Healthcare Research-Education

The CTSA Program at NIH: Opportunities for Advancing Clinical & Translational Research

The CTSA Program at NIH seeks to advance clinical and translational research – that is, quicken the flow of helpful information across the American healthcare system. This program began in 2006 and has been a big hit. By the time this report was compiled in 2013, a new landscape of translational research began to emerge. This report, from a committee of national figures in the research community, seeks to identify what a “CTSA 2.0” might look like. It seeks to identify fruitful opportunities for further efforts.

The committee identified four specific areas of promise: leadership, collaborations, resource development and dissemination, and building on existing successes. (Noted successes include training and education, community engagement, and child health research.) Each of these areas are elaborated in precise scientific detail in this document. After analyzing the lay of the land, conclusions and recommendations are mentioned about each item.

Of course, almost a decade has passed since this document has compiled. Working for a CTSA, I see many of these ideas having become reality either in my research center or in other research centers. Research in CTSAs definitely live and die via team science as no one background completely prepares one to work in translational research. I’m curious if there is a present need for a CTSA 3.0 to be defined, too, to reach further goals. This book is helpful in gauging the sweep of history so that I can see where we’ve been.

The CTSA Program at NIH: Opportunities for Advancing Clinical and Translational Research
By the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies
Copyright (c) 2013
The National Academies Press
ISBN13 9780309284745
Page Count: 166
Genre: Translational Research, Medical Research
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