Translational Science in Focus: Improving, Innovating, Implementing

As we embark on the latest chapter of our journey as a Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) Hub, the NUCATS Institute is poised to advance translational science through a renewed focus on continual Improvement, Innovation, and Implementation.

Improvement fuels our commitment to reimagine how we catalyze and accelerate translational science. Through dynamic clinical partnerships across disciplines, NUCATS is leveraging the expertise of clinical and translational researchers, data scientists, engineers, academic clinicians, and community collaborators to develop the translational workforce of the next generation. These efforts ensure that novel insights from multiple perspectives are efficiently translated into real-world solutions that improve health and healthcare outcomes for all.

Innovation drives us to harness cutting-edge methods to transform ideas into impactful interventions. By supporting entrepreneurial investigators and expanding regulatory, recruitment and retention, research ethics, implementation science, data science, and other resources/expertise, NUCATS continues to bridge discovery to bold and rigorous translational research. Our inventive approaches are designed to accelerate new, generalizable solutions and interventions for the most pressing health challenges.  

Implementation ensures those innovations reach everyone who could benefit. NUCATS is infusing implementation science throughout the translational continuum, transforming evidence-based research into sustainable improvements in clinical practice to improve population health. Our nationally leading expertise in dissemination and implementation science allows us to optimize scaling up at every stage of translation — from early discovery to clinical and community impact — maximizing impact for all.

Our team has also matured and grown synergies across our components and constituencies over the prior year, demonstrating resilience. As we reflect on our accomplishments and look ahead, NUCATS remains dedicated to evaluating and optimizing our efforts to keep pace with an ever-evolving scientific landscape. The improvements, innovation, and implementation that define our work will continue to shape a healthier future for all.

Written by Richard D’Aquila, Sara Becker, and Clyde Yancy