Building capacity for collaborative research on opioid and other substance use disorders through the Clinical and Translational Science Award Program

Abstract

The opioid crisis in the USA requires immediate action through clinical and translational research. Already built network infrastructure through funding by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) provides a major advantage to implement opioid-focused research which together could address this crisis. NIDA supports training grants and clinical trial networks; NCATS funds the Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) Program with over 50 NCATS academic research hubs for regional clinical and translational research. Together, there is unique capacity for clinical research, bioinformatics, data science, community engagement, regulatory science, institutional partnerships, training and career development, and other key translational elements. The CTSA hubs provide unprecedented and timely response to local, regional, and national health crises to address research gaps [Clinical and Translational Science Awards Program, Center for Leading Innovation and Collaboration, Synergy paper request for applications]. This paper describes opportunities for collaborative opioid research at CTSA hubs and NIDA–NCATS opportunities that build capacity for best practices as this crisis evolves. Results of a Landscape Survey (among 63 hubs) are provided with descriptions of best practices and ideas for collaborations, with research conducted by hubs also involved in premier NIDA initiatives. Such collaborations could provide a rapid response to the opioid epidemic while advancing science in multiple disciplinary areas.

Immediate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on CTSA TL1 and KL2 training and career development

“…Personal and institutional identifiers were redacted prior to analysis. After establishing a general framework for data analysis (open coding of text related to initial domains of interest), an axial coding strategy based on the grounded theory approach [6] led to specific categories, following procedures that we have used previously [2,[7][8][9]. Two experienced coders independently assigned initial themes to each text response.…”

“…CTSA hubs provide settings for timely responses to local, regional, and national health crises, such as the opioid crisis [2] and the COVID-19 pandemic. However, it is also important to understand the effects of such crises on the hubs themselves, exemplified in the extreme by the COVID-19 pandemic.…”

A compendium of community engagement responses to the COVID-19 pandemic

“…A summary of the initial synergy study was put forth as a potential model for the proposed paper. 4 During the two-hour meeting, attendees described interactions with local community partners and how they were working with communities to identify and address immediate needs. The virtual meeting included about 30 investigators/community partners from 20 CTSA hubs; 18 institutions subsequently contributed written materials to support this publication (Table 1).…”

“…Many CTSA hubs have established partnerships within communities, which enhanced their potential to provide a timely response to health crises such as COVID-19. Paralleling the initial synergy paper, discussing how the already built CTSA infrastructure could be used to address the nation's opioid crisis, 4 this paper recounts how CTSA CE cores worked collaboratively with community partners to implement clinical research and public health initiatives that responded to the health challenges presented by COVID-19.…”

“…Many CTSA hubs have established partnerships within communities which enhanced their potential to provide a timely response to health crises such as COVID-19. Paralleling the initial synergy paper, discussing how the already built CTSA infrastructure could be used to address the nation's opioid crisis, 4 membership is independent of CTSA status. PACER has no limit on the number of participants from each hub and no restrictions on what can be discussed at meetings, unlike CTSA "enterprise" groups.…”