A systems approach to the promotion and implementation of medical translational research at the University of Virginia

The University of Virginia (UVA) School of Medicine is seeking ways to improve its system for conducting Translational Research (TR), in order to improve its proposal for a National Institute of Health (NIH) Clinical & Translational Science Award (CTSA), a grant designed to guide medical research institutions throughout the USA into transforming their approaches to conducting TR. To that end, the School requested that this systems analysis team provide an external, unbiased systemic perspective of translational research. This paper utilizes a systems approach to investigate, analyze, and decipher the problems that hinder a successful and sustainable TR environment. Beyond uncovering these problems, we applied systematic techniques in order to generate solutions that can be implemented within the UVA Health System. The analysis and methods herein will help to achieve the goal of improving patient care by increasing research efficacy and efficiency.