One year of bridge funding was great news last year for the Translational Research Institute (TRI), but it set the stage for a big challenge.
While the September 2017 Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) allowed TRI time to strengthen its next application for five years of funding, it meant producing a fourth CTSA application in four years, a mammoth undertaking for TRI Director Laura James, M.D., and numerous faculty and TRI staff.
Work on the application began almost immediately after the bridge award was announced, said James, also UAMS associate vice chancellor for clinical and translational science.
“We dedicated ourselves to the application, but we also remained committed to our ongoing initiatives and innovative plans in collaboration with research leaders across our hub [UAMS, Arkansas Children’s Hospital (ACH), Arkansas Children’s Research Institute (ACRI), and Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System (CAVHS)],” she said.
1,864 Pages
“Until you’ve been in the middle of this type of grant application, it’s hard to understand the amount of work involved in weaving together a consistent and compelling story that clearly explains the incredible progress achieved at UAMS since our first CTSA grant in 2009, as well as the exciting vision we have for the future,” James said.
The latest journey concluded on May 24, 2018, when James and 32 other UAMS faculty submitted the 1,864-page document to the NIH National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS). TRI is seeking five years of funding – $26.1 million – in an application with three funding components: the main component, an Institutional Career Development Core (KL2 Program) and National Research Service Award Training Core (the Health Sciences Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program).
The application describes numerous core strengths at UAMS and how various research champions at UAMS, ACH, and CAVHS will work as a team to enhance the health of Arkansans through transformative research.
Challenges and Opportunities
TRI’s strategy for the application was to craft a story that reflected the unique challenges and opportunities in Arkansas.
“Our clinical and education footprint around the state is very strong, as reflected by the numerous outreach clinics and expansive telemedicine program,” she said.
The application emphasizes plans for not just strengthening UAMS’ research footprint, but also for addressing the needs of Arkansas’ underrepresented communities.
“For our research to be relevant for Arkansans, it really needs to engage those who traditionally have not been in the center of clinical and translational research,” James said. “It needs to align with the health care needs of special populations, including children and older adults, as well as underrepresented minorities, and individuals with low health literacy.”
The quality partnerships that TRI has developed with other CTSA sites over the last four years strengthens the application. “We have partnerships that are centered on research itself, as well as partnerships that address research processes, such as grant reviews, or that are building off our successes in engaging community members to help us with decision-making,” James said.
Washington Delegation
UAMS and TRI leaders were buoyed by the May 7 visit from a delegation that included NCATS Director Christopher Austin, M.D., staff from U.S. Sen. John Boozman’s office and the Senate Health and Human Services (HHS) Appropriations Subcommittee.
The day began with welcomes from James and Donald R. Bobbitt, Ph.D., president of the University of Arkansas System, followed by 17 faculty and a community representative giving brief presentations highlighting individual scientific programs and/or TRI programs. Faculty from informatics, pharmacy, public health, pediatrics, psychiatry, family and preventive medicine, pharmacology and toxicology, biochemistry, and internal medicine gave presentations, as did research leaders from ACRI and CAVHS. The day concluded with a small-group discussion that included new UAMS Chancellor Cam Patterson, M.D., MBA, and Lawrence Cornett, Ph.D., UAMS vice chancellor for research.
Congressional staff attending were:
- Laura Friedel, staff director/clerk, HHS Appropriations Subcommittee, U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations
- Mackensie Burt, Legislative Director, Office of U.S. Senator John Boozman
NCATS representatives attending with Austin were:
- Adrienne Hallett, associate director, Office of Legislative Policy and Analysis, NIH
- Pamela McInnes, D.D.S., M.Sc., deputy director, NCATS, NIH
- Michael Kurilla, M.D., Ph.D., director, Clinical Innovation, NCATS, NIH
- Mary Purucker, M.D., Ph.D., director, CTSA Program Hubs, Clinical Innovation Division, NCATS, NIH
- Samantha Jonson, MPS, special assistant to the director, NCATS, NIH
“We were encouraged with the nature of the questions from NCATS as well as their comments about our programs,” James said. “It was clear that we are on the right path.”
While “third time’s a charm” is the best known maxim, James said she would be happy to make it “four’s a charm” for this CTSA application.
“I feel confident that we’ve delivered a competitive application,” she said.