7/26/2016

The University of Pittsburgh Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) will receive nearly $62.3 million over five years from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to broaden its mission of speeding translation of scientific research into realistic treatments for the people who need them.

In 2006, CTSI was among the first 12 recipients of NIH’s Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA). Since then, Pitt’s CTSA funding has totaled more than $221 million. Including the recently announced funding for Pitt’s participation in NIH’s Precision Medicine Initiative Cohort Program, CTSI-supported programs have been awarded approximately $108 million in research funding over the next five years. 

“This award is emblematic of the significant contribution that University of Pittsburgh researchers and physicians are continuing to make to advance our understanding of biomedical science and improve clinical care,” said Arthur S. Levine, M.D., Pitt’s senior vice chancellor for the health sciences and John and Gertrude Petersen Dean of Medicine.

Over the past 10 years, CTSI has built an infrastructure of programming to support all avenues of scientific investigation, from guidance in regulatory requirements and study design to career/workforce development, education and training, community engagement, biomedical informatics, pilot funding of early-stage research, and innovation. It has trained 850 investigators and supported more than 2,000 investigators who have conducted more than 4,000 research studies.

“Among our most important goals for the next five years is engaging a broader range of people and communities in research,” said CTSI Director Steven E. Reis, M.D., who also is associate vice chancellor for clinical research, health sciences, and a professor of medicine at the Pitt School of Medicine. “We also will expand CTSI’s reach by launching several new programs, including a focus on entrepreneurship in research and in translating discoveries to practice.” 

New initiatives during the upcoming grant period include:

• Innovation as a Discipline
• Biomedical Modeling
• Integrating Special Populations
• Clinical Trial Recruitment and Efficiency
• Clinical Trial Innovation
• Multidisciplinary Team Science

Funding is being provided through NIH’s National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences.