University of Florida Clinical and Translational Science Institute: Transformation and Translation in Personalized Medicine

Abstract

We are constantly reflecting on whether and how our efforts are transformational as we work to achieve the ambitious goals articulated for the University of Florida’s Clinical and Translational Science Institute (UF CTSI). As the only Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) recipient in the fourth most populous state, the UF CTSI must aim to support research and improve health care for 19 million Floridians, 6% of the US population. The strong commitment of our university leadership and a team-science approach has enabled us to move swiftly in the context of a very large comprehensive public research university. The UF CTSI involves two major health systems, agricultural extension offices in all 67 counties in Florida, and numerous partners throughout the state. All of UF’s 16 colleges* participate in the CTSI, which supports 140 faculty and staff; 10 programs; 13 clinical research units; five core labs; and six educational programs. As we enter year three of our grant, the UF CTSI is launching a Personalized Medicine Program – a feat made possible by the transformational changes championed by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), its National Center for Research Resources (NCRR) and the CTSA program. We share this as one of many examples unfolding across the country in which CTSA institutions are adding new capacity for translational research, which in turn is leading to new approaches for how we translate scientific discoveries into medical practice – a need around which the NIH is vigorously seeking to catalyze new breakthroughs.1