On July 14, the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), expanded the national consortium for transforming clinical and translational research. The Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSAs) were awarded to seven more academic health centers, bringing the consortium to 46 member institutions.  This national network of medical research institutions is working to accelerate the process that develops laboratory discoveries into treatments for patients, to engage communities in clinical research and to train a new generation of clinical and translational research.

The seven institutions receiving new CTSA funding include:

• Medical University of South Carolina (Charleston)
• Mount Sinai School of Medicine (New York City)
• New York University School of Medicine (New York City)
• University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (Little Rock)
• University of Florida (Gainesville)
• University of Illinois at Chicago
• University of Texas Medical Branch (Galveston)

MUSC and the South Carolina Clinical and Translational Research (SCTR) Institute will receive $20 million in research funding during the next five years. This will fund 11 programs on campus and through the partnerships with the University of South Carolina, Health Sciences South Carolina, Clemson University, South Carolina State University, Claflin University, Greenwood Genetics Center, South Carolina Research Authority, and VA medical centers. The award provides these programs with more infrastructure support, better research training, and greater access to top clinical trials. For additional information regarding the distributions of the CTSA award, please go to http://www.nih.gov/news/health/jul2009/ncrr-14.htm.

Source:  AAMC STAT, July 20, 2009.

August 1, 2009