Accelerating the Dissemination and Translation of Clinical Research into Practice

Columbia University Medical Center researchers present NIH Clinical Resarch Networks Project results

WASHINGTON – Translational research seeks to directly connect basic research to patient care, but what are some of the most effective ways to accomplish such a broad and urgent task?

To address this key question, the National Institutes of Health is hosting a series of meetings on May 8 and 9, 2008 to discuss ways in which researchers can partner with community health care providers to translate clinical research into practice. A series of workshops will help identify key enablers of successful academic-community provider partnerships; effective strategies for dissemination, diffusion, and adoption of research; and public and private-sector partners for collaborative translational research.

Other workshops are designed to highlight the NIH Roadmap for Medical Research – a set of far-reaching initiatives designed to transform the nation’s medical research capabilities and speed the movement of research discoveries from the bench to the bedside. The Roadmap provides a framework for the priorities the NIH must address in order to optimize its entire research portfolio and lays out a vision for a more efficient and productive system of medical research.

Columbia University Medical Center had a three-year contract to help re-engineer the NIH Clinical Research Networks program and CUMC physician-scientists will present their findings on the project. Stephen Johnson, Ph.D., and colleagues at Columbia have been exploring one particular model, in which a central hub located at the academic medical center coordinates trials in a network of community-based practices located near New York City.

To address the needs of clinical research coordinators, Columbia developed a software system called “WorkWeb,” which supports collaborative activities such as sharing calendars, documents and coordinating workflow. WorkWeb was designed to address significant barriers that impede the conduct of efficient clinical research: the lack of well-designed tools to support day-to-day clinical research activities, the lack of standards for representing clinical research processes, as well as inadequate support for research infrastructure.

Overall, the day will be an opportunity to hear key accomplishments of the NIH Roadmap Clinical Research Networks Program and provide an opportunity for a multi-center research community to critically review and discuss how these accomplishments can be used to advance clinical and translational research. Case studies, posters, and demonstrations are planned.