SCTS was established in 2008 with the mission of advancing research and education in CTS so as to improve human health. Since CTS research is a cross‐cutting enterprise, SCTS will focus on the multidisciplinary processes of conducting CTS research rather than on the results in any specific scientific area or disease. As the missions of many different professional societies overlap SCTS's mission and SCTS recognizes and respects the contributions that these societies have made in advancing the discipline of CTS, SCTS is eager to join with these societies in the common cause of advancing the field.
The Discipline of CTS
By serving as the bridge between scientific discoveries and improved diagnosis, therapy, and prevention of human disease, CTS research differs from basic science discovery, which focuses on the generation of new knowledge without regard to its immediate application to medicine. The primary objective of CTS research is the improvement of human health at both the individual and community levels. Viewed from an economic perspective, CTS research is also essential for the success of the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device industries, facilitating the conversion of scientif c discoveries into new drugs and devices, and creating new jobs that derive from the manufacture, sales, and distribution of the drugs and devices. CTS research also has a role in national defense, including the development of methods to diagnose and treat diseases caused by biologic weapons. Thus, CTS is essential for achieving many of the goals the public expects from its investment in medical research through support of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
The creation by the NIH of the Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) program in 2006 dramatically heightened awareness of the discipline of CTS in academic institutions, industry, and philanthropy, as well as among the broader public and the policy makers at local, state, and national levels. With its focus on developing and augmenting advanced degree‐granting training programs in CTS, many of which built on the excellent curricula developed under the aegis of the NIH Clinical Research Curriculum K30 Award program, the CTSA program also provided encouragement and new resources to create imaginative educational experiences for individuals who seek careers in CTS. Based on 2007 data from the CTSAs, there are already more that 500 trainees in these programs and when the CTSA program reaches its stated goal of 60 centers, it is likely that there will be more than 1,000 trainees in these programs at any time.
The past several decades have been marked by astounding advances in basic science, epitomized by the success of the human genome project and the growing “‐omics” revolution. This explosion of knowledge has not, however, been matched by a comparable increase in the translation of that knowledge into new therapies. In fact, the number of truly novel drugs and biologics approved by the Food and Drug Administration each year has not substantially increased since the 1970s despite more than a 10‐fold increase in inflation‐adjusted investments by the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. While many factors
society for clinical and translational science (scts) governance
Officers
Barry Coller (Rockefeller University) – President
Harry Selker (Tufts Medical Center) – Vice President
Rebecca Jackson (Ohio State University) – Secretary
Anantha Shekhar (Indiana University) – Treasurer
Board of Directors
Robert Califf (Duke University)
Marc Drezner (University of Wisconsin)
Daniel Ford (Johns Hopkins University)
David Guzick (University of Rochester)
Gary Hunninghake (University of Iowa)
Eric Orwoll (Oregon Health & Science University)
Kenneth Polonsky (Washington University)
Robert Sherwin (Yale School of Medicine)
NIH Liaison to the Board of Directors
John Gallin (NIH Clinical Center)
Standing Committees
Henry Ginsberg (Columbia University) – Annual Meeting
Paul Marantz (Albert Einstein College of Medicine)
– Annual Meeting
John Gallin (NIH Clinical Center) – Membership
Kenneth Polonsky (Washington University) – Nominations
Philip Greenland (Northwestern University) – Publications
Harry Selker (Tufts Medical Center) – Public Education &
Governmental Affairs
Anantha Shekhar (Indiana University) – Finance & Audit have contributed to this disappointing gap between scientifc opportunity and medical advance, one important factor is the increasing complexity of conducting CTS research.
