Clinical and Translational Science Institute

Clinical and Translational Science Institute hosts external program leadership

Penn State Clinical and Translational Science Institute highlights rural health efforts, the impact of DEI-A in research, and a vision for building the next generation of translational scientists and clinicians

Penn State CTSI established leaders and partners reflect on CTSI's 2024 External Advisory Board meeting.  

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI)’s annual External Advisory Board (EAB) meeting overflowed with innovative ideas; impactful work across the commonwealth; and recognition, praise and insightful feedback from external board members.

The CTSI's External Advisory Board (EAB) includes academic leadership from other Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) programs. It functions as an interface with the scientific community and offers an outside perspective to the management of Penn State CTSI. Representatives share their experience with implementing CTSA programs at their institutions and offer advice on how Penn State can be more effective.

Members of CTSI’s EAB participate in annual on-site meetings, review Penn State CTSI programs and progress, make recommendations, and assess whether milestones for CTSI and its programs have been achieved. The EAB provides a written report that is shared with the National Institutes of Health and Penn State leadership.

Karen Kim, Dean of Penn State College of Medicine; Craig Newschaffer, Dean of Penn State College of Health and Human Development; and Laurie Badzek, Dean of Penn State Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing, offer opening remarks at Penn State CTSI's External Advisory Board Meeting.  Credit: Penn State. Creative Commons

Dr. Debra Bogen, Pennsylvania’s Acting Secretary of Health, joined Penn State CTSI's external advisory board meeting via Zoom to talk about ways we can work together to support and retain rural health providers and improve rural health access. Credit: Penn State. Creative Commons

External Advisory Board members from the Institute for Translational Medicine (ITM), Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, and the University of Pittsburgh discuss Penn State CTSI's presentation of work.  Credit: Penn State. Creative Commons

Marie Norman, CTSI External Advisory Board member from the University of Pittsburgh, comments on Penn State CTSI's team science initiatives. The CTSI offers research staff a team science toolkit, which provides access to practical, pertinent information that addresses specific and common team needs; offers an array of team-based interventions across the team life cycle; features evidence-based interventions supported by team research; and recommends metrics to assess team processes, climate and effectiveness.    Credit: Penn State. Creative Commons

Timothy F. Murphy, Penn State CTSI External Advisory Board member from Jacobs School Of Medicine And Biomedical Sciences, discusses Penn State CTSI services. Credit: Penn State. Creative Commons

Gerald Moose Stacy, Penn State CTSI External Advisory Board member from the Institute for Translational Medicine, reflects on Penn State's presentation of work and vision for improving rural health.  Credit: Penn State. Creative Commons

George Garrow, CEO of Primary Health Network, highlights new and ongoing rural health efforts with Penn State CTSI. Credit: Penn State. Creative Commons

Raffy Luquis, Penn State CTSI's JEDI-B director, and Jamal Essayli, a CTSI Bridges to Translation research pilot awardee, discuss research. Credit: Penn State. Creative Commons

Steven Negron-Candelario, Project Manager within Penn State CTSI's Accelerated Staff Assistance Program (ASAP), speaks with other CTSI staff. ASAP is part of a new CTSI initiative called iSMART (Infrastructure for Support, Mentorship and Research Training). ASAP provides research faculty with short-term or partial effort staffing support for human subjects research projects.  Credit: Penn State. Creative Commons

Jess Petrie, Penn State CTSI's Education Project Manager, speaks with other CTSI staff.  Credit: Penn State. Creative Commons

Penn State CTSI's Community Health Equity & Engagement in Research (CHEER) team poses in front of the program's research poster. CHEER seeks to strengthen existing and foster new community-academic partnerships to reduce health disparities and bolster inclusivity. L-to-R Paula Moodie, Jen Poger, Laurie Crawford Credit: Penn State. Creative Commons

Lauren Jodi Van Scoy, Penn State CTSI's Associate Director for Education and Workforce Development, speaks to a meeting guest. Van Scoy leads CTSI's early-stage investigator training (KL2) program, a research and career development program for junior faculty scholars interested in advancing clinical and translational research. Credit: Penn State. Creative Commons

Vasant Honavar, Co-lead of Penn State CTSI's informatics core service area, discusses electronic health record data sets, AI, and machine learning in research.  Credit: Penn State. Creative Commons

Paul Fu, Jr., Penn State CTSI External Advisory Board member from City of Hope, UCLA, discusses Penn State's advancement in research data access.  Credit: Penn State. Creative Commons

Karen Kim, Dean of Penn State College of Medicine; Craig Newschaffer, Dean of Penn State College of Health and Human Development; and Laurie Badzek, Dean of Penn State Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing, offer opening remarks at Penn State CTSI's External Advisory Board Meeting.  Credit: Penn State. Creative Commons

