Dr. Jill Joseph (l) of Children’s National Medical Center and Dr. Peter Hotez of George Washington University talk with research participant Wendy White and her son Mekhi White, age 5 months. Photo: Paula Darte

NIH has awarded nine new health research centers with Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSAs). In total, the new awards will provide an estimated $255 million over 5 years to help scientists bridge laboratory discoveries to patient treatments. Led by the National Center for Research Resources, the CTSAs enable NIH-funded scientists to collaborate nationwide and with other NIH institutes and centers to advance research.

“A critical goal of biomedical research is to transform discoveries into preventions, treatments and cures,” said NIH director Dr. Francis Collins. “By working together, CTSAs are removing barriers to research, training new generations of clinical and laboratory research teams and providing them with the equipment and resources they need.”

Now in its fourth year, the CTSA consortium has generated resources that transform the research and training environment to enhance the efficiency and quality of clinical and translational research. Examples include a web-based national recruitment registry that connects researchers with volunteers interested in participating in clinical studies, establishing public-private partnerships and a portal that connects researchers with potential investigational drugs that may be useful in new ways.

The 2010 CTSAs expand consortium representation in new areas including New Mexico, Virginia and the District of Columbia, growing the consortium to 55 member institutions in 28 states and the District of Columbia. When the program is fully implemented in 2011, it will support approximately 60 CTSAs across the nation.

The nine newly awarded institutions are: Children’s National Medical Center, Washington, D.C.; Georgetown University with Howard University; Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee; University of California, Irvine; University of California, San Diego; University of Massachusetts, Worcester; University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque; University of Southern California; Virginia Commonwealth University.

For more information, visit www.ncrr.nih.gov/ctsa.