The 3 Dimensions of CTS
The full expression of CTS research requires the convergence of expertise across 3 dimensions. The first dimension is the multidisciplinary approach required to perform studies involving human participants. In the past a single investigator could examine a patient on the ward in the morning, take a sample back to the lab and perform an assay by midday, then return to the ward in the af ernoon and institute a novel therapy based on the experimental results. Today, such research requires the efforts of clinical research coordinators, research nurses, pharmacologists, research pharmacists, biostatisticians, bionutritionists, and clinical monitors and auditors, as a well as experts in the protection of human subjects, recruitment, community engagement, bioinformatics, and information technology. The laboratory evaluation itself requires a team approach, with a focus on advanced and expensive instrumentation and procedures commonly found only in large core facilities, supported by extensive quality control programs that meet the exacting standards for clinical laboratories.
The second dimension is the continuum that extends from defining a health need, often via careful analysis of epidemiologic data, through basic investigation, preclinical evaluation, human studies, small and large scale clinical trials, analysis of clinical adoption and both therapeutic‐ and cost‐effectiveness in the community, and, finally, returning to epidemiology. This dimension is composed of multiple bidirectional cycles, since each component contains information that potentially can advance every other component. As a result, the free flow of information across what are increasingly viewed as arbitrary boundaries is crucial for success. For example, the data from the Framingham Heart Study demonstrating the association between the risk of vascular disease and serum cholesterol levels played an important role in encouraging investigation of cholesterol metabolism at the molecular level, laying the groundwork for the development of drugs to reduce serum cholesterol levels.
The third dimension links the academic community with its partners in the CTS enterprise, including granting, public health, and regulatory agencies; policy makers; the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device industries; and the philanthropic organizations that fund and support research.
The Central Role of Training and Mentoring
Most importantly, using the stem cell analogy, it is essential that the discipline of CTS has the capacity for self‐renewal. A commitment to the training and mentoring of the next generation of investigative teams, as well as the support and recognition of the mentors who play the most important role in both training and career development, is crucial for the success and long‐term stability of the enterprise. Fortunately, the Association for Clinical Research Training (ACRT) and the National CTSA Consortium Education and Career Development Key Function Committee recognize this need and have jointly conducted an outstanding meeting for trainees and mentors for the past several years.
become a member
For more information visit the SCTS Web site,
http://www.societycts.org, or e‐mail SCTS@smithbucklin.com.
Based on the foregoing considerations, the immediate goal of SCTS is to conduct an annual meeting in cooperation with ACRT and the CTSA Education and Career Development Committee. The first annual meeting is scheduled for April 5‐7, 2010, in Washington, DC. It is open to all individuals who participate in or support CTS in academic institutions around the world, as well as individuals from industry, government, and philanthropy.
The meeting will focus on the needs of trainees and junior faculty; provide a forum for dissemination of new developments in the design and conduct of CTS research; provide a forum for leaders in governmental agencies, the private sector, and philanthropic organizations to provide updates on their programs related to CTS research; and facilitate scientific collaborations and the development of a cultural identity for the discipline through opportunities for social networking. Other societies with overlapping missions are encouraged to consider meeting in the same location and time as SCTS.
The SCTS Founding Institutions
SCTS was initially founded by all of the then 38 CTSA recipient institutions as well as the NIH Clinical Center. Since that time the list of founding institutions has extended beyond the CTSA program (an updated list is posted at http://www.societycts.org) and additional institutions are invited to join the list of founding institutions, which will remain open until the f rst SCTS annual meeting. To add your institution to the list of founding institutions, contact the SCTS administrator at (202) 367‐1119. Governance is vested in a Board of Directors and of cers derived from institutional members and a liaison member from ACRT. The current Board of Directors, of cers, and committee chairs are listed in Table 1.
Publications
CTS has been designated as an official journal of SCTS. SCTS wishes to express its deep appreciation to Arthur Feldman, MD, PhD, CTS editor‐in‐chief, and Danette Somers of Wiley‐Blackwell for their support in establishing this relationship.
The Future of SCTS
As the founding president of SCTS I want to thank all of the individuals who have worked hard to convert the idea for SCTS into the reality of a newborn society, learning and adapting as it begins its journey, but filled with the excitement, enthusiasm, and expectations that uniquely mark a true new beginning. I look forward to working with each of you to make certain that SCTS achieves its remarkable potential.