Program Overview

The CCTS supports translational science pilot projects that align with the CCTS mission of accelerating the translation of research into improvements for human health and healthcare delivery. Projects must be focused on translational science – the generation of generalizable innovations that address translational barriers, such as:

• Lack of patient/community engagement in the development and implementation of health interventions
• Ineffective clinical trial recruitment
• Failure/inability to retain participants
• Lack of novel clinical trial design (e.g. adaptive designs)
• Lack of novel endpoints for clinical studies/trials (e.g. behavioral endpoints)
• Complexity of study protocols
• Complexity in management of multi-site studies
• Clinical trials not completed on time or budget
• Translation of effective health interventions between patient populations (e.g. adult to pediatric)
• Lack of rigor, transparency, and reproducibility (e.g. clinical to real-world settings)
• Lack of data interoperability and transparency
• Challenges to data acquisition, integrity, and analysis
• Failure to utilize existing data for research (e.g. electronic health records, national cohorts)
• Challenges in testing new therapeutic modalities and drug repurposing
• Failure to correctly predict drug toxicology or efficacy
• Failure to technically execute complex mechanistic studies in human or animal models
• Lack of access to biospecimens
• Failure in translation from animal models to human trials
• Lack of common solutions across research on a range of diseases and conditions
• Lack of incentivization for collaboration
• Lack of training research teams (scientific and cultural)
• Lengthy regulatory approval processes (e.g. participant consent content/process, chemical, manufacturing and controls (CMC) criteria))
• Failure to disseminate health practice or policy updates
• Failure to implement health practice or policy updates

Key Dates:

NOFO Released.                                                   August 26, 2024

Supplementary Information.                                 Read the FAQs

Pre-Application Due.                                             October 25, 2024

Consultation Period.                                              November - December 2024

Full-Application Due.                                             December 23, 2024

Award Period.                                                        May 2025 – April 2026

Key Details:

Investigators spanning the CCTS Partner Network may request up to $30,000. Cost sharing is NOT allowed in any form (e.g. cosponsorship, matching). Applicants and awardees will receive feedback on future grant applications, regulatory guidance, facilitated project team meetings, feedback and dissemination of study plans and results within scientific and local communities, and opportunities to participate in clinical translational science events (didactic to networking).