CTSA

If you work or study at Penn State and you haven't heard this acronym (CTSA), you probably will sometime soon. And if you don't, it is a rather large effort that is good to know about.

CTSA stands for Clinical and Translational Science Award and is a program funded out of the National Institutes of Health. NIH is replacing the GCRC (General Clinical Research Center) program with the CTSA program. Penn State was awarded a GCRC back in 1985. While I'm no expert on it, I have been volunteered to co-chair the Biomedical Informatics group that is part of the Penn State effort to develop and submit a successful CTSA proposal. There are 8 groups in total that are developing plans in all sorts of areas:

* Development of Novel Clinical and Translational Methodologies
* Pilot and Collaborative Translational and Clinical Studies
* Biomedical Informatics
* Design, Biostatistics, and Clinical Research Ethics
* Regulatory Knowledge and Support
* Participant and Clinical Interactions Resources
* Community Engagement
* Translational Technologies and Resources
* Research Education, Training and Career Development

Lots more information about the elements of a CTSA proposal and award can be found
on NIH's grants pages. There is hardly an academic discipline that isn't involved in this, it truly is a Penn State effort. I'd love to hear if anyone else bumps into CTSA conversations and goings-on over the next year or so.