UI Carver College of Medicine lands $28 million grant to take clinical research out into rural communities
The University of Iowa Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine has received a seven-year, $28 million Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The grant is focused on extending the reach and benefit of clinical and translational research into communities across Iowa by fostering multidisciplinary collaboration across the university and the state.
“Our overarching goal is to get research out beyond the confines of our academic medical center to benefit citizens throughout the state, including those in rural settings,” says Patricia Winokur, MD, executive dean of the UI Carver College of Medicine and co-director of the Institute for Clinical and Translational Science (ICTS).
Winokur leads the CTSA grant at the UI along with Marlan Hansan, MD, FACS, chair and departmental executive officer of the Department of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery.
The award, which supports the ICTS and is the fourth renewal of this grant for the UI since 2007, is aimed at fostering strong partnerships between academic medicine and patients and providers in rural communities. This can help overcome geographical barriers and effectively address rural health disparities to improve the well-being of traditionally underserved populations.
Winokur and Murray is widening the understanding at both ends of the bench-to-bedside continuum.
“The CTSA grant renewal will allow us to continue strengthening our statewide networks of primary care providers, pharmacy providers, physical therapy practices, and other allied health providers who help us engage rural populations in research closer to their homes,” Winokur explains. “We will also use the funding to train our scientists to work in multidisciplinary teams that value integration of community and allied health providers into research.”
The CTSA grant supports collaboration across five different colleges: the Carver College of Medicine, the College of Public Health, The Tippie College of Business, the College of Pharmacy and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
Our overarching goal is to get research out beyond the confines of our academic medical center to benefit citizens throughout the state, including those in rural settings
“Academic medical centers, like University of Iowa Health Care, excel at discovering and developing new therapies and technologies to treat illness. But to truly advance health care and improve patient outcomes, we need to move those discoveries beyond our walls and get them into the communities where that will make people’s lives and health better,” says Brooks Jackson, MD, MBA, UI vice president for medical affairs and the Tyrone D. Artz Dean of the Carver College of Medicine.
“The exceptional work of the CTSA team under the leadership of Dr. Winokur and Dr. Hansen is putting that goal into practice and accelerating the adoption of the most up-to-date therapies and technologies to improve patient care no matter where people live,” Jackson says.