CTSA: Accelerating Discoveries Toward Better Health
Mayo Clinic's Center for Translational Science Activities (CTSA) is funded by the National Institute of Health's (NIH) Clinical and Translational Science Award program, grant number UL1TR000135. The CTSA program is led by the NIH's National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS).
Launched in 2006, the program has expanded to approximately 60 academic medical institutions across the country. The Mayo Clinic CTSA is part of the national consortium to improve the way biomedical research is conducted across the country. The consortium members share a common vision to reduce the time it takes for laboratory discoveries to become treatments for patients and engage communities in clinical research efforts. It is also fulfilling the critical need to train a new generation of clinical researchers.
Mayo Clinic's CTSA seeks to speed the translation of research results into therapies, tools and patient care practices that improve community health. The CTSA makes connections, finds best practices, bridges gaps, engages the community and builds on more than a century of Mayo Clinic medical research and education expertise.
The content of this website is solely the responsibility of the Mayo Clinic CTSA and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH.
News
Abstracts sought, registration open for MCHS PBRN 2013 conference
The Mayo Clinic Health System Practice-Based Research Network (MCHS PBRN) will host its 2013 conference, "Changing Views of Change: Using Practice-Based Research to Target, Manage, and Measure Change," Oct. 3-4 in Rochester, Minn.
Abstracts will be considered for either a verbal presentation or poster presence at the conference. Applications are due Tuesday, July 2, 2013, and can be submitted online.
Conference registration is required, but there is no cost to attend.
Clinical Research Unit (CRU) critical in pediatric research
Justin E. Juskewitch, a Mayo Clinic CTSA M.D.-Ph.D. candidate, credits the CRU's services in his published paper "Novel Infrastructure for Sepsis Biomarker Research in Critically Ill Neonates and Children," which was published in the journal Clinical and Translational Science.
"We utilized the Mayo CTSA Mobile CRU to facilitate around-the-clock study specimen processing," says Juskewitch. He explains further how valuable the CRU is to both pediatric and critical care research. "Without their ability to bring research resources right to the patient's bedside, this type of research would have been impossible to pursue."
Blood may hold clues to risk of memory problems after menopause, Mayo study finds
New Mayo Clinic research suggests that blood may hold clues to whether postmenopausal women may be at an increased risk for areas of brain damage that can lead to memory problems and possibly increased risk of stroke.
"This study suggests that the tendency of the blood to clot may contribute to a cascade of events leading to the development of brain damage in women who have recently gone through menopause," says study author Kejal Kantarci, M.D., of Mayo Clinic.
Meet the 2013 KL2 scholars
The Mayo Clinic CTSA welcomes three new scholars to the 2013 KL2 Mentored Career Development Program. Each scholar will work under the guidance of a senior Mayo investigator conducting multidisciplinary clinical research projects in the three-year program.
Mayo Clinic-led study identifies biomarkers for early risk assessment of acute kidney injury
Findings published in the journal Critical Care from a Mayo Clinic-led, multicenter study identify two biomarkers of acute kidney injury that can be easily measured in urine and detect affected patients roughly 12 to 36 hours earlier than current tests.
Kianoush B. Kashani, M.D., a nephrologist and intensivist at Mayo Clinic and a scholar in the CTSA's Postdoctoral Master's Degree Program, says the study's findings give physicians a tool to determine early on whether a patient is at risk.
Can humidity help prevent spread of flu virus?
Mayo Clinic predoctoral student Tyler H. Koep is testing the theory that controlling indoor humidity can help prevent the transmission of influenza. Viruses such as influenza can spread more easily in the winter because of low humidity in places such as schools, hospitals and day cares.
New Mayo Clinic CTSA directors named
The Mayo Clinic CTSA congratulates Sherine E. Gabriel, M.D., on her recent appointment as the dean of Mayo Medical School. Dr. Gabriel was appointed director of education for the CTSA in 2006 when Mayo Clinic became one of the first institutions to receive a Clinical and Translational Science Award from the National Institutes of Health. Prior to her appointment, she established the Mayo Clinic clinical and translational science education programs that are a cornerstone of the Mayo Clinic CTSA program today.
The CTSA is pleased to announce David O. Warner, M.D., as the new director of education resources and Paul V. Targonski, M.D., Ph.D., as the new director of community engagement.
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