Wright Regional CCTS: A central and southeastern Virginia collaboration in clinical and translational science
To advance the development and transfer of clinical innovations to patient care, a flourishing future of clinical and translational science requires greater diversity among patient populations and researchers.
That’s why the C. Kenneth and Dianne Wright Center for Clinical and Translational Research at Virginia Commonwealth University created a new collaboration with sister universities: to grow community engagement, diversify patient populations and encourage greater diversity among new clinician researchers entering the workforce.
The result, the Wright Regional Center for Clinical and Translational Science, includes neighboring Virginia State University, the historically black university just south of Richmond; and from Norfolk, Eastern Virginia Medical School and Old Dominion University.
This regional center has its roots in the CTSA-funded research hub at VCU, founded in 2010 and led by F. Gerard Moeller, M.D., since 2015.
VCU is also home to a National Cancer Institute designated cancer center, the Massey Cancer Center, and is proudly among the nation’s top research universities designated by the Carnegie Foundation as “community engaged.” It ranks 58th among public universities for sponsored research funding by the National Science Foundation’s HERD survey. Its schools of medicine, engineering, humanities and sciences, nursing, dentistry, health professions, pharmacy, education, arts, and others, serve over 29,000 students.
VCU’s history of community engaged research is a keystone of the Wright Regional CCTS. Its clinical affiliated health care institutions serve as the primary healthcare research sites for the Wright Regional CCTS. The Wright Center and its $32 million endowment provide infrastructure and support for the Wright Regional CCTS to recruit and retain diverse faculty.
VSU, already an invaluable partner to VCU in expanding training to its diverse research students and faculty, and the Wright Center established a pathway program for new translational research talent and funded a diversity supplement to its UL1 grant from the National Institutes of Health to support a VSU faculty member.
VSU, in nearby Petersburg, Va., has a deeply rooted perspective on diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility, a significant factor in developing diverse, skilled research talent for the Wright Regional CCTS and the region. In addition to providing support for a VSU faculty member, the Wright Regional CCTS provided mentorship and observer programs for VSU undergraduate students. A collaboration on workforce development with the founding dean of VSU’s Honors College resulted in pathway programs that nurture STEM talent for the region’s research and clinical community. These efforts will be led by Dr. Larry Keen of VSU.
Like VCU, Eastern Virginia Medical School is a community-focused public medical school. Its participation in the collaboration funds projects addressing opioid overdose and COVID-19 in the vulnerable communities, especially those in low-income housing within the central and eastern Virginia regions. Multiple collaborations between EVMS and the Wright Regional CCTS leadership team focus on this disproportionately affected patient population, including a RADx-Underserved Populations-funded supplement to use technology to engage residents of low-income housing. Dr. Andrew Plunk, EVMS Director of Community and Partnership, will help lead community stakeholder and engagement research.
The partnership with Old Dominion University expands the center’s access to innovative informatics solutions by adding expertise in machine learning methods for biomedical imaging. As a public university, Old Dominion University serves a diverse student population, including 25% military-affiliated students. ODU’s faculty offers expertise in advanced biomedical image processing using machine learning and the university is also a partner institution for an RC2 application. Khan Iftekharuddin, Ph.D., interim dean at the Batten College of Engineering and Technology at ODU, has carried out research projects with the Wright Regional CCTS on machine learning of functional brain imaging. His expertise will enhance informatics training programs within the Wright Regional CCTS.
Categories Collaboration, Research, Uncategorized