UAMS Translational Research Institute Has Awarded $3.68 Million for Research Since 2009
| LITTLE ROCK – Over the past five years, the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Translational Research Institute has provided pilot and strategic investment funds totaling $3.68 million to researchers.
The 62 pilot awards and four strategic investments have helped UAMS researchers advance science in their laboratories and in Arkansas communities. Their work has resulted in 58 publications, five patent applications and generated $3.9 million in additional funding from outside sources.
“We’ve had a healthy return on our investment, and we expect it to grow considerably as work continues on our most recently funded pilot studies,” said Lisa Jackson, J.D., R.N., executive director of the Translational Research Institute.
The UAMS Translational Research Institute’s mission is to help accelerate research that will improve the health and health care of people in Arkansas and across the country. It was established with a five-year $19.9 million award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in 2009 and with significant support from UAMS. It is one of 62 NIH Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) recipients. The CTSA program is managed by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS).
Significant funding support for the pilot program also came from UAMS and the Arkansas Children’s Hospital Research Institute, which is staffed by UAMS faculty researchers.
Early-stage research received the bulk of the pilot awards, with 77 percent going to basic (laboratory-based) sciences and clinical trial studies. The balance has gone to community-based research and policy and outcomes research.
The pilots, which total $3.52 million, include targeted awards for research utilizing UAMS’ Enterprise Data Warehouse, community engagement, and the Western States Collaborative, a multi-institutional project.
In addition, strategic investments were made to four projects totaling $152,998, bringing all pilot and strategic investment awards to $3.68 million. The strategic investment program is used to increase the likelihood of funding success from outside sources; provide targeted supplemental resources that are lacking in research already funded from outside sources; and provide financial assistance that supports federal Food and Drug Administration approval for new drugs, devices or biologics.
More information about TRI’s Novel Methodologies and Pilot Studies Program is at tri.uams.edu.
UAMS is the state’s only health sciences university, with colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Professions and Public Health; a graduate school; a hospital; a main campus in Little Rock; a Northwest Arkansas regional campus in Fayetteville; a statewide network of regional campuses; and eight institutes: the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, Psychiatric Research Institute, Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging, Translational Research Institute, Institute for Digital Health & Innovation and the Institute for Community Health Innovation. UAMS includes UAMS Health, a statewide health system that encompasses all of UAMS’ clinical enterprise. UAMS is the only adult Level 1 trauma center in the state. UAMS has 3,275 students, 890 medical residents and fellows, and five dental residents. It is the state’s largest public employer with more than 12,000 employees, including 1,200 physicians who provide care to patients at UAMS, its regional campuses, Arkansas Children’s, the VA Medical Center and Baptist Health. Visit www.uams.edu or uamshealth.com. Find us on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), YouTube or Instagram.###