The announcement in 2005 of the CTSA program generated great excitement among the faculty and leadership of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH). The state had just made an annual commitment of $3.5M to UNC-CH to support clinical and translational research, so we felt ideally positioned to create the required institutional home. We solicited input from over 300 faculty, administrators and other stakeholders drawn not just from UNC-CH but from across the state. Based on their advice, we established the Translational and Clinical Sciences (TraCS) Institute and crafted three simple goals: Prepare and empower our faculty, health care providers, and citizens, assembling them into interdisciplinary teams that will actively engage in all aspects of clinical and translational research, Design and execute translational and clinical research projects of the very highest quality, and Translate findings for better health, rapidly disseminating and implementing proven advances to solve important health problems at the state, national, and global levels. To meet these goals, the Translational Research Advisory Board, consisting of senior faculty from across the UNC System, will partner with communities to identify and prioritize important health issues and will call for pilot project proposals that address these priorities. The TraCS Study Section, that includes community members, will prioritize and provide written critiques of pilot project proposals for >$30M contributed by over 40 units across campus and the state. Best practices will be implemented in the communities to improve the health of citizens. The cycle continues as communities feedback to the TraCS Institute. Innovation Champions will help form research teams and guide them to the many new cores and consultative services designed to support at every step along the bench-to-practice continuum. Enthusiasm for the TraCS Institute extends across the UNC-CH campus, to our sister campuses in the UNC System, and to the highest levels of state government. Novel community-based mechanisms will also ensure a full partnership with the citizens of our state. Indeed, we have already established the first of four community research units. Our substantial institutional commitments combined with the funds requested in this application will allow the TraCS Institute to fulfill its goals as a full partner in the CTSA network.
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