Duke University Medical Center received $52.7 million from the National Institutes of Health this week to establish the Duke Translational Medicine Institute.
The virtual institute will work to accelerate the adaptation of clinical discoveries into applicable medicine and to explore and combat health inequalities.
To complete these goals, scientists will form interdisciplinary teams that encompass a broad spectrum of research, including genomics, biomedical engineering and clinical medicine, to create an environment where data is processed and applied in a more fluid fashion.
"Investigators and physicians [working under the grant] will have the support to bring innovative therapies to our patients in a timely and efficient way," said Victor Dzau, chancellor for health affairs and president and CEO of the Duke University Health System, in a statement Tuesday.
Duke is one of 12 institutes that will receive a combined total of $699.5 million in funding from the NIH over five years to advance translational medicine, said Robert Califf, DUMC vice-chancellor for clinical research and the center's new director.
"When you look at healthcare discoveries and the translation of discoveries from the bench to the bedside, there's a lag that denies important resources from those in need," Califf said. "This applies not only to patients at large, but also to the underprivileged and those with rare diseases."
The concept of translational medicine does not merely apply to traditional laboratory discoveries, but also includes "translation of discoveries regarding inequality in healthcare into strategies for equality," Califf explained.
Although the DTMI will serve as a major tool in fulfilling the grant's goals, Califf said researchers will also utilize other assets at Duke-including the Duke Clinical Research Institute and various community outreach efforts-to fulfill the ultimate goals of expediting application of discoveries and ensuring equal access to healthcare.
The grant's targets are in line with DUMC's most recent strategic plan, which emphasizes translational medicine, community outreach and enhanced informatics systems, researchers said.
Work within the institute will require more fully integrated data analysis systems, said Ross McKinney, vice dean for research in the School of Medicine.
"A major goal [under the grant] is to be able to query databases across institutes in a relational manner," McKinney explained. "This initiative will speed up discoveries together the same way that Google revolutionized information on the Internet."
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