The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Translational Research Institute brought together more than 60 researchers and leaders from nine Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) institutions Sept. 18–19 for the annual meeting of the Consortium of Rural States (CORES).
Over two days, attendees focused on the shared mission of improving health in rural communities, with sessions ranging from implementation science and community partnerships to dental health integration and strategies for strengthening the rural health care workforce.
Geoffrey Curran, Ph.D., director of the UAMS Center for Implementation Research and a pioneer in the field, opened the meeting by highlighting how implementation science can help rural communities benefit more quickly from proven health solutions.
“Implementation science is about more than proving that an intervention works, it’s about figuring out how to make it work in the real world,” said Curran, who also leads the Translational Research Institute’s Implementation Science Scholars Program.
For Philip Kern, M.D., director of the University of Kentucky Center for Clinical and Translational Science, the value of CORES lies in collaboration.
“As institutions with large rural populations, we all face many of the same challenges,” Kern said. “The CORES network gives us the chance to learn from each other and build solutions together.”
Patricia Winokur, M.D., director of the University of Iowa Institute for Clinical and Translational Science, echoed the importance of taking ideas to scale.
“We’re at the point where we need to start implementing the solutions that are working in one state and testing them in others,” she said. “That includes looking at sustainability, such as new payment models for pharmacy-based care, and innovative partnerships in areas like dental health.”
This year’s meeting also highlighted UAMS’ leadership role. For the past year, the Translational Research Institute managed all administrative oversight duties for CORES. The responsibility rotates annually among the consortium’s members; UAMS assumed it from Kentucky in 2024 and has now passed it to Iowa.
“Hosting this year’s meeting was a privilege and an opportunity to demonstrate UAMS’ strong commitment to rural health,” said Institute Director Laura James, M.D. “We are proud to have coordinated the consortium’s work over the past year, and we look forward to continuing partnerships that bring innovative health solutions to rural communities.”
The meeting also welcomed the Medical University of South Carolina Clinical and Translational Research Institute as the consortium’s newest member. With its addition, the consortium now includes nine CTSA hubs, representing states with large rural populations across the country.
Other sites are: University of Utah Health Clinical & Translational Science Institute, Southwest Center for Advancing Clinical & Translational Innovation (University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center and University of Arizona), Frontiers Clinical and Translational Science Institute at the University of Kansas, University of Kentucky Center for Clinical and Translational Science, University of Iowa Institute for Clinical and Translational Science, Dartmouth SYNERGY Clinical and Translational Science Institute and Penn State University Clinical and Translational Science Institute.
The agenda reflected the importance of CORES’ mission: exploring the sustainability of evidence-based programs, testing new models of workforce retention, and creating opportunities for decentralized clinical trials in rural communities.
As Curran emphasized, implementation science can serve as the bridge from research to practice. “By working together, we can ensure that rural patients benefit from innovations in health care more quickly and more effectively.”