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Biomedical research has never before in history experienced such extraordinary opportunities for clinical advances across the spectrum of disease. These biomedical advances will help us understand the pathophysiology of disease processes and create treatments targeted to the molecular pathways that drive illness. It is now within our grasp to use these research tools and insights to prevent disease onset, tailor therapies to individual patient needs, and maintain or improve patient quality of life.
Several areas in science have fostered these advances. The mapping of the human genome was key. It provided a wealth of data on human development, physiology and evolution while accelerating developments in bioinformatics, proteomics, structural biology and gene therapy. The elucidation of cellular pathophysiology has also broadened the scope of pharmacologic therapy. Current advances in functional neuroimaging are allowing investigators to observe patterns of brain activity associated with a range of mental states. New tools and measures that accurately gauge quality of life are meeting patients' needs at the bedside.
However, to be of real patient benefit, knowledge acquired through basic biomedical research must be quickly and efficiently translated into clinical studies. This is the very heart and purpose of translational research: moving insights gained in the lab to successful clinical application in the community.
It is proving to be a challenging task, however. Over the years, a substantial gap has emerged between research and clinical practice, owing to a fragmented and outdated infrastructure. Unless critical changes are made to the current system, the wealth of knowledge gained from recent biomedical advances may never make its way into meaningful health care practices.
For translational research to be conducted successfully over the long term, silos must be broken down in several dimensions – between institutions and disciplines and across the basic and clinical science divide –and its supporting infrastructure must undergo a global transformation. Its functional design must be refocused and redesigned to bring it back to the central goal of delivering the benefits of science to the bedside and to the community.
The mission of the diverse trans-institutional, multi-disciplinary Clinical and Translational Science Center (CTSC) is to move translational research seamlessly from bench to bedside and to the community. The CTSC acts as a conduit through which essential resources, technological tools and education programs for all partners can be efficiently shared and managed.
This novel center was accomplished through the integration of existing inter-institutional resources among neighbors on York Avenue – The Avenue – and partner institutions in the immediate area. The resulting cluster of East Side institutions forms a unique and cohesive biomedical complex fulfilling the NIH roadmap initiative of breaking down institutional and disciplinary silos to accelerate the clinical application of basic science discoveries.
This center is funded through the Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSAs), a national consortium that is transforming how clinical and translational research is conducted. For more information about the national CTSA consortium please visit ctsaweb.org.
The vision of the CTSC is to promote and nurture translational team research and education. It is designed to take full advantage of the diversity of resources of all its partnering institutions: the plethora of talented basic and physician-scientists, cutting-edge technology, and a patient base with a unique community-engagement program for underserved populations.
The CTSC is designed to bring together the diverse resources of all partner institutions to facilitate novel translational research. Separately, the partner institutions are superb academic centers of excellence. They each have an unmistakable character that will enhance multi-disciplinary interaction. The overarching goal is to capture the resources of this partnership to foster unique strategies. The partner institutions are committed to this goal. Integration of these unique resources and intellectual assets will facilitate translation of research findings in the laboratory to clinical research at the bedside and ultimately to best practices within underserved communities. This process is circuitous, continuous and self-stimulating, providing translation of existing research and, importantly, the innovative generation of future research ideas (Figure below). Ultimately, new therapies will be developed based on observations and/or discoveries made at the bench, the bedside or in the community.
The CTSC translational research process
is
designed to be a self-stimulating,
continuous and recurring cycle process
In sum, an atmosphere of easy integration is created, breaking down institutional and organizational barriers or silos, and closing gaps by building bridges across institutions to meet the goals of this initiative.
