The Great Plains is a vast, rural region with pockets of urban development. Geographic and social isolation- combined with lack of access to primary and specialized care in both rural and underserved urban areas- characterizes some of our most vulnerable populations Our objective is to develop a robust, networked research infrastructure to nurture, develop, and guide our clinical and translational research (CTR) investigators, as well as build collaborations among them and with community members across the northern Great Plains. We plan to foster partnerships with other IDeA-CTR entities in order to share best practices on developing CTR undertakings. Such efforts will position us to become more competitive for research awards as we strive to better understand the development of disease and the means for its prevention-particularly as it pertains to rural and urban underserved populations in our IDeA-CTR network. The Great Plains IDeA- CTR will link the resources of the University of Nebraska Medical Center to those of its partners that stretch from Nebraska, to its neighboring IDeA states, South Dakota and North Dakota, and in collaboration with the University of Kansas Frontiers CTSA, to achieve four overall goals: 1) Create and sustain the infrastructure, services, resources, and community relationships needed to expand funded CTR; 2) Develop a cadre of successful CTR investigators with a comprehensive professional development program, pilot grants, key services (KCAs), and expertise, who are prepared to develop and implement innovative tools and approaches and lead CTR teams; 3) Build upon existing partnerships with regional Great Plains IDeA-CTR states of South Dakota, North Dakota, and Kansas to expand CTR teams, disseminate existing resources to enhance their utilization and reduce duplication, collaborate to build new programs and resources, and improve health outcomes; 4) Implement a comprehensive internal evaluation program to assess and strengthen Great Plains IDeA-CTR leadership, measure the impact of the Great Plains IDeA-CTR programs in the region, track Great Plains IDeA-CTR progress on goals and performance milestones, and assess effectiveness of resources and dissemination across the region.
These goals will expand the infrastructure and CTR investigators prepared to design and conduct collaborative and innovative approaches to transform health delivery and outcomes. This initiative will improve health across the lifespan through innovative research, the highest quality patient care, outreach to underserved populations, and premier educational programs in the areas of mind, brain, and body health.
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