Dr. Debra Bogen, Pennsylvania’s Acting Secretary of Health, joined Penn State CTSI's external advisory board meeting via Zoom to talk about ways we can work together to support and retain rural health providers and improve rural health access. Credit: Penn State. Creative Commons

External Advisory Board members from the Institute for Translational Medicine (ITM), Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, and the University of Pittsburgh discuss Penn State CTSI's presentation of work.  Credit: Penn State. Creative Commons

Marie Norman, CTSI External Advisory Board member from the University of Pittsburgh, comments on Penn State CTSI's team science initiatives. The CTSI offers research staff a team science toolkit, which provides access to practical, pertinent information that addresses specific and common team needs; offers an array of team-based interventions across the team life cycle; features evidence-based interventions supported by team research; and recommends metrics to assess team processes, climate and effectiveness.    Credit: Penn State. Creative Commons

Timothy F. Murphy, Penn State CTSI External Advisory Board member from Jacobs School Of Medicine And Biomedical Sciences, discusses Penn State CTSI services. Credit: Penn State. Creative Commons

Gerald Moose Stacy, Penn State CTSI External Advisory Board member from the Institute for Translational Medicine, reflects on Penn State's presentation of work and vision for improving rural health.  Credit: Penn State. Creative Commons

George Garrow, CEO of Primary Health Network, highlights new and ongoing rural health efforts with Penn State CTSI. Credit: Penn State. Creative Commons

Raffy Luquis, Penn State CTSI's JEDI-B director, and Jamal Essayli, a CTSI Bridges to Translation research pilot awardee, discuss research. Credit: Penn State. Creative Commons

Steven Negron-Candelario, Project Manager within Penn State CTSI's Accelerated Staff Assistance Program (ASAP), speaks with other CTSI staff. ASAP is part of a new CTSI initiative called iSMART (Infrastructure for Support, Mentorship and Research Training). ASAP provides research faculty with short-term or partial effort staffing support for human subjects research projects.  Credit: Penn State. Creative Commons

Jess Petrie, Penn State CTSI's Education Project Manager, speaks with other CTSI staff.  Credit: Penn State. Creative Commons

Penn State CTSI's Community Health Equity & Engagement in Research (CHEER) team poses in front of the program's research poster. CHEER seeks to strengthen existing and foster new community-academic partnerships to reduce health disparities and bolster inclusivity. L-to-R Paula Moodie, Jen Poger, Laurie Crawford Credit: Penn State. Creative Commons

Lauren Jodi Van Scoy, Penn State CTSI's Associate Director for Education and Workforce Development, speaks to a meeting guest. Van Scoy leads CTSI's early-stage investigator training (KL2) program, a research and career development program for junior faculty scholars interested in advancing clinical and translational research. Credit: Penn State. Creative Commons

Vasant Honavar, Co-lead of Penn State CTSI's informatics core service area, discusses electronic health record data sets, AI, and machine learning in research.  Credit: Penn State. Creative Commons

Paul Fu, Jr., Penn State CTSI External Advisory Board member from City of Hope, UCLA, discusses Penn State's advancement in research data access.  Credit: Penn State. Creative Commons

The CTSI welcomed opening remarks from Penn State leaders including Karen Kim, dean of Penn State College of Medicine; Craig Newschaffer, dean of Penn State College of Health and Human Development; Laurie Badzek, dean of Penn State Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing; and Jennifer Kraschnewski, Penn State CTSI principal investigator and director. Leadership delivered their shared vision for improving rural health outcomes, reducing rural health disparities, and the importance of cross-disciplinary and cross-campus translational research.

Dr. Debra Bogen, Acting Secretary of Health at the Pennsylvania Department of Health, joined via Zoom to discuss ways we can work together to support and retain rural health providers and improve rural health access.

The CTSI’s work was delivered via panel talks, core-specific presentations, and poster sessions delivered by faculty, staff, and Institute partners. Discussion topics included:

Attendees took part in a video story booth to highlight their vision toward advancing CTSI’s mission to improve human health.

"I am so grateful to have received incredible insight from both our EAB and committed new and established leaders across the CTSI," Kraschnewski said. "This valuable expertise and their forward-thinking recommendations have helped focus our mission and vision in an inspired way."

The CTSI’s mission is to connect translational scientists and community partners to improve healthy living and health equity, by supporting research infrastructure through funding, training and education, community engagement and collaborative programs across Penn State and the commonwealth.

The CTSI’s vision is to improve rural health by advancing translational science and scientists in partnership with communities to bring discoveries into practice.

"As we look ahead, our focus remains on these navigational beacons," said Kraschnewski. "As we plan for the Institute’s renewal in 2026, we continue to work on strategic planning related to the themes outlined in the EAB’s report."

Research faculty, staff and community partners highlight CTSI services, successes and their vision for the future while attending CTSI's 2024 External Advisory Board meeting.  

Last Updated March 14, 2024

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