U of A and UNM win joint $43.6M NIH award to help turn clinical research into practical medicine

(Press-News.org) TUCSON, Ariz. — The University of Arizona and the University of New Mexico received a seven-year, $43.6 million federal grant to fund a broad range of research programs aimed at improving the health of people living in Arizona and New Mexico, while also training a new generation of scientists and staff. 

The Clinical and Translational Science Award from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences will fund the new Southwest Center for Advancing Clinical and Translational Innovation, or SW CACTI. The National Institutes of Health CTSA consortium includes 61 of the leading academic research centers in the country. Its goal is to foster the development of programs and expertise to speed the translation of research into new treatments for people.

“We are excited to leverage our clinical and research strengths in a new partnership with the University of New Mexico,” said Tomás Díaz de la Rubia, senior vice president for research and partnerships at the U of A. “Our long history of academic and research collaboration promises to bring innovative programs and medical advances to improve the lives of people across both states.” 

The primary award, for approximately $38.8 million over seven years, will provide funding to support translational science, which helps biomedical advances more rapidly reach patients and communities. An additional $4.8 million K12 Research Training and Career Development Award will provide training and mentorship for early-career translational scientists.

“The partnership provides critical resources and support for translational research in a range of areas, such as clinical trial recruitment, medical data access and community engagement,” said Dr. Sally Radovick, who leads SW CACTI at the U of A. “Arizona shares many similarities with New Mexico, as both states have significant Native American and rural populations. We share common challenges in health care delivery. A partnership broadens the reach of CTSA programs and expertise in the Southwest. We’ve now more than doubled the number of clinical trials that investigators can participate in and that are open to the populations of both states.”

The U of A’s primary clinical partner, Banner Health, will play a key leadership role in SW CACTI.

“As the primary implementing partner for the University of Arizona’s clinical and translational research, Banner Health is tremendously excited for the SW CACTI CTSA award,” said Dr. Corey Casper, chief research officer for Banner Health and professor at the U of A College of Medicine – Tucson. “It will be invaluable in helping Banner enhance its capabilities in clinical research, accelerate research innovations to Banner patients and beyond, grow a workforce of outstanding clinical researchers, and continue to engage our community in the conduct of clinical research that is best suited to their health.”

Other collaborating Arizona academic and health care-related institutions include Arizona State University, Northern Arizona University, Mayo Clinic, Phoenix Children’s Hospital, Diné College, Flinn Foundation, Arizona Community Health Workers Association and Arizona Department of Health Services.

“The CTSA program strengthens us as an academic institution,” said Patricia Prelock, U of A provost and chief academic officer. “It brings new resources for our faculty and students to expand their clinical research experiences, setting the stage for career growth and opportunities.” 

The CTSA will expand research efforts from the laboratory to clinical settings and into the community. Two areas of joint focus for SW CACTI researchers will be on substance use disorders and rural health initiatives.

“Implementing and disseminating health care strategies to rural areas are important CTSA priorities,” Radovick said. “Both Arizona and New Mexico are dealing with an opioid use crisis, and this program will extend opioid care to rural hospitals focused on promoting knowledge about opioid addiction treatment. Our plan is to provide additional opportunities for clinicians and practitioners to access addiction programs and medications.”

The team of translational scientists will start by studying the rollout of a new addiction consult service at UNM Hospital, said Dr. Nancy Pandhi professor in family and community medicine and UNM HSC assistant vice president of research for clinical translational research. Pandhi serves as SW CACTI’s contact principal investigator.

Among other outcomes, they will evaluate whether the new service leads more people with opioid use disorder to follow up with outpatient care after they leave the hospital. The lessons learned from this first study will be compared to those when partnering with a rural hospital. 

To advance the science necessary to lead to new breakthroughs, SW CACTI will also award pilot funds to researchers based on merit. Half of the pilot projects will be conducted solely at either the U of A or UNM, while the other half will involve collaborations between investigators working together at the two institutions.

“The CTSA grant will impact our ability to address significant health problems across both states and enable new research opportunities and collaborations locally, regionally and across the National Institutes of Health network,” said Jennifer Barton, interim vice provost for health programs at the U of A Health Sciences.

Training new researchers and staff in translational science is a major priority for SW CACTI. The U of A, in collaboration with Banner Health, and UNM will fund training of early career scientists in translational research each year over the life of the five-year K12 Research Training and Career Development Award.

“We’re building an academic and community workforce through new training programs,” Radovick said. “Supporting early stage clinical and translational researchers is critical to building healthier populations in both states.”

Both institutions will build on their extensive experience in mentoring early-career scientists. They will also expand the Clinical and Translational Research Experience program, which informs and inspires undergraduate students across the Southwest who are curious about careers as research staff

The U of A and UNM will track the outcomes of their efforts over time in four areas: economic, policy, clinical and public health benefits

The grant reported in this press release was awarded by the is supported by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, a division of the National Institutes of Health, under award number UM1TR005466. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

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