When: September 1, 2007
Institute: National Center for Research Resources (NCRR)

In September, NIH announced the 12 academic health centers that will now join the Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) consortium. Led by NCRR, the CTSA program enables researchers to provide new treatments more efficiently and quickly to patients.

The consortium now includes 24 health centers from across the country. When fully implemented in 2012, 60 institutions will be linked together to energize the discipline of clinical and translational science.

The newest members of the consortium bring together diverse organizations, such as health care providers and nonprofits, and the new awards include partnerships with three minority research centers, three institutions led by women principal investigators, and connections with four national primate research centers, which will help bring discoveries in animal models more quickly into clinical practice.

Applications for the next round of CTSAs are due in November, and awards expected in June 2008.

Next Steps
You can find more information on the CTSA program and its grantees at www.ctsaweb.org or the NCRR Web site at www.ncrr.nih.gov/ctsa.asp.