More than $82 million NIH grant to propel CCTS forward

The Center for Clinical and Translational Science based at the University of Alabama at Birmingham has been awarded four grants from the National Center for Advancing Translational Science, part of the National Institutes of Health, totaling $82 million over seven years.

Effective May 1, 2024, the four linked grants represent record-breaking funding for the center that will transform the future of clinical and translational science and outcomes across the Deep South. The CCTS is one of over 60 programs nationally funded by the Clinical and Translational Science Award program from NCATS.

Since its establishment in 2008, CCTS’s mission is to capitalize on the unique expertise and capacity in translational science in the Deep South to enhance the translation of fundamental and clinical research into improvements for human health and health care delivery.

In 2015, to nurture research more broadly, the CCTS expanded to create the CCTS Partner Network — which engages 11 academic health centers, research institutes and universities in Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi through strategic partnerships — as the foundation of the center’s local and regional collaborative efforts. 

“The Network shares a common purpose to reduce the burden of chronic diseases and health disparities that disproportionately affect the underrepresented and special populations in the Deep South,” said Robert P. Kimberly, M.D., the Howard Holley Chair in Rheumatology at UAB, senior associate dean for Strategic Initiatives and CCTS co-director.

“For more than 15 years, CCTS has been at the forefront of driving scientific innovation and collaboration at UAB and across our tri-state Partner Network,” said Orlando M. Gutiérrez, M.D., the Marie S. Ingalls Endowed Chair in Nephrology Leadership at UAB, senior associate dean for Clinical and Translational Research, and director of the CCTS. “This new award will ensure that we will continue to harness the tremendous collaborative synergies across the Network to accelerate the discovery, dissemination and implementation of new interventions to improve the health of our communities.”

UM1 grant

The CCTS’ new UM1 grant serves as the cornerstone of this mission by further developing a well-trained workforce in translational science, by developing a highly integrated digital ecosystem encompassing clinical and biomedical informatics, by involving our communities in engaged partnership to identify challenges and create approaches to solutions, and by nurturing a vibrant and efficient research ecosystem.  

The UM1 grant, led by Gutiérrez with co-directors Kimberly and Patrick Delafontaine, M.D., executive dean at the Tulane School of Medicine, will support the mission of the CCTS in six key areas:

1. Programmatic Leadership and Shared Governance: Enhancing collaborative efforts across the CCTS Partner Network to foster discovery and accelerate health innovations.
2. Development of a Diverse Research Workforce: Expanding training programs that equip researchers with essential skills and perspectives necessary for successful clinical and translational research.
3. Community and Stakeholder Engagement: Building trusting, bidirectional relationships to ensure community needs and insights are at the forefront of research endeavors.
4. Advancements in Data Analytics and Digital Innovations: Utilizing health informatics to integrate and leverage real-world data for groundbreaking research.
5. Support for Clinical Trials and Pilot Studies: Providing specialized services and resources to uphold the highest standards of scientific rigor and ethical research.
6. Clinical and Translational Science Research Programs: Developing and testing innovative approaches to address major challenges in biomedical research, potentially setting benchmarks for other research institutions.

Linked grants

In conjunction with the UM1 grant, three NIH training grants will be funded for five years:

• The Mentored Career Development K12 Program led by Kenneth Saag, M.D., the Jane Knight Lowe Endowed Chair in UAB’s Division of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology and Department of Medicine; Renee Heffron, Ph.D., director for UAB’s Center for AIDS Research; and Lucio Miele, M..D, at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center.
• The National Research Service Award predoctoral T32 led by Jennifer Pollock, Ph.D., professor of medicine in UAB’s Division of Nephrology, and Lydia Bazzano, M.D., at Tulane University.
• The National Research Service Award postdoctoral T32 led by Bertha Hidalgo, Ph.D., associate professor in the UAB School of Public Health, and Tonette Krousel-Wood, M.D., at Tulane University.

These grants reinforce the CCTS’ dedication to fostering the next generation of clinical and translational scientists. Each program emphasizes a unique aspect of training — from nurturing early career researchers to integrating dissemination and implementation science — forming a comprehensive approach to addressing health disparities.

“This transformative grant for UAB’s CCTS will continue to enable our brightest researchers to advance biomedical research from the laboratory, clinic and community into interventions that improve health outcomes and offer more treatment options,” said Anupam Agarwal, M.D., senior vice president of Medicine and dean of the UAB Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine.

The grant number is UM1TR004771.