Duke University has launched the Duke Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) aimed at bringing breakthrough treatments to patients faster.

University researchers make medical and pharmaceutical breakthroughs, but it can sometimes take years before these new techniques and medicines become standard practice in hospitals and physician offices throughout the nation. This goal of this new institute will be to bring breakthroughs to the front lines of medicine more quickly.

In medical circles this is referred to as translational research.

"Our goal is to serve as a catalyst for translational science by facilitating collaborations across Duke departments, institutes, schools, and the community that help us advance health together,” says Dr. L. Ebony Boulware, who will lead the institute.

In October 2006, Duke received one of the first Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) from the National Institutes of Health, an award given to institutions to create academic homes for translational research. In October 2013, the NIH renewed Duke’s CTSA grant, committing to $47 million over five years.

The CTSI will be the administrative home for the Duke CTSA award and will oversee and integrate CTSA core services into the fabric of translational science at Duke. The CTSI replaces the Duke Translational Medicine Institute (DTMI), which has closed as a formal institute. The Duke Clinical Research Institute (DCRI) will continue as a separate but collaborating unit. The Duke Clinical Research Unit (DCRU) will continue to be housed within the DCRI.

"By fostering collaborations throughout Duke as well as with our patients and our broader community, I am confident the CTSI will speed the pace at which we move discoveries to public benefit,” says Dr. Eugene Washington, Chancellor for Health Affairs at Duke University.

Orginally posted at Triangle Business Journal.