Translational Research Support
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Translational Research Support Core
The Center for Integrative Environmental Health Sciences (CIEHS) explores the etiology of chronic diseases as driven by interactions of environmental toxicants with the social domain, and influenced by life stage, genotype and sex.
The Center’s EHS identity is forged by Kentucky’s urbanrural environmental pollution exposure paradox and the Research Interest Groups (RIGS). The Translational Research Vision is to create streamlined connections between these EHS ideas and researchers to the materials, subjects and tools needed to further translate their work in ways that are collaborative, efficient, ethical and relevant to the community. In support of the CIEHS Strategic Vision, the Translational Research Core (TRSC) will build on its previous success in facilitating translation of research, using funding renewal to further expand, connect and streamline our efforts using the NIEHS Translational Research Framework (TRF) as a guide. The TRSC provides infrastructure, integration and financial support for research in four areas related to the elements of the NIEHS TRF where CIEHS has needs and expertise: Basic Science, Clinical Science, Geographic Information Sciences (GIS) and Epidemiology & Population Health. To facilitate overall integration and translational impact, the CIEHS deputy director (Matt Cave, MD, a NIEHS R35 Awardee) also serves as TRSC director. TRSC advantages CIEHS Career Development Program (CDP) participants through higher prioritization and core utilization subsidies.
The Specific Aims the CIEHS TRSC are:
Recruit and engage investigators to translational environmental health science research.
TRSC builds and maintains an agile multidisciplinary research team responsive to CIEHS’s translational research needs. TRSC’s team is active across all Center components and fosters translational research. The team educates/trains and proactively recruits/engages investigators to translational EHS research. TRSC removes obstacles by reducing the cost of research to investigators. TRSC receives and prioritizes requests for research support and is the default entry/starting point for CIEHS research.
Enhance extramurally-funded EHS research projects and foster the development of new interdisciplinary Center research through intellectual support, team science approaches, and core utilization subsidies.
TRSC provides consultations to guide investigators seeking to translate their research findings. It builds multidisciplinary teams to extend existing projects in new directions and develop new CIEHS research. These teams foster collaborative research efforts among basic scientists, clinical researchers, community engagement experts and/or public health practitioners. TRSC facilitates partnerships with community-based organizations that impact clinical and public health. It intentionally develops research projects that incorporate more than one of TRSC’s four supported research areas or are otherwise consistent with the TRF. Community-engaged research and research to improve early detection, prevention and/or therapy of environmentally related disorders is developed. TRSC manages the CIEHS Core Utilization Subsidy Program (CUSP) to financially support CIEHS projects and incentivize Core utilization. Key EHS grants currently supported by CIEHS include those from NIEHS, other NIH Institutes or Centers, and Department of Defense (DOD).
Provide access to services and resources that foster integrated and translational research and manage TRSC operations.
TRSC provides services and access to research resources in its four supported areas: Clinical Science, Basic Science, GIS and Epidemiology & Population Health. It supports overall center integration. TRSC maintains, evaluates and optimizes its core operations to meet its goals and evolves over time to meet the needs of CIEHS.
Impact
The TRSC provides the infrastructure required to develop, subsidize and conduct translational EHS research in partnership with investigators in support of the Center’s overall themes, EHS identity, strategic vision and aims.
