Wake Forest Baptist joins CTSA

Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center said this week that it has joined the National Institutes of Health’s Clinical and Translational Science Award consortium aimed at improving health.

Called CTSA, the consortium is a group of about 60 academic medical institutions from across the country in a collaborative mission to fast-track research discoveries aimed at bringing better preventative and treatment solutions.

As a new member of the consortium, Wake Forest Baptist received a $15.6 million grant that will be used in efforts with other collaborative members to impact patient care, generate best practices and help transform health care choices and providers.

“Being part of this prestigious program is a game-changer in many ways for our medical center,” said Dr. John D. McConnell, the chief executive of Wake Forest Baptist. “Entry into the CTSA Consortium creates access to a nationwide partnership to generate and apply the best evidence for the collaborative health care choices of patients and providers, driving the process of discovery as a natural outgrowth of patient care, and ensuring innovation, quality, safety and value in health care.”

Through this partnership, Wake Forest Baptist patients will have access to more clinical trials, some of which are available only to members of the consortium.

The collaboration will be led by principal investigators Dr. King Li, senior associate dean for clinical and translational research; and Stephen Kritchevsky, associate dean, research development and director of the J. Paul Sticht Center on Aging and Rehabilitation.

Li will be responsible for strategic planning, operational and fiscal management, integration and oversight of the CTSA. Kritchevsky will oversee the Mentored Career Development Program of the CTSA, which is part of a national effort to help train the next generation of investigators.

Article originally posted at the Winston-Salem Journal.