Wake forest Clinical and Translational Science Award

Wake Forest University Health Sciences, Winston-Salem NC

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

Contact PD/PI: Li, King C. Project Summary/Abstract A critical issue that impedes advances in public health is the chasm between what we know can improve health and what is implemented in everyday practice. In addition, to have the highest impact, diverse participants should be involved in all types of clinical and translational research, to ensure both the relevance of research findings to the general population and the likelihood that they can be disseminated to improve public health in a meaningful way. Finally, implementation of research findings requires that translational research occurs in an efficient and organized environment. All of these activities are critical to a learning health care system by providing the foundation for information feedback loops, team-based learning and investigation, stakeholder participation, opportunities for education, continuous improvement, and sustainability. The mission of the Wake Forest Translational Science Institute (TSI) is to provide an innovative, efficient, and sustainable research infrastructure to accelerate WF's transformation, and thus speed the translation of discoveries to improve health. The purpose of this Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) application is to synergize the fundamental positive changes that the TSI has already brought to bear at Wake Forest Baptist Health. The TSI has already made substantive progress to develop and augment our translational workforce; provide outstanding support in biostatistics, epidemiology, and research design; and assure that our research complies with regulatory guidelines and meets ethical standards. Our rapidly growing Clinically Integrated Network will aggregate data from our affiliates to provide an extraordinarily rich source of clinical information to inform new research directions, facilitated by our biomedical informatics expertise. We can offer to the CTSA network our resources and expertise in building efficient clinical research support programs and extensive experience in the conduct of multi-center clinical research, especially studies focused on older adults, in which our track record is exemplary. The TSI also has model programs in community engagement, team science, and recruitment of special populations into translational research. We propose novel experimental approaches that will test methodologies to advance the science of translational science. In particular, we can offer our world-class capabilities to support the use of nonhuman primate models for research of high translational value to public health. With CTSA support, we can use this comprehensive infrastructure to fund new pilot projects and new multidisciplinary research teams, and offer innovative training to help those ventures succeed. Wake Forest Baptist Health is a fully integrated medical center in which governance, quality improvement, and research discoveries ? including the intellectual property that may result from those discoveries ? are highly aligned. In summary, the TSI is poised to be a productive hub within the CTSA network. Project Summary/Abstract Page 203 Contact PD/PI: Li, King C.