucial in impoverished and minorities communities, such as the community served by Drew. This core has been designed to facilitate translational research in health disparity areas, especially in diabetes and metabolic-related disorders. The Translational Research Core is a Drew and UCLA collaborative. UCLA as a research-intensive institution, together with Drew as a culturally-responsive institution, offer an entirely new set of opportunities for: + Training more minority scientists + Expanding Drew's translational research capability + Translating clinical research into community-focused research+ Focusing more research on understanding and addressing minority health disparities. Therefore, the core was designed to provide training for Drew scientists in methodologies to examine the effectiveness, feasibility, and sustainability of established interventions in research studies in real-life settings. This core will not only enhance the research capabilities and competitiveness of Drew investigators currently engaged in translational research, but also assist in the application of academic research to routine community settings, and address differences between results obtained in well-controlled research settings and community practice. The core's specific aims are to:1. Serve as a centralized resource to enhance, expand, and support existing secondary database and health services related research; 2. Provide consultation and support for Drew junior investigators interested in all areas of clinical research, particularly diabetes and metabolic-related disorders;3. Provide methodologies to examine the effectiveness, feasibility, and sustainability of established interventions in clinical research studies to improve clinical outcomes in real-life community health care settings;4. Build community-based health service organizations capacity to participate in research activities and thus enhance the core's ability to utilize the community-based experiences to address areas of need in translational research; and5. Disseminate established and newly-discovered evidenced-based clinical research findings to community, healthcare providers and health policy makers to translate these findings into diverse clinical practice settings.
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