This revised application for a Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) would support the continued development of the Los Angeles Basin Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI). Our vision is to improve health of the diverse and underserved population of urban Los Angeles and, in doing so, to gain knowledge that we can share with others to improve health in urban settings and megacities across the globe. In pursuit of that vision, we have established a unique partnership of leading academic, clinical and community health organizations in the urban heart of Los Angeles. We are transforming this partnership into a preeminent clinical and translational science institute focused on better heath for diverse, urban communities. We have established four main goals for the CTSI: build on many independent strengths to create an integrated academic home that places high priority on clinical and translational science; create new translational research teams and conduct projects that leverage our unique populations and partnerships to address the best scientific opportunities and most important health priorities of our local communities; transform education and training to create a cadre of people with a major career focus on clinical and translational research; and implement and disseminate what we learn to improve health in our local communities and advance translational research through regional and national networks and collaborations. To achieve these goals, we have assembled an exceptional leadership team that is creating through the CTSI: outstanding resources for active development of new research projects and teams, a robust infrastructure to promote and support basic, clinical and community research, cutting edge methodologies for data acquisition, integration, management and analysis; integrated training of basic, clinical and community researchers using distance education and a focus on research for the diverse communities; a novel approach to dissemination of our findings using professional communications expertise; and a professional evaluation group to track and evaluate our progress and impact. Using $3.3M of institutional support, we have already made significant progress in transforming our local environment to a home that highly values clinical and translational research. We demonstrate strong ability to generate and support exciting new research, from the bench to our communities. With a CTSA and a pledge of $18.7M of institutional support over five years, we will expand to a fully functional institute that will have a have a major impact to improve urban health and advance the discipline of clinical and translational research.
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