Center for Clinical and Translational Science

The Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) proposal submitted by the Rockefeller University Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS) on September 25, 2015 was approved for 5 years of funding by the National Center for Clinical and Translational Sciences (NCATS) starting July 5, 2016.  The review committee rated the elements of the Rockefeller proposal in the Outstanding and Exceptional categories. 

The Review Committee’s Summary Statement noted that “the Rockefeller CTSA’s contributions to and engagement with the CTSA network are outstanding; plans to engage other CTSA hubs in performing critical and translation research are considered excellent.  A notable factor contributing to their potential for significant impact is their expertise in rare diseases.  Other strengths of the proposed CTSA program include a well-accomplished Principal Investigator; an outstanding leadership team and well-qualified investigators; a well-designed strategic plan that encompasses current research trends and the needs of the clinical and translational research community; an established organizational infrastructure to support research; strong institutional support; state-of-the-art technologies; a robust history of publishing and sharing advancements with the clinical and translational science community; and plans to improve the translational processes and disseminate knowledge.”

The Rockefeller CTSA provides support for many of the infrastructural components of the clinical investigation programs in the Rockefeller University Hospital, including the Navigation Program, the Participant Recruitment Program, the Community-Engagement Research Program, and the Protection of Human Subjects Program.  It also provides support for the Clinical Scholars/KL-2 Master’s Degree program and advisory support in bioinformatics, medical informatics, and biostatistics.  The CTSA also supports the yearly CCTS Pilot Project Program, which is also supported by other programs, including the Center for Basic and Translational Research on Disorders of the Digestive System, funded by a grant from the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, and the Sackler Center for Biomedicine and Nutrition.

The CTSA proposal was developed by the senior leadership of the CCTS under great time pressure since there was only a little more than one month from the announcement of the competition to ll those who worked so hard on the proposal and sacrificed much of their summer vacation to meet the deadline.

The new award maintains the continuous CTSA funding begun in 2006 when Rockefeller was selected as one of the first twelve institutions to receive a CTSA, and then continued through Rockefeller’s successful competitive renewal in 2011.  The 2016 award was technically a new award under the NIH PAR structure rather than a renewal and so Rockefeller competed with all of the other applicants, not just the CTSAs that were up for renewal. This award brings total awarded CTSA support to Rockefeller to more than $115 million.

The vision for the current CTSA proposal was detailed in Spring 2016 eNewsletter and implementation of the new programs has already begun!

Dr. Barry Coller, Principal Investigator
Dr. James Krueger, Co-Principal Investigator
Dr. Sarah Schlesinger, Director, KL2 Clinical Scholars Program