The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Translational Research Institute announced today at a press conference that it will receive $31.7 million in funding from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, part of the National Institutes of Health.
As opposed to basic research, which focuses on advancing scientific knowledge and improving theories without a specific application, translational research aims to take discoveries and observations and turn them into specific applications and uses. In other words, it aims to turn theory into practice.
Dr. Laura James, UAMS Translational Research Institute Director, said the $31.7 million is a renewal of $24.2 million in funding UAMS received from NCATS five years ago. The increase in funding this year will fund the institute for the next seven years.
The UAMS institute researches health problems in Arkansas including high blood pressure, pain management, diabetes, obesity, substance abuse, mental health and rare diseases, according to a UAMS news release.
The new round of funding will support future clinical trials, test ways to deliver healthcare around the state in a more equitable manner and support many education programs, James said.
James said part of making healthcare more equitable is “making sure that every single patient that comes in our doors is viewed the exact same way and treated in the same way” and making sure “pathways are consistently followed” when referring people to specialists and administering tests.
“One example [of inequity in healthcare] we recognize is that sometimes our minority patients may not necessarily get referred to a certain type of subspecialist physician,” James said.
The institute also plans to use the funding to support new efforts in artificial intelligence, train community health workers to be part of research teams, train junior UAMS research faculty, and to grow the Rural Research Network, a program that gives rural Arkansans the opportunity to take part in UAMS research and other programs.
$4.73 million of the award will go towards training researchers over the next five years.
Over the last five years, James said, the institute has “supported 277 clinical trials” with funding from NIH, some of which tried to develop new treatments for Huntington’s and Parkinson’s diseases.
“More recently, we’ve been involved with developing new therapies for inflammatory skin disease, cystic fibrosis, and neonatal opioid withdrawal,” James said. “We do a lot more than just clinical trials.”
“As we solve problems here in Arkansas, our solutions can be broadly shared, and we’re excited to continue that work,” James said.
UAMS is one of 62 research institutes in the country to receive money from this round of NIH funding.
“This award will allow us to continue our tradition of excellence and innovation … to train scientists who will do work in the future that will make our state and our country a better place,” Dr. Cam Patterson, UAMS Chancellor, said at the press conference.