Programs | West Virginia Clinical and Translational Science Institute

WVCTSI Programs

Biomedical Informatics Resources - The Biomedical Informatics Resources program overall goal is to contribute to the development of robust clinical and translational research projects that have enhanced extramural competitiveness by virtue, in part, of their utilization of unique clinical data. Through this effort our increased pool of funded clinical and translational investigators will have the capacity to contribute to improved healthcare of West Virginians by completion of research shaped by existing data relevant to the Appalachian population's well-documented health care disparities, relative to the rest of the nation, that are evident in the clinical data derived from this unique population. The program has established a data warehouse for research purposes, the Integrated Data Repository (IDR), to provide investigators access to this valuable clinical information. Our goals are to enable access to clinical data throughout the entire state of WV, provide the tools and infrastructure needed by researchers to perform clinical and translational research, and ultimately contribute to the reduction of healthcare disparities in West Virginia and at the national level.

Clinical & Translational Pilot Grants Program - This program provides a mechanism for soliciting and awarding clinical, translational, and community engagement projects, from concept to competitiveness for external funding. The primary goal of the pilot funding mechanism in to increase the number of clinical and translational investigators who are positioned to secure extramurally funded investigations. The program encompasses peer review; the mentoring of junior investigators; IRB/ACUC compliance; the development of novel concepts, approaches, and development of innovative methodologies; disclosures of intellectual property; new technology transfers; and access to resources and scientific expertise. Through support of preliminary clinical and translational projects, the program enhances our nationally competitive clinical and translational investigator base and establishes wider breadth of clinical and translational research. To accomplish this goal, the program will promote the establishment of patient- and population-oriented research programs and clinical and translational research from bench to bedside involving WVU and its regional campuses, and our partnering institutions.

Clinical Research Design, Epidemiology, & Biostatistics - The NIH has articulated in its roadmap the need to "re-engineer" the current system of research to provide an infrastructure that better supports scientific discovery and the translation of basic science to clinical application. Inherent to its focus, the Clinical Research Design, Epidemiology, and Biostatistics program of the WVCTSI will provide a transdisciplinary team of biostatisticians and epidemiologists who will work collaboratively with clinical and translational researchers statewide, including the WVU regional campuses and our partner institutions. Through leveraging of strong but limited existing resources along with targeted recruitment of additional resources, the program can assist in transforming the research infrastructure available to our new generation of investigators. In turn, the program will aid in the development of projects that address the health disparities that exist in WV and bring optimal benefit to our Appalachian patient populations.

Clinical Research Education, Mentoring, & Career Development - West Virginia is recognized nationally for its many health disparities. The mission of the Clinical Research Education, Mentoring, and Career Development program of the WVCTSI is to educate a workforce of trained health professionals and scientists (especially clinical faculty) to be competitive for NIH funding to support research aligned with the major diseases impacting the state's population. For the health sciences center (HSC) at West Virginia University (WVU), accomplishing this goal will greatly facilitate its ability to transform the health and health care of West Virginians and Appalachians. To achieve this mission, the WVCTSI offers an educational platform and infrastructure to train and mentor junior, clinical faculty with the goal of having these faculty lead a clinical and translational research project with external funding. Educational offerings and mentoring are also targeted toward mid-career clinical faculty who are transitioning their research from basic biomedical to clinical and translational science and toward clinical fellows and residents interested in academic careers.

Community Engagement & Outreach - The WVCTSI, centered at West Virginia's only land grant university, has the opportunity and obligation to conduct and translate research to improve the health of our patients and our communities. This requires mutually beneficial research partnerships among health care providers, lay community members, and academic researchers, to ensure community trust and research relevance; improve the representativeness, quality, and utility of data within our communities; and facilitate the rapid translation of research into health policies and practices that address our most pressing health disparities. West Virginia needs a centralized, accessible, and institutionally-supported infrastructure to foster, coordinate and conduct community-engaged and practice-based research. The CDC-funded Prevention Research Center (PRC) and Injury Control Research Center (ICRC), and the NIH-funded Health Sciences and Technology Academy (HSTA) are key leaders in this cultural transformation. Their missions all include community engagement and knowledge translation, and collectively, they possess an extensive and complementary skill set for community-engaged and practice-based research. Transformations that result in culturally-competent researchers and engaged, empowered, and knowledgeable communities increase community trust for and participant enrollment in research. Our vision is simple: Research outcomes that improve real-life conditions. WVU's exceptionally strong academic-state partnerships and existing health centers/institutes are the catalysts to drive this vision forward.

Ethics, Regulatory Knowledge & Support - The long-term objectives for the WVCTSI is to establish a competitive CTSA infrastructure and expand the Institute's capacity to conduct clinical and translational research in order to achieve the ultimate goal of eliminating health and healthcare disparities amongst West Virginians/Appalachians. The Ethics, Regulatory Knowledge, and Other support (ERKS) core will coordinate components of the individual regulatory programs, integrate training and education, establish or enhance contract and technology transfer guidelines, and develop an overarching program in research ethics and the responsible conduct of research (RCR). This will ensure regulatory compliance and facilitate the conduct of clinical and translational research for all institutions across the state of WV, and with our IDeA partner, the University of Kentucky in the region.

Tracking, Evaluation & Quality Improvement Program - The WVCTSI requires rigorous, ongoing tracking and evaluation to ensure that overall goals are achieved. The Tracking, Evaluation and Quality Improvement Program will be responsible for gathering data, analyzing them to determine whether or not adequate progress is being made toward each overall CTR Aim, and whether each core is effectively carrying out their planned activities and progressing toward meeting their specific aims. TEQuIP will assist each program in their evaluation process, empowering core personnel to prevent, recognize, and solve their own problems rather than simply conducting prescribed activities. TEQuIP will be housed in the Program Evaluation and Research Center of the College of Human Resources & Education at West Virginia University, allowing it increased autonomy and external perspective from which to develop and recommend process changes when necessary. TEQuIP will be mission driven, results-oriented, and transparent in its tracking, evaluation, and quality improvement efforts.