Foreward- Partners for Success
- Statewide Education
- From Bench-to-Bedside
- Treating Stroke
- Making a Difference
- Following in Their Footsteps
- Faculty Profile
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- In Memoriam
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The Institute for Clinical and Translational Science embraces
bench-to-bedside discoveries.
Faculty members on The University of Iowa campus have been participating in clinical translational science for years. There are many successful stories within the UI Carver College of Medicine including the work of Ignacio Ponseti, MD, ('44 R), professor emeritus of orthopaedics and rehabilitation, who developed a nonsurgical treatment for clubfoot; Harold Adams, MD, ('74 R), professor of neurology and director of the Division of Cerebrovascular Disorders, who created the NIH Stroke Scale, a standard measure of stroke used by physicians around the world; and Peg Nopoulos, ('85 BS, '89 MD, '93 R, '94 F), professor of psychiatry, who used neuropsychological tests and neuroimaging to study the long-term effects of neonatal anemia and transfusion treatment on premature infants.
In an effort to stimulate the growth of clinical translational science (CTS) and its resulting clinical trials, in 2005 the National Institutes of Health (NIH) released the NIH Roadmap for Medical Research. The report brings CTS to the forefront and makes new support available to researchers through institutional awards. The NIH has set aside a significant amount of money to fund institutes for clinical and translational science on campuses across the country.
The roadmap includes a set of goals aimed at increasing the speed of translating scientific discoveries into therapies and interventions, outcomes research and the ability to provide the community access to the newest medical approaches to
treating disease.
Within the University and Carver College of Medicine, CTS is a team approach. For example, a basic science researcher using an animal model could find a potential link between a gene therapy and its effect on a particular disease. The researcher and clinician partner to take the discovery to a group of patients in the hope of finding a new approach that may yield an effective treatment for the disease.
Clinical trials are not easy to conduct. They sometimes involve thousands of patients from around the world, millions of dollars, years to complete, and hundreds of hours from staff members working on the project. Because human subjects are being used, patient records must be carefully kept and rules must be followed with a strict adherence to medical ethics.
According to Gary Hunninghake, MD, the Sterba Professor of Internal Medicine and senior associate dean for clinical and translational sciences, patients are willing to participate in clinical trials if they understand how it might help them, and some are drawn to academic health care centers because there are clinical trials being conducted. "We find patients that are attracted to us because we practice CTS. There is a perception that the care they will receive is cutting edge, which may in fact be the case," said Hunninghake.
Hunninghake, who has been conducting CTS research since 1977, will head up the UI's Institute for Clinical and Translational Science, which was approved by the Board of Regents, State of Iowa on Dec. 11, 2006. The Institute will enable the UI to expand the quantity and quality of clinical trials involving human subjects and also bolster translational research, which generally refers to the process of developing new clinical trials based on the latest scientific advances, as well as assessing and developing new treatments that enhance patient care.
A post-graduate program in translational biomedicine has already been established within the College. All of the students who have completed the program have gone on to faculty positions and received NIH funding. In addition, the Institute will bridge basic and clinical research and bringing discoveries and new treatments to Iowa communities, including partnerships with community-based health care providers to conduct clinical studies.
"The Institute will be a network of eight colleges within the University with direct report to the University's provost," said Hunninghake. "We'll teach students how to conduct clinical research. There will be a large number of faculty members with appointments, and part of our mission will be to educate the community about clinical trials and research going on at the University."
He commented that the future of CTS is very promising. NIH is allocating millions of dollars to translational science and is emphasizing to the deans of academic health care centers that they should be leading their centers in this direction so that new treatments can be brought to patients more quickly.
"There is definitely interest from students in pursuing research. It's an exciting career to see new therapies or interventions delivered so quickly to patients. As a physician, you want to be able to offer the best health care that there is to a patient," said Hunninghake.