CTSA News

The Fall 2025 CTSA (Clinical and Translational Science Awards) Program Annual Meeting in Washington, DC brought together leaders in clinical and translational research to advance the consortium’s shared mission: accelerating the journey from scientific discovery to improved community health. This year’s signature poster session, which highlighted innovative hub projects advancing clinical and translational science, offered a platform for institutions to showcase projects that exemplify the CTSA Program’s overarching objectives. 

At the core of these objectives is the drive to develop and disseminate scientific and operational innovations that bolster the efficiency, effectiveness, and safety of clinical research. The posters presented reflected the CTSA’s commitment to promoting partnerships at all levels and to designing collaborative programs that both address community health priorities and rapidly respond to urgent public health needs. Many displayed advances in workforce training by highlighting new models for research education, mentorship, and career support for professionals across all disciplines. Together, these initiatives underscored the program’s fundamental aim to foster a strong pipeline of translational scientists and the continued evolution of clinical and translational science as a field. 

The session concluded by recognizing outstanding contributions from across the network. Congratulations to the 2025 CTSA Program Annual Meeting poster award winners: 

Overall Best in Show: 

• Web applications for conduct of novel adaptive clinical trial designs and data visualization, Shing M. Lee, Columbia University’s Clinical and Translational Science Award 

Strategic Management, Pilot Programs, and/or Element E Programs: 

• Power Dynamics and Collaboration in Clinical & Translational Research Teams, F. Joseph McClernon, Duke Clinical and Translational Science Institute 
• Leveraging a CTSA Pilot Model to Launch an Institutional Pilot Program, Brittney Patterson, Wake Forest Clinical and Translational Science Institute 
• Developing a curriculum to train the next generation of translational scientists: Lessons from our regional TL1 expansion, Megan Moore, University of Washington Institute of Translational Health Sciences 

Workforce Development: 

• Innovating robust career pathways for undergraduate students, Rachael Sirianni, University of Massachusetts Center for Clinical and Translational Science 
• Collaboration to Enhance Science: Establishing Research Design Studios, Melanie Bean, Wright Regional Center for Clinical and Translational Science 
• Research Resources: 
• Leveraging AI and Prompt Engineering to Scale Up a Social Media Recruitment Service, Ruth Gebrezghi, University of California, San Francisco Clinical and Translational Science Institute 

Biostatistics, Biomedical Informatics, and Data Science: 

• The Iowa Health Data Resource (IHDR): A Scalable Ecosystem for Advancing Translational Science through Data, Workforce, and Infrastructure Innovation, Heath Davis, University of Iowa Institute for Clinical and Translational Science 
• Portfolio of Medical Foundation Models to Accelerate Clinical and Translational Research, Andrew J. Loza, Yale Center for Clinical Investigation 

Community and Stakeholder Engagement: 

• The Georgia Health Landscape: Building Meaningful Partnerships through Cooperative Extension, Courtney Brown, Georgia Clinical and Translational Science Alliance 
• Project REACH (Rural Experts Advancing Community Health): Health Policy and Leadership Training for Rural Minnesotans, Katie Rydberg, University of Minnesota Clinical and Translational Science Institute 

The recognized projects stood as exemplars of CTSA’s mission and inspiration for the year ahead. We look forward to seeing you all next year! 

Check out the poster gallery on our website to take a closer look at these submissions!