Building upon an increased focus on translational research at USC, the Los Angeles Basin Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) has awarded a total of $700,000 to 24 pilot grants recipients. Based at the Keck School of Medicine, the CTSI received a $56.8 million grant from the National Institutes of Health last summer to accelerate the pace at which research discoveries are translated into clinical practice.

Principal investigators and their collaborators include many multidisciplinary teams and represent a wide variety of institutions, schools and departments, including the Keck School of Medicine of USC and Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.

Pilot grants awarded by the CTSI Office of Research Development support a range of projects, from pre-clinical development of novel diagnostics and therapeutics to community-based research that will ultimately improve patient and community health.

"One of the main goals of the CTSI is to promote the development and conduct of new clinical and translational research. The pilot grant program is the centerpiece of our plans to achieve this goal,” said Thomas A. Buchanan, director of the CTSI and associate dean for clinical research at the Keck School of Medicine. “We were able to provide funds for 24 projects that represent a wide range of translational research directed at a wide range of health problems that matter here in Los Angeles. We look forward to moving more projects forward with future CTSI pilot funding.”

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