The Clinical and Translational Science Institute of Southeast Wisconsin (CTSI), of which Marquette University is a partner, will be funded through a Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) given to the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW).
The five-year, $24.4 million grant is the third CTSA award for the CTSI, which was founded in 2010 with a $20 million award. That was followed by a $22.5 million grant in 2015.
The CTSI comprises Marquette, MCW, Children’s Wisconsin, Clement Zablocki VA Medical Center, Froedtert Hospital, Milwaukee School of Engineering, the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee and Versiti Blood Center of Wisconsin.
“This grant renewal is great news for the CTSI and our partner institutions, as the institute has been able to have a direct impact on the health and wellness of southeastern Wisconsin,” said Dr. Jeanne Hossenlopp, vice president for research and innovation. “The CTSI has been integral in breaking down barriers and bringing together eight different entities, matching strengths and fostering rich collaboration. The number of grants and projects going forward through this partnership is impressive and it is all for the greater good of southeastern Wisconsin”
The CTSI is advancing health in Wisconsin through research and discovery by bringing together leaders across the translational research spectrum to share resources, research, technology, and expertise. CTSI has accelerated the translation of research discoveries into patient care and has created a solid foundation that brings new therapies/interventions to patients, improves health outcomes, and builds training programs and community engagement.
Using innovative mechanisms, CTSI members work to translate research discoveries more quickly into preventive, diagnostic and therapeutic interventions for patients. During the past five years, CTSI service centers have supported almost 1,300 research studies/projects.
The composition of the CTSI is unique nationally because of the engagement of three degree-granting academic institutions outside of MCW, three large hospital/healthcare systems, and a large research-intensive blood center. This allows for research resources and opportunities for collaboration for the faculty and students of each of the partnering institutions.
Participation in this consortium has expanded opportunities for academic, medical and clinical research within Milwaukee. Among the impacts on the university, the CTSI has supported numerous research collaborations between Marquette faculty and colleagues at the partner institutions. Graduate students have also received support through assistantships in the College of Health Sciences doctoral program in clinical research as well as through competitive mentored training grants open to students in a variety of academic programs.
The CTSA program is a part of the National Institutes of Health’s National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences. Under NCATS’ leadership, the CTSA supports a national network of medical research institutions that work together to improve the translational research process to get more treatments to more patients more quickly. These hubs collaborate locally and regionally to catalyze innovation in training, research tools and processes. This support enables research teams including scientists, patient advocacy organizations and community members to tackle system-wide scientific and operational problems in clinical and translational research that no one team can overcome.