The Clinical and Translational Research Institute (CTRI) helps researchers obtain the education, resources, and collaborations necessary to translate discoveries into practice. The Institute is a partnership among the University of California, San Diego, and other local institutions dedicated to improving human health. To achieve this goal requires collaboration between many groups: academia, industry, non-profit agencies, government, and most importantly, the community. Any researcher or individual interested in translational research is invited to become a member of the CTRI.
The CTRI is part of a new national consortium, the Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA), and is funded under grants UL1RR031980, KL2RR031978, and TL1RR031979 from the National Center for Research Resources, part of the National Institutes of Health.
Our common purpose is to:
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Foster innovative research and research partnerships
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Create and sustain research resources
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Ensure a translational research pipeline through robust education and career development programs
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Provide the infrastructure that can act as a laboratory for original translational research
The CTRI serves as the coordinating center for multidisciplinary educational programs encompassing:
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Three health sciences professional schools spanning two universities: School of Medicine (SOM at UCSD), Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences (UCSD), and a joint psycology doctoral program (SDSU, UCSD)
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The Rady School of Management (UCSD)
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The Jacobs School of Engineering, including the new Institute of Engineering in Medicine and the von Liebig Center for Entrepreneurism and Technology Advancement
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Numerous institutes and centers that support translational research, such as the Moores Cancer Center
The CTRI has additional institutional partners including:
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Our academic medical center and university (UCSD) with four hospitals, UCSD Medical Center including Hillcrest and Thornton, Rady Children's Hospital, and the VA San Diego Health Care System
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Four biomedical research institutes (Salk, Sanford Burnham, J. Craig Venter Institute, and La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology)
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A community health group (Palomar Pomerado Health) with two hospitals and an enthusiastic group of community physicians in the County of San Diego
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Three interdisciplinary computing resources (SDSC, Cal-IT2, and Division of Biomedical Informatics)
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A close partnership with the local biotechnology community and their associations. One of these, CONNECT, was founded by UCSD to foster entrepreneurship in the San Diego region by accelerating the growth of businesses in the life sciences. The other key industry organization is BIOCOM, an association representing more than 550 biotechnology companies in Southern California
The educational opportunities for junior faculty, medical and graduate doctoral candidates, community physicians, and other learners include:
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Masters of Science degree and/or Certificate in Clinical Research (the UCSD K30 program)
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KL2 junior faculty program, which includes mentored research and the K30 curriculum
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TL1 support for medical and pharmacy students
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Doctoral program in psychology (UCSD, SDSU)
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Rady Health Sciences MBA Program for biomedical research and life sciences
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Pilot Research Grants (particularly as development opportunities for junior faculty)
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Annual Frontiers of Clinical Investigation “Bench-to-Bedside” Symposium, jointly sponsored with Nature Medicine
The CTRI engages the community through many activities such as:
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Fostering two-way communication between patients who want to learn more about clinical trials, and clinical researchers who want to enroll subjects
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Gathering input from community leaders and advocacy groups in the design of clinical studies
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Acting as a source of up-to-date information and training for community physician
CTRI Affirmative Action Policy
As part of UC San Diego, the CTRI is an Equal Opportunity / Staff Affirmative Action Employer that values a diverse workforce and provides reasonable accommodations to people with disabilities. Policies and guidelines related to Equal Opportunity / Affirmative Action are reviewed annually at one of the CTRI supervisors’ monthly meetings. Answers to FAQs are also provided at that time.
Our goal is to hire the most qualified candidates, and then retain and promote them as employees. We have standardized employment practices and conduct regular evaluations of staff and their salary levels across title codes, taking into consideration the length of experience and specialized skills. Any employee with questions or concerns about hiring or promotion practices should contact his or her supervisor or the Human Resources representative,
Although the CTRI is a small organization, it has close to 60 current employees within 29 title codes plus part-time students. We aim to support diversity in the hiring of staff, supervisors, and managers, and in the formation of project teams. We are proud of this diversity, which is indicated in the variety of languages our employees speak: English, Greek, German, French, Arabic, Russian, Cantonese Chinese, Taiwanese, Filipino/Tagalog, Malay, Bahasa Melayu, Telugu, Tamil, and Hindi.