Kentucky Center for Clinical and Translational Science - KENTUCKY CENTER FOR CLINICAL & TRANSLATIONAL SCIENCE PROJECT SUMMARY The Kentucky Center for Clinical & Translational Science (CCTS) at the University of Kentucky (UK) is the CTSA hub in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. The CCTS is nationally known for excellence in its clinical research unit, in community-engaged research with special expertise in rural areas, in informatics and integration of data to drive evidence-based care and inform public health action and policy, and for sharing methods and participating in numerous CTSA consortia activities. Our vision is to measurably improve health by discovering and disseminating strategies that work within both learning healthcare and learning public health systems. The center will maximize synergies regionally and nationally for conducting clinical and translational research in care and in communities. This application describes translational science solutions for enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of all translational research with emphasis on innovations to “transform the way that research is done, making it more rigorous, more efficient, more impactful, and faster.” Interlinked strategic goals are 1) Innovating methods and sharing approaches to accelerate efficient and transformative research, including leveraging sophisticated data methods to improve prevention and care; 2) Cultivating reach with high-functioning research collaborations that span the state, region, and CTSA consortium to tackle health challenges in new ways for high impact; 3) Advancing careers and capacity of staff, scholars, faculty, and organizations doing translational science; and 4) Empowering investigators with agile research services, highest caliber resources, consultative expertise, pilot funds, and new technology. First funded by NIH in 2011, the CCTS engages a 16-college campus, is engrafted in University of Kentucky HealthCare, and collaborates with multiple networks and organizations. CCTS infrastructure is robust. Distinctive features include 1) Electronic medical record integration via Epic, secure NIST 800-53 compliant computing, real-world applications of large language models and AI for enhancing diagnostics, prediction in clinical care, and public health decision making; 2) Founding roles in two rural health research networks, the Appalachian Translational Research Network and Consortium of Rural States, and proposed new collaborations to leverage the strengths of the UK Cooperative Extension Service, engage the Kentucky Ambulatory Research Network, create the Environment and Health Coalition with University of Louisville, and form the University of Kentucky Research Network Alliance with three large existing UK networks to ensure efficient statewide reach; 3) Implementing shared governance, matrix organization, and design thinking principles; and 4) Establishing approaches to continuously review requests for pilot funding, to implement evidence, evaluate with real-time dashboards, and accelerate research processes. The CCTS is optimized for discovering, disseminating, and deploying evidence to advance health.
