University of Notre DameNotre Dame Partners with Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (ICTSI)
The University of Notre Dame has been accepted as a formal partner in the Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (ICTSI), a medical research initiative designed to systematically transform medical discoveries into improved patient care and business opportunities.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) awarded a five-year Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) of $25 million to the Indiana University School of Medicine in mid-2008 to fund ICTSI activities at IU and Purdue University. The NIH created the clinical and translational awards program to improve the process by which the laboratory discoveries of basic science are transformed into new medical treatments and products — a process called translational research. View Press Release
The CTSA initiative is led by the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR) at the NIH and is a significant part of the NIH Roadmap for Medical Research. The NIH actively encourages collaborations of basic researchers, translational researchers, and clinicians and increasingly values team science and multiple PI awards. The ICTSI is a pathway for Notre Dame researchers to build such teams and collaborations.
Researcher Brian Baker receives ICTSI Grant
Brian M. Baker, Ph.D., associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry, and Samy Meroueh, Ph.D., assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biology IU School of Medicine, were one of 12 teams of Indiana scientists that have been awarded the first grants from the Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (ICTSI). These awards are meant to foster collaborative efforts to develop new medical treatments and services.
The teams, each of which received a $75,000 CTSI Collaboration in Biomedical/Translational Research Pilot Program Grant, include researchers from the University of Notre Dame, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indiana University, and Purdue University. The grants are meant to help Indiana scientists conduct early-stage research projects that will lead to grant awards from external sources, such as the National Institutes of Health. To foster collaboration, each grant proposal had to include participation from scientists from two or more of the sponsoring academic campuses.