Science In Translation Podcast

Priya Kumthekar, MD, didn’t have industry connections or commercialization training when she started working with small companies to help bring scientific advancements to her patients with brain tumors. She learned along the way the many steps it takes to bring new scientific breakthroughs to the marketplace specifically through clinical trials. In this episode, Kumthekar explains how she is now helping to streamline this commercialization process with The Chicago Biomedical Consortium Hub for Innovative Technology and Entrepreneurship in the Sciences (CBC-HITES) where she serves as a clinical trial translation guide and how NUCATS members and investigators from across Chicagoland universities and colleges can benefit from funding and training offered by the program.

Through implementation science, NUCATS is dedicated to accelerating and moving new interventions into impact that improves health for all. In this episode of Science in Translation, Amy Van Pelt, PhD, discusses her work in implementation science and its impact on global health, particularly in resource-limited settings. She shares the importance of bridging gaps between research and practice, linguistic barriers, and the cultural adaptation of health interventions through implementation science. She also shares new educational opportunities for investigators to learn more about implementation science.

In this episode of Science in Translation, Laura Rasmussen-Torvik, PhD, explains some of the innovative strategies and programs driving career development in clinical and translational science at NUCATS. She talks about her new role as co-director of the Center for Education and Career Development (CECD) at NUCATS, her journey in research and mentorship, and the intersection of career development, research excellence, and fostering a collaborative research ecosystem.

From being a pastor to becoming an assistant professor and team scientist at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Cory Bradley, PhD, is focused on integrating health equity and social justice into translational science, developing diverse communities and workforces, and creating public health interventions that benefit marginalized communities. In this episode he talks about his career path and current projects within NUCATS that align with its aims to include, innovate, and implement.

As part of $55 million recently awarded to NUCATS by the NIH's Clinical and Translational Science Awards Program, NUCATS will provide critical resources and services that empower clinical and translational research across Northwestern and its affiliates. Leah Welty, PhD and Anju Peters, MD are co-leading an effort to streamline research processes, enhance inclusivity, and foster innovation through collaborative efforts. In this episode they talk about what NUCATS members can expect as these efforts launch in the months ahead.

NIH Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) programs connect investigators with communities as well as with each other, providing opportunities for investigators from different institutions to work together. Proof of such collaboration is the relationship between NUCATS Institute member Nia Heard-Garris, MD, MBA, MSc, and Monique Jindal, MD, MPH, a member of the University of Illinois Chicago School of Medicine’s Center for Clinical and Translational Science. In this episode, they discuss their recent study on racial disparities in pediatric medicine, the challenges of researching social determinants of health, and the impact of relationships that go beyond institutional walls.

Since 2008, Northwestern University’s Alliance for Research in Chicagoland Communities (ARCC) has been bridging the gap between medical research and local communities. In this episode, ARCC Director Jen Brown, MPH, and ARCC Associate Director Sherida Morrison, MS, MA, discuss the benefits of a community-engaged approach for both scientists and community members, key considerations for investigators who want to partner with communities, and the future of the field.

 It has been 30 years since the NIH revitalization act was signed into law. This landmark legislation passed by Congress in 1993, required the inclusion of women and minorities in federally funded research. In this episode, Nicole Woitowich, PhD, Executive Director of NUCATS Institute talks about this milestone, how it has reshaped the landscape of women's health research and knowledge gaps that remain.

As the Chief AI Officer at NUCATS, Yuan Luo, PhD, is working to break down barriers by applying artificial intelligence (AI) methods to medical research and clinical practice. In this episode, he talks about his career path, the potential of AI in discovering disease mechanisms and making scientific discoveries, and how healthcare providers can start collaborating with AI experts through the NUCATS AI for Health Clinics initiative.

There are billions of dollars of funding available through government agencies such as the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA- H) for innovative research projects that could lead to new biomedical breakthroughs. In this episode, Northwestern Engineering's Jonathan Rivnay, PhD, explains how he helped build teams capable of securing such funding and how his $33 million DARPA and $45 million ARPA-H projects are progressing.

As a new faculty member and leader at NUCATS, Juan Espinoza, MD, is bringing a fresh perspective and expertise in the oversight of research informatics and analytics as applied to basic, translational, clinical, and population health sciences. In his roles as associate director of the Center for Biomedical Informatics and Data Science, which spans NUCATS and the Institute for Augmented Intelligence and Medicine at Northwestern University, and the inaugural chief research informatics officer for Stanley Manne Children's Research Institute at the Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, he has big goals to improve the lives and health of people through their lifespan.

Translating evidence-based services and programs into clinical and community practice is a NUCATS priority. There has recently been a shift within NUCATS and Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine to offer more access and new initiatives to help scientists gain knowledge in this field of study. In this episode, Sara Becker, PhD, director of the newly formed Center for Dissemination and Implementation Science within the Institute for Public Health and Medicine at Feinberg explains steps taken in recent months to make dissemination and implementation (D&I)  training more accessible to investigators and to equitably and intentionally bridge the gap between public health and medical knowledge in terms of what we know and public health and medical practice in terms of what we do.

NUCATS and Chicago State University are joining forces on a joint mission to foster cross-institution biomedical collaborations in research, training, and education and to accelerate the development of a diverse and inclusive biomedical workforce. In this episode, Matthew Fete, PhD,  Dean of Pharmaceutical Studies at Chicago State University College of Pharmacy, and Susanna McColley, MD, Director of the NUCATS Institute's TL1, Multidisciplinary Training Program in Child & Adolescent Health program, talk about the initiatives that are driving this mission and highlight successes.

There is an exciting new clinical trial about to launch at Northwestern Medicine that uses an Apple Watch and an iPhone app and could revolutionize the standard of care for many with atrial fibrillation, the most common type of heart arrhythmia in the nation. Rod Passman, MD, is leading the trial and details how the NUCATS Institute and the CTSA Trial Innovation Network helped his team secure a $37 million NIH grant to conduct this work.

NUCATS can help facilitate bringing your research to market by fostering biomedical ingenuity and entrepreneurial activities through its focus on translational innovation. In this episode, Satish Nadig, MD, PhD, discusses his experience collaborating with and starting biotechnology companies and the importance of institutional support when launching startups or exploring the commercialization of research.

Sadiya Khan, MD, MSc, was recently awarded two Research Project (R01) grants from the National Institutes of Health, a rare feat for an investigator in the earlier stages of her career. In the first episode of the NUCATS’ podcast, Science in Translation, Khan talks about the role the institute has played in her research career so far, through the KL2 Career Development Award, to access mentors, resources and more.

Northwestern University, Clinical and Translational Sciences (NUCATS) Institute is launching its first podcast, Science in Translation. Find out more about this new show in an interview with Richard D'Aquila, MD, Director of NUCATS.

Science in Translation is a podcast from the Northwestern University Clinical and Translational Sciences (NUCATS) Institute. On this show, you’ll hear from NUCATS scientists who are dedicated to accelerating how fast they can move a transformational finding in a lab into a treatment, cure, or solution that will improve human health. You will also discover tools and resources available through NUCATS to catalyze, accelerate, and transform translational science.

Funded by the NIH’s National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, the NUCATS Institute is part of a national network of CTSA hubs and is a critical component of Northwestern’s research enterprise.