Connecticut Institute for Clinical and Translational Science (CICATS)

Mission

The University of Connecticut, in partnership with regional hospitals, state agencies, and community health care organizations, has created the Connecticut Institute for Clinical and Translational Science (CICATS) to transform the way biomedical science is conceived, conducted and disseminated in Connecticut. The Institute transcends the traditional boundaries of individual organizations and organizes the University and its partners into a single functioning research consortium.

The mission of CICATS is twofold:

• to work collaboratively to improve health care conditions related to the leading causes of morbidity, mortality, and disability in the region and the nation, and
• to train a cadre of community and university-based clinical and behavioral research scientists and engineers to address these priorities.

CICATS aspires to be a leader in areas critical to translational research:

• the application of basic science discoveries to the development and conduct of clinical trials;
• the adoption of evidence-based best practices by health care providers and patients; and
• the development of a science of dissemination that moves best practices rapidly into the health care delivery system, both regionally and nationally.

Strategy

By aligning objectives and harnessing resources in basic biomedical science and clinical and pre-clinical research, CICATS leverages existing assets and collaborations in and across its partners.

As a University resource committed to excellence in clinical and translational science, the Institute supports the University’s competitive application for a Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) from the National Institutes of Health.

Organization

To accomplish its goals, the Institute is structured as an independent administrative body within the University on par with the other schools and centers. Principal investigators are Judith Fifield, Ph.D., a social scientist with local and national expertise in practice-oriented translational research, and Peter Albertsen, M.D., a physician with an international reputation in clinical and outcomes research. Albertsen will serve as Director and Fifield as Deputy Director of the Institute, with distinct but equal leadership responsibilities.  The Director and Deputy Director will co-direct the CICATS Gateway and the Pilot and Clinical Translational and Clinical Studies Core (Pilot); the Deputy Director will oversee the day-to-day operations of the CICATS Gateway.

Dr. Albertsen is responsible for the following core areas:

• regulatory knowledge and support and clinical research ethics (RKSCRE)
• clinical and translational science research (PCIR)
• basic science and translation
• research design, epidemiology and biostatistics (RDEB)
• biomedical informatics (BMI)

Dr. Fifield is responsible for daily CICATS operations and the following core areas:

• practice-oriented research translation (PORT)
• consortium
• research education, training and career development
• tracking and evaluation (T&E)