Like most other major research universities, scholarly activities at The University of Iowa have long been pursued mainly within academic departments. For example, research into childhood diseases was done in the Department of Pediatrics, while research into the function of the lungs was done in the Division of Pulmonary Diseases in the Department of Internal Medicine.
As scientific research becomes more complex, new research models are being developed. Research teams often include people from across a range of disciplines. For example, a research team may include specialists in imaging, biostatistics, social sciences, biology, chemistry, genetics, development of research studies, and information technology, each of whom plays a crucial role in the research project.
The Institute for Clinical and Translational Science was established in part to be a mechanism by which those complex research teams can be formed. The University of Iowa is a very large organization and the ICTS provides researchers with a way to identify and communicate with people with a particular set of skills needed for a study.
Those collaborations go far beyond The University of Iowa. Along with the other institutions that have won CTSA grants, the UI is part of a consortium dedicated to bringing new discoveries to patients as quickly, efficiently and safely as possible. These centers work together to share information about discoveries. They also encourage scientists to collaborate, which greatly expands the number and expertise of people whose expertise can be brought into a given project.
