We have established the San Diego Clinical and Translational Research Institute (San Diego CTRI), with its hub located at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). This regional center contains two universities (UCSD and San Diego State University), 4 biomedical research institutes (Salk Inst., Burnham Inst., J. Craig Venter Inst., and La Jolla Inst, for Allergy and Immunology), and 3 academic hospitals (UCSD Medical Center, VA Hospital and Rady Children's Hospital), one community health service (Palomar Pomerado Health) and 2 specialized resources--the San Diego Supercomputer Center and the California Inst, for Telecommunications and Information Technology. The CTSA program encompasses 3 health sciences professional schools (Medicine, Pharmacy, Nursing), nine clinical research PhD programs, and a Masters program in Advanced Clinical Studies. The program goals are to: 1) Provide an academic home for the discipline of clinical and translational science; 2) Establish an integrated educational pipeline to train and support clinical and translational scientists; 3) Develop a robust clinical research infrastructure that replaces silos with integrated research; 4) Enhance bioinformatics capabilities that leverage unique UCSD resources; 5) Develop novel technologies to improve research such as biomarker and imaging; 6) Form a Translational Research Alliance with research institutes and industry; 7) Form a Community Alliance with community physicians and the general public to translate scientific discoveries into best practices, increase research into health care disparities, and involve the general public in biomedical science. The CTSA program will provide the resources to develop the discipline of clinical and translational research. Through the San Diego CTRI, the educational pipeline to train the next generation of clinical and translational scientists will be enhanced. A new K12 program, an expanded K30 program, and the integration of new PhD graduate programs in clinical research highlight the proposed educational plan. The CTRI will transform education in clinical and translational science by coordinating disparate programs, providing breadth of education from high school through pre-doctoral students and providing training to post-doctoral fellows and faculty. The Institute will also transform the conduct of clinical research by providing guidance and support from initial planning through data analysis and sharing. The new structure will foster development of novel technologies to facilitate clinical research and provide support for the services and resources necessary to conduct clinical investigation. We will place special emphasis on several areas of strength such as imaging, biomarkers, community outreach, and the translation of basic science discoveries to clinical science.
The San Diego Clinical Translational Research Institute will transform the clinical research by providing guidance and support from initial planning through data analysis and sharing. It will provide an educational pipeline to train the next generation of clinical and translational scientists and involve the community in setting the direction and priorities of the organization. The Institute will foster development of novel technologies that facilitate clinical research, and provide support for the services needed to conduct clinical investigation and improve health.
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