How does the CTM accelerate translational research?
There are several important aspects of the CTM’s work: setting research priorities, capacity building and co-ordinating our research infrastructure.
The CTM supports translational research, taking findings from the laboratory and advancing them into clinical trials. Each year the CTM puts out a number of different funding calls. These include pre-doctoral and post-doctoral research fellowships, and year-long pump-priming awards for individual projects. There is also the Research Partner Catalyst Scheme which funds a day a week of research time for health professionals, allowing them to develop their own research projects. The scheme enables them to collect early data and explore their ideas, so that they are in a strong position to put together effective applications for further grant funding. It allows clinicians to pursue areas of research interest that they believe will ultimately lead to enhanced patient care.
The CTM helps co-ordinate access for clinical academics to relevant training in research skills delivered through the King’s Clinical Academic Training Office (KCATO). The clinical academics supported by the CTM come from a range of clinical backgrounds: doctors, nurses, midwives and those belonging to the Allied Health Professions (AHPs) such as pharmacists, physiotherapists and dietitians. The CTM equips them with the skills and guidance they need to deliver impactful translational research, preparing them to become the next generation of clinical-academic leaders. Training provided through the Translational Academy, the Centre for Doctoral Studies, the Centre for Research Staff Development and more is well signposted across all the member organisations of King’s Health Partners.
The CTM funds and supports researchers to carry out effective Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE) activities, helping them to partner with patients and the public to progress their translational research and ensure it is relevant and sustainable. This support is critical to train researchers on how to co-design research with patients and the public, addressing problems that matter to them. The CTM offers support through training sessions, drop-in discussion sessions with PPIE Co-ordinator Sarah Crabtree, and by linking researchers to relevant patient and public groups.
Finally, the CTM brings together the infrastructure necessary to support translational research across King’s Health Partners now and into the future. This might mean providing access to a particular genomics platform, a data management system or connecting researchers to specialist teams who support them to engage with industry partners. This work is not only about signposting existing provision but also horizon scanning to understand where investment will be needed for future research.
What are the CTM’s areas of priority?
While the clinical expertise and interests of CTM researchers span a broad range of health and disease areas, there are some common aims that underpin their work:
- Taking advantage of the combined strengths of the health faculties at King’s and the King’s Health Partners member organisations; multidisciplinary expertise that is often reflected in the research supervisory team
- Considering mental and physical health aspects together, potentially working with the NIHR Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre
- Seeking to reduce health inequalities through the research
- Ensuring that research goals are informed by genuine patient and public involvement and engagement
Professor Phil Newsome was appointed as the CTM’s first director in June 2024, and in this video [link] he explains why he is passionate about translational medicine and personalised healthcare, and his vision for the CTM.
Follow the CTM on LinkedIn for the latest research news and details of upcoming funding calls. For more information about the CTM visit Centre for Translational Medicine