Clinical and Translational Science Award

This is an application for a Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine partnered with Montefiore Medical Center. The Einstein-Montefiore Institute for Clinical and Trans- lational Research (ICTR) serves as the home of our CTSA program created in 2007 as the formal research partnership between the two institutions. The ICTR has status as an academic entity with committed space and resources, to advance clinical and translational research (CTR), with authority to sponsor a PhD in clinical investigation and other training and career development programs. The ICTR has transformed CTR within our institutions, and contributed to significant changes beyond our walls. The goals for the new CTSA are; 1) To provide integrated resources and services to support and expedite planning, implementation, and completion of CTR across the entire range of research; 2) To enhance quality, safety, and efficiency of CTR for all diseases and conditions in our environment; 3) To develop new innovations that advance clinical and translational sciences; 4) To facilitate the training and career development of a robust translational research workforce. To accomplish these goals, we propose an integrative approach with cross-cutting support for T1-T4 translational sciences, interoperable biomedical informatics, therapeutics development, child health research, and patient- and population-centered outcomes research. We also propose to build on research core services that have evolved and expanded including: 1) Clinical Trials and Regulatory Support Office (CTRSO); 2) Clinical Investigation Services Cores (CISC); 3) Biostatistics, Epidemiology & Research Design (BERD); 4) Biomarker and Analytic Research Core (BARC); 5) Biospecimen Repository (BioR); 6) Community Engagement Consultation Core (CECC); 7) Research Informatics Core (RIC); and 8) Project Acceleration Resource (PAR). Our Research Training, Education and Career Development program will create an educational environment with a learner-centered approach; focus on the core competencies developed by the CTSA; provide a menu of options to serve learners at various stages of development across the spectrum of clinical and translational research; and to implement novel mentoring approaches. RELEVANCE (See instructions): This CTSA application proposes an Institutional Clinical and Translational Science Award (U54) program that conforms to the mission of the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, as expressed in RFA- TR-12-006.