Close-up photo showing the hands of researchers using liquid in beakers in a lab setting

Case Western Reserve selects multidisciplinary research teams to turn collective ideas into translational projects

Clinical and Translational Science Collaborative selects first round of team development retreats

Case Western Reserve University’s Clinical and Translational Science Collaborative (CTSC) has selected six teams to participate in the first round of Team Development Retreats.

The Community and Collaboration Component of the CTSC selected the multidisciplinary research teams to turn collective ideas into translational research projects, with a special focus on the integration of community, clinical and industry stakeholders as part of the endeavor. Teams range from six to 18 investigators from all eight schools and colleges at the university.

The overall goal of the projects will be to turn observations in the laboratory, clinic and community into interventions that improve the health of individuals and populations, ranging from diagnostics and therapeutics to medical procedures and behavioral interventions.

The six teams will be provided a package of support to help develop their translational ideas, including a four-hour retreat, professional group facilitator, graphic recorder and administrative support to pursue their projects. In return, the teams are responsible for developing a team action plan that outlines three specific translational project ideas.

The selected teams had to include investigators from multiple disciplines and at least one translational stakeholder—one who has a stake in the outcome and whose input could greatly enhance the research endeavor.

The six selected teams in this inaugural program are:

Human Fusions Initiative

Goal: To transform the relationship between humans and technology by using neural engineering technology that allows, for example, the brain of an individual wearing a prosthetic limb to recognize the prosthesis as a part of the human body.

Reinventing Health Surveillance to Leverage Developing Technology for Health Improvement

Goal: To reexamine our approach to health surveillance through the lens of rapidly developing, disruptive technologies that combine big data, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, spatial and digital epidemiology and social media analytics.

Team Science for Interprofessional Education

Goal: To study the role and impact of interprofessional student teams on patient outcomes and how to translate these findings into more refined interventions.

Building a Translational Research Agenda to Promote Environmental Health in Northeast Ohio

Goal: To develop a collaborative, community-engaged translational research agenda for the Swetland Center to advance health equity at the crossroads of the environment and health.

Achieving Health Equity through Cross-Sector Collaboration Focused on Systems Change

Goal: To better understand and measure the impact of HIP-Cuyahoga on health inequities in Cuyahoga County through system change operationalized within our partnership.

Addressing Tobacco Use Disparities in Cleveland

Goal: To develop a comprehensive, citywide plan to develop, implement and evaluate effective interventions to reduce the extremely high rate of tobacco use among Cleveland residents, within the context of better understanding the underlying drivers of addiction to nicotine and tobacco in this population.


For more information, contact Bill Lubinger at william.lubinger@case.edu.