Southern California Clinical and Translational Science Institute

The Southern California Clinical and Translational Science Institute (SC CTSI) is submitting this revision for a third cycle of Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) funding at a time of dramatic growth and opportunity at our hub. The SC CTSI encompasses the University of Southern California (USC) and Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles (CHLA), in close partnership with the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services. Our vision is to be a leader in clinical and translational research to benefit all populations within our local communities. Our approach builds on past success, acknowledging the changing landscape of clinical and translational research (CTR), the priorities of the CTSA program, and the evolving needs of our researchers, trainees, patients and communities. Our scope leverages strengths in clinical, health system, and community research, education and training, within the overarching theme of mitigation of disease burden. We approach this theme working with our local communities, different health systems, and multiple scientific disciplines to improve health care and outcomes. Our impact encompasses academic productivity as well as benefit to our workforce, health systems, patients, and communities. To pursue our vision in the context of our scope and themes, we propose six specific aims: (1) Workforce Development: Train a highly skilled workforce with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to conduct rigorous and reproducible research focused on the evolving health needs of local communities. (2) Collaboration and Engagement: Create a culture in which team-based research, engaging all stakeholders and following sound principles of team science, is the standard approach to addressing complex challenges in health and research. (3) Integration: Engage our local communities to establish clinical research priorities; identify barriers to research; and develop, demonstrate and disseminate innovative approaches to assure fully partnered clinical research across communities and the lifespan. (4) Methods and Process: Apply principles of quality and process improvement to clinical and translational research to develop and share novel approaches to enhance efficiency, quality and impact. (5) Informatics: Provide an agile information ecosystem that encompasses research, clinical care, communities and their environment, providing a holistic view of health and disease and serving as the engine for discovery, innovation and insight. (6) CTSA Hub: Participate in CTSA network activities, conduct multi-site studies, adopt successful models from peers, and develop, demonstrate and disseminate innovative approaches. Achieving these aims will advance the discipline of CTR directed at improving health in diverse and underserved communities.