Mayo Clinic Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCaTS)

Mayo Clinic Rochester, Rochester MN

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

OVERALL: Project Summary/Abstract Mayo Clinic is one of the largest not-for-profit, academic health systems, top-ranked for quality more often than any other health care organization. It has integrated operations in 5 U.S. states, and more than 1 million people came to Mayo Clinic for care last year. Clinical and translational science (CTS) is a fundamental and highly valued element of Mayo Clinic; indeed, all research at Mayo Clinic is directed towards translation of scientific knowledge to improve patient care, with almost 60% of our NIH funding base classified as clinical research or trials. In recognition of the importance of continued advances in CTS to the Mayo Clinic mission, our institutional leadership has entrusted the Mayo Clinic Center for Clinical and Translational Sciences (CCaTS) to be the engine of translational innovation and the institutional advocate for CTS and translational research. CCaTS has served as a CTS innovation incubator for numerous efforts that were created with CCaTS funding and are now supported by the institution. The overall vision of CCaTS is to enable high-quality, team-based multidisciplinary research that accelerates clinical trial innovation, facilitates digital health transformation, and partners with our stakeholders and communities to improve patient care and health for all people. Our team-based culture has been described as one of “boundarylessness,” wherein organizational barriers are removed to enable talent, innovation, and knowledge to converge where needed. In this context and that of our longstanding commitment to patient-focused research, we are uniquely positioned to accomplish the following Specific Aims. In Aim 1, we will simplify and accelerate the work of translation to improve health for all by advancing clinical trial innovations and digital health transformations, streamlining methods and processes, and developing novel informatics solutions that increase efficiency and drive implementation of discoveries that improve health and promote health equity. In Aim 2, we will enhance our education programs through the expanded reach of competency-based, learner-focused solutions, training a diverse, inclusive, multidisciplinary CTS workforce to be prepared to address the urgent health care needs of all communities in a rapidly changing environment. In Aim 3, we will engage local community members and patients to be active partners in translational teams, expanding research capabilities of underserved communities, including rural populations. Our goal is to improve health and reduce health inequities by helping these communities realize the benefits of CTS. In Aim 4, we will expand national and regional partnerships and strengthen collaborative CTS networks in all aspects of CTS and education, focusing on sharing innovative approaches and prioritizing diversity, equity, and inclusion, with the goal of improving human health and advancing health equity. In summary, sustained investment in CCaTS will enable us to continue to meet ongoing and emergent challenges in health care for all, as exemplified by our response to support communities through the COVID-19 crisis. Evolving Strategies for PD: Investigating STN DBS as a Neuroprotective Intervention Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a severely debilitating neurodegenerative disorder that affects more than 10 million people worldwide with approximately $52 billion spent yearly in the United States. Presently, there is no cure for PD and potential neuroprotective strategies failed to properly delay the evolution of the disease. For this reason, the prevalence of PD has doubled in the past 25 years and it is estimated that the number of PD cases will surpass 13 million in 2040 unless more effective neuroprotective therapeutics are brought to clinical use. Deep brain stimulation of the Subthalamic Nucleus (STN DBS), a surgical intervention in mid- to advanced-stage PD, may represent a safe and effective neuroprotective strategy for PD based on encouraging results from animal research. Establishment of STN DBS as an approved neuroprotective strategy requires rigorous translational research that builds on basic science research of the neuroprotective mechanism of DBS to allow therapy optimization in the clinical scenario. Here, we adopt a translational approach to characterize the mechanisms whereby STN DBS promotes neuroprotection and delays the progression of the disease while identifying conditions that can maximize its neuroprotective effects. In Aim 1 we will use a rat model of PD to determine the molecular and network-wide targets of STN DBS and their relative contribution to delay neurodegeneration. In Aim 2 we will deliver electrical stimulation directly to cells that overexpress α-synuclein, a toxic protein that aggregates and can lead to neuronal loss in PD to determine effective stimulation parameters that successfully enhance key neuroprotective mechanisms. In summary, these aims will move the neuromodulation and neurodegeneration fields forward by characterizing intricate molecular, cellular, and network-wide neuroprotective mechanisms of STN DBS while providing a novel translational framework to allow further therapy optimization for clinical application.