In the first awarded CTSA class, the Center for Clinical and Translational Sciences (CCTS) formed the first multiple-institution CTSA, with The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHSC-H) and The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center (UT MDACC). Since its inception the CCTS has been achieving the primary goal of the Clinical and Translational Sciences Award (CTSA) program: to accelerate research to transform healthcare and train the next generation of translational scientists. Our initial proposal was about bringing individuals and resources together, educating investigators, and building teams. In our 2011 renewal we described our Lowering-The-Barriers program, which focused on removing a large number of impediments through initiatives such as IRB reciprocity, standard research contracts and subcontracts, clinical data warehouses, patient registries, and biobanks. Our efforts have been successful and aligned with the national CTSA program. In this cycle, we bring in 3 new partner institutions to broaden and diversify our CTSA: The University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler (northeast Texas, rural, economically disadvantaged), Rice University (with strengths in computer science, education, and team science), and The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (south Texas, education and physician resources to help our nearby Brownsville Clinical Research Unit perform clinical trials). Together we will effect 5 strategic goals: Strategic Goal 1: To provide our investigators, staff, trainees, and scholars with the skills and knowledge necessary to advance discoveries and their translation in the new environment of clinical and translational research (Workforce Development). Strategic Goal 2: To collaborate with all of our stakeholders in a mutually beneficial way to advance translation by furthering engagement and team science (Collaboration/Engagement). Strategic Goal 3: To integrate pediatric and geriatric patients, Hispanic patients with cancer, and the LGBTQ+ community into the full spectrum of clinical and translational research (Integration). Strategic Goal 4: To advance translational science by providing novel processes, increasing efficiency, and streamlining research (Methods/Processes). Strategic Goal 5. To create and apply innovative informatics solutions to advance translational research, train the CTSA workforce, disseminate best practices, engage communities and integrate clinical and basic research data (Informatics).
The CCTS will support bidirectional translational research, moving discoveries from the bench to the bedside, by training a capable workforce using our unique multidisciplinary translational teams and innovative educational programs. Our hub will serve to foster high-quality clinical research, develop best practices in team-based translations, participate in inter-institutional data-sharing, and function as an efficient site for multi- site clinical trials in our large, diverse populations. The CCTS, through its novel programs and resources, will remain an important contributor to achieving the goals of the national consortium.
