Translational Research Core

TRANSLATION RESEARCH CORE: PROJECT SUMMARY The Center for American Indian and Alaska Native Diabetes Translation Research (CAIANDTR) offers resources locally, regionally, and nationally to advance a translational research agenda specific to AI/ANs, but generalizable to other segments of the population—in particular racial/ethnic minorities and rural populations. Its Translation Research Core: 1) Provides training, technical assistance, and consultation activities, delivered through a Research Base of funded faculty -- drawn from the UC/AMC, but in this renewal expanded to sister universities through an innovative network of Satellite Centers -- whose research either targets diabetes or is translational in nature with clear potential for application to diabetes; and 2) Emphasizes community outreach and engagement, with special attention to enhancing participant recruitment and retention; the cultural adaptation of diabetes prevention and treatment interventions to improve effectiveness; health literacy measurement and the development as well as evaluation of related materials and methods; health information technologies that promote surveillance, increase patient knowledge, improve adherence to treatment recommendations, and enhance compliance with standards of care; dissemination and implementation science, notably individual, provider, and organizational factors that affect the diffusion and adoption of evidence-based practices, programs, and policies related to diabetes prevention and treatment; and sustainability that emphasizes the cost of caring for diabetes and related conditions, and that informs the structure and financing of related services. The Translation Research Core rigorously evaluates the impact of these activities on the capacity of other investigators to pursue scientifically meritorious diabetes translation research specific to AI/ANs.