Contact PD/PI: MOELLER, FREDERICK Gerard
The Center for Clinical and Translational Research (CCTR) at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU)
promotes clinical and translational research (CTR), moving research advances from basic science into
clinical practice, and improving the quality and efficiency of clinical research. Over the last 5 years the
CCTR has become a critical component of VCU’s clinical and translational research environment. The value
placed on the CCTR’s role in advancing clinical research is evidenced by over $43,000,000 of institutional
support, including a recent $16 million gift to rename the CCTR the C. Kenneth and Dianne Wright Center for
Clinical and Translational Research. In addition, the CCTR serves as the only CTSA funded hub in Virginia,
fostering statewide and national collaborations in clinical and translational research in areas of human subjects
protection and recruitment, community engagement, team science, informatics, and scientific review.
The overall CCTR strategic goal is to catalyze CTR through programs and processes that enhance
quality and efficiency, integrate research and clinical practice, and provide training to develop the CTR
workforce. This goal will be achieved in collaboration with the CTSA Network and implemented at VCU and our
partner institutions locally, regionally, and nationally, as described in detail related to each overall aim below.
An important theme across cores is innovation in methods for processing, analysis, mining, integrating, and
sharing of large data sets.
Overall Aim 1: Promote translational research workforce development with experience based
training in informatics, team science, biostatistics, research design, and regulatory science, sharing
and collaborating with the CTSA Network in best educational practices to develop the next generation
of CTR scientists.
Overall Aim 2: Mobilize existing strengths in community engagement and team science to
engage stakeholder communities at every translational phase to become research partners and form
collaborative clinical translational science teams.
Overall Aim 3: Integrate all phases of CTR across the lifespan and in special populations by
increasing hub and network research capacity and connecting with relevant providers, patients,
caregivers, and other stakeholders to guide research, care, and recruitment.
Overall Aim 4: Advance clinical and translational research methods and processes to speed
translation, build collaborations, and optimize resources within VCU and with the CTSA Network.
Overall Aim 5: Implement informatics systems to integrate multiple types of data to gain insight
into diseases and mechanisms, to enhance training, to collect metrics to improve performance and
gauge impact, and to bridge research to clinical practice across the CCTR and the CTSA Network.
Project Summary/Abstract Page 227
Contact PD/PI: MOELLER, FREDERICK Gerard
As described in the Institute of Medicine (IOM) report on the CTSA program, although there has been an
exponential increase in biomedical research in the United States in the last 50 years, translating the findings
from basic and clinical research to clinical practice has fallen short. For the next 5 years of funding, the CCTR
proposes to capitalize on strengths in a special patient population, community engagement, workforce
development, and informatics, to expand connections with the CTSA network to promote innovation in
methods, processes, and training, focused on the delivery of high quality clinical and translational research. In
addition, utilizing biomedical informatics tools, the CCTR will promote a greater integration of healthcare and
research within VCU and across statewide and national partners.