UNMC_Acronym_Vert_sm_4c
University of Nebraska Medical Center

About Us

Members of the Great Plains IