The University of Notre Dame has been accepted as a formal partner in the Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (ICTSI), a medical research initiative designed to systematically transform medical discoveries into improved patient care and business opportunities.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) awarded a five-year Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) of $25 million to the Indiana University School of Medicine in mid-2008 to fund CTSI activities at IU and Purdue University. The NIH created the clinical and translational awards program in an effort to improve the process by which the laboratory discoveries of basic science are transformed into new medical treatments and products — a process called translational research.
To date, there are 38 academic health centers in 23 states comprising the CTSA- funded national consortium. These institutes share a common vision of improving the way biomedical research is conducted, reducing the time for discoveries to become treatments, engaging communities in clinical research efforts, and training the next generation of researchers. Notre Dame students and researchers will now be a part of that vision.
Recently, the ICTSI conducted a review of proposals from member investigators for seed grants to promote translational research. Notre Dame researchers participated in this activity and participation in future activities is expected to increase.
Membership in the ICTSI will enable Notre Dame researchers in areas such as the College of Engineering’s biomechanics and biomaterials groups, the Eck Institute for Global Health, the Keck Center for Transgene Research and the new Mike and Josie Harper Cancer Research Institute to move their basic research into clinical settings.
Contact: Melanie DeFord, director of operations , centers, institutes and special research projects, Office of Research, 574-631-8805, mdeford@nd.edu