Clinical and Translational Science Research Infrastructure

Lack of Investment in US Family Medicine Research

Although it is the largest funder of biomedical research, the National Institute of Health, spent only 0.2% of its budget in 2021 on family medicine research.4 Despite being the largest specialty in the US Health system, primary care investment pales in comparison to other developed nations.5 This underinvestment impacts clinical care.6

                 

Clinical and Translational Science Research Infrastructure in the United States

Building clinical and translational research infrastructure is essential for advancing primary care science and improving community health. Two key NIH programs support this goal: the Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) program, led by NCATS, and the Institutional Development Award for Clinical and Translational Research (IDeA-CTR) program, led by NIGMS. While they differ in geographic scope and institutional eligibility, both programs aim to accelerate the translation of research into practice, support the development of the clinical and translational workforce, and foster partnerships between researchers, clinicians, and communities.

Understanding what applies to you and how to access these resources:

Clinical and Translational Science Awards 

The Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) through the National Institute for Health (NIH) supports a national network of medical institutions that speeds the translation of research discoveries into improved care. This program nurtures the field of translational science through education, training, and support.  Connect with your local NIH Funded CTSA Hub to identify Funding Opportunities and access other resources

  • A Guide to using NIH RePORTER can help departments search for grant opportunities, track awarded grants, understand funding timelines and identify CTSA Principal Investigators (PIs)

Institutional Development Award for Clinical and Translational Research (IDeA-CTR)

The IDeA-CTR program, funded by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), is a federal initiative designed to build and strengthen clinical and translational research infrastructure in underserved and historically underfunded states. These often include rural regions and institutions that lack access to large, research-intensive networks. Through multi-institutional centers, the program supports pilot funding for early-stage investigators, mentorship and career development, core research resources, and community-engaged research. If you are located in an IDeA state, access NIGMS Funding Opportunities

Clinical and Translational Research Infrastructure Network (CTR-IN)

As part of the NIH’s IDeA-CTR program, the Clinical and Translational Research Infrastructure Network (CTR-IN) supports institutions in 13 IDeA-eligible states that often lack the centralized infrastructure of larger academic centers (largely in the Mountain West Region). Through pilot funding, mentoring, and shared research support, CTR-IN helps build research capacity in areas where family medicine departments and primary care research are often critical to population health. Connect with your local program to identify MW CTR-IN Funding Opportunities

Want to build Research Capacity?

Early steps in collaboration - “Getting started with community-based research” based on the JABFM article, “Building Family Medicine Research Through Community Engagement: Leveraging Federal Awards to Develop Infrastructure

The seven strategic opportunities for family medicine to expand its research capacity and impact, based on the JABFM article, “Leveraging the Clinical Translational Science Award Network to Advance Family Medicine Research”

  • Community Engagement with those interested and affected

  • PBRNs

  • Research Training, Education and Workforce Development

  • Research Services and Pilot 

  • Alignment for Health Informatics Adoption and Integration

  • Clinical & Translational Science Research Programs

  • Apply to Establish a new CTSA

Case Study: The Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School Department of Family Medicine and Community Health Story shows how community-engaged research infrastructure positioned a department to lead a CTSA community core

Importance of Relationship and Networking

While the traditional focus has often favored specialty/internal medicine partnerships through disease-oriented research rather than a whole-person community-engaged approach, many projects, initiatives, and coordinated support activities can advance family medicine. Additionally, introducing new research opportunities has encouraged  Clinical and Translational Programs to increase primary care involvement. 

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Advantages of working with Clinical and Translational Programs

  • Utilize Existing Infrastructure, Networks and Partnerships:
    • Opportunities for multisite collaborations
    • Supported community-focused research initiatives
    • PBRN Development - internal and external
    • Enhanced visibility and assistance in securing letters of support
  • Leadership Integration:
    • Guiding community-engaged research initiatives and actively assuming leadership roles or serving as core faculty members.
    • The role of family medicine in providing internal traction, making leadership more effective in driving these efforts
  • Mentorship and Fellowship:
    • Support research/scholarly activities for residents
    • Guide career or academic development
    • Educational and Scholarship Opportunities
  • Learning and Cultural Engagement:
    • Access to webinars, symposiums, and cultural programs
    • Improved quality improvement capacity
    • Access to boilerplates, facilities and resources information
    • Training series focused on grant writing skills
    • Biostatistical support, research methods, grants management, bioinformatics, and research training.1

 Clinical and Translational Programs can significantly benefit from collaborating with family medicine departments because they provide a direct access point to diverse patient populations within a community, enabling researchers to conduct impactful studies that better reflect real-world healthcare needs, while also facilitating community engagement and practice-based research crucial for translating findings into practice.  

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Advantages of working with Family Medicine Departments

  • Most healthcare in the U.S. is delivered by primary care clinicians and family medicine dominates this workforce. Family physicians treat the broadest range of conditions and illnesses among all specialties with the most clinic-based patients visits, seeing patients of all ages and genders, requiring all types of care from acute episodic, to treatment of chronic conditions, to preventive care. In addition, a large proportion of populations categorized as vulnerable, marginalized or underserved are cared for by family physicians. 1,2,3   

  • Family medicine has a strong rapport with patients and community stakeholders with a deep understanding of people and institutions resulting in relationships and knowledge that cannot be replicated.

  • Family medicine practitioners are well-poised to inform questions, participate in and lead research; but CTSI expertise and formal research training is needed to succeed with greater research participation. 

  • The request for applications now restricts pilot awards to translational science compared to the broader translational research area. This is a key opportunity for family physicians with skills that intuitively translate (i.e. what works for what groups and in what context).

  • Primary care regularly applies population health and quality improvement strategies as part of value-based care arrangements that can be leveraged to inform family medicine research

  • Family medicine can accelerate scholarly research as well as clinical and translational science, resulting in a phenomenal impact on public health through collaboration and innovation.

    • Rural Health Initiatives

    • Community Engagement

    • Wellness Visits & Preventative Care 

    • Chronic Disease Management

    • AI Research, Health Informatics

    • Health Equity

    • Leverage of Practice Based Research Networks

For questions and updates on the strategic plan, please reach out to Shannon Robinson (srobinson@napcrg.org).