Click to visit the Great Plains CTR Network websiteThe Great Plains IDeA Clinical Translational Research (CTR) Network is a collaborative effort between nine institutions in Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota and Kansas to reach these medically underserved populations and transform health delivery and outcomes in the Great Plains region.
With generous funding from the National Institutes of Health and a belief that “together we are better,” the Great Plains IDeA-CTR Network seeks to advance the NIH mission to improve the health of Americans across the lifespan through innovative research, high quality patient care, outreach to underserved populations, and premier educational programs in the areas of mind, brain, and body health.
Objective
Our primary objective is to develop a robust, networked research infrastructure to nurture, develop, and guide our clinical and translational research investigators, as well as build collaborations among them and with community members across the northern Great Plains. We plan to foster partnerships with other IDeA-CTR entities in order to share best practices on developing CTR undertakings. Such efforts will position us to become more competitive for research awards as we strive to better understand the development of disease and the means for its prevention—particularly as it pertains to rural and urban underserved populations in our IDeA-CTR network.
Goals
To realize our primary objective and vision, the Great Plains IDeA-CTR will link the resources of UNMC to those of its partners that stretch from Nebraska to its neighboring IDeA states, South Dakota and North Dakota, and will collaborate with the University of Kansas, to achieve four overall goals:
- Create and sustain the infrastructure, services, resources, and community relationships needed to expand funded CTR across the Great Plains
- Develop a cadre of successful CTR investigators with a comprehensive professional development program, pilot grants, key component activities (KCAs), and expertise, who are prepared to develop and implement innovative tools and approaches and lead CTR teams
- Build upon existing partnerships with regional Great Plains IDeA states of South Dakota, North Dakota, and Kansas to expand CTR teams, disseminate existing resources to enhance their utilization and reduce duplication, collaborate to build new programs and resources, and improve health outcomes
- Implement a comprehensive internal evaluation program to assess and strengthen Great Plains IDeA-CTR leadership, measure the impact of the Great Plains IDeA-CTR programs in the region, track Great Plains IDeA-CTR progress on goals and performance milestones, and assess effectiveness of resources and dissemination across the region