UW-Madison approves new research institute

The University of Wisconsin–Madison recently approved a new research entity, the Institute for Clinical and Translational Research (ICTR).

The goal of the institute is to transform health research so that discoveries flow along a continuum from basic and clinical investigation to translation into practice. The result should lead to practical improvements in the health of Wisconsin residents.

Located in the Health Sciences Learning Center on the west end of the UW–Madison campus, the ICTR is a collaboration of four UW health sciences schools — Medicine and Public Health (SMPH), Nursing, Pharmacy and Veterinary Medicine — and the College of Engineering. A strong partnership with Marshfield Clinic and its research arm, the Marshfield Clinic Research Foundation, is also a key feature.

"These working relationships will stimulate teamwork across Wisconsin that extends from basic science investigations to research in clinics and communities," says ICTR director Marc K. Drezner, SMPH associate dean for clinical and translational research.

Drezner is also the program director for the UW General Clinical Research Center (GCRC), a specialized research unit in UW Hospital and Clinics. He has both a basic and clinical research background, and is section head for endocrinology, diabetes, and metabolism. The ICTR associate director is Christine Sorkness, a professor in the UW School of Pharmacy and a clinical researcher.

With support from UW and the Wisconsin Partnership Program in hand, the ICTR is already working on initial objectives, hopeful that next fall the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will fund a $65 million five-year Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) grant application that Drezner and his team submitted in January.

"When the CTSA is funded, UW’s federally funded GCRC and its TEAM research training program will become part of the institute," he explains. "Until then, both programs will continue to operate with their current NIH funding."

The ICTR consists of four cores providing support and service to researchers: education, biostatistics/medical bioinformatics, clinical and population-based research, and community-academic partnerships.

In addition, a centralized regulatory/grants management office will aid investigators with grants and budgets; ensure compliance and subject safety in ongoing research studies; offer standardized training to research nurses, coordinators and bio-nutritionists; and strengthen services in the SMPH Office of Clinical Trials to help streamline the movement of protocols through the Institutional Review Board, the GCRC and other review mechanisms.

Dedicated to inclusion and a multidisciplinary approach, the ICTR focuses on the NIH’s new "Roadmap Initiative," which is expecting all U.S. academic institutions to combine their strong health research groups and dollars into CTSA-funded institutes or centers.

"The result will be nationwide changes in university- and community-based research, away from independent ‘silos’ and toward cooperation and collaboration to improve human health," says Drezner.