Grant to CTSI will help improve community health in Western New York

A recently announced award to the University at Buffalo ensures that Western New Yorkers will continue to benefit from innovative research discoveries. The seven-year National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) to UB’s Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) is intended to speed the translation of research findings into improved health and healthcare for all in our community and beyond.

CTSI Director Timothy F. Murphy, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor, says the grant will help UB embark on new, exciting initiatives and research projects. 

“I always say that the best clinical and translational research goes hand in hand with the best health,” Murphy says. “Our new and innovative efforts are going to advance our research and, ultimately, advance healthcare in Western New York and improve the health of everyone in our population. We are working to raise the level of health and the quality of life in the area.”

Here are just a few of the new and expanded ways this grant will impact the community: 

New Dissemination and Implementation Science Core: Recently launched, the core will help research teams share their findings with both academic and non-academic audiences, thus addressing real-world challenges in healthcare. “The whole concept of dissemination and implementation is about moving our research advances into our communities to their benefit,” Murphy explains. 

Connecting Community Health Workers (CHWs) with researchers and research projects: “Our research will have a greater impact if we can engage our communities,” Murphy says. “CHWs are our community members who are trained to participate in and guide the research including what questions we should be investigating and asking. Advancing the role of these individuals helps us ensure that we have these meaningful, bidirectional community partnerships.” 

Taking advantage of the power of artificial intelligence (AI) while also better understanding the risks:  “AI is changing medicine, healthcare, and science,” Murphy says. “It is going to change how we do our science, and in better ways.” However, Murphy adds, there are also risks involved such as built-in biases and potential errors. “UB has world-class experts in AI, so we can take advantage of the power of AI while we are very vigilant about the risks.” 

Developing better clinical trial designs: “There are more innovative and efficient ways to do clinical trials,” Murphy says, identifying virtual clinical trials as one example. “We will invite researchers to bring their new ideas, and as a result, everyone will benefit from this intervention.”

Watch a UB video featuring highlights from the press conference announcing the grant:

Watch for more news and updates on UB’s CTSA grant (award number UM1TR005296) on the CTSI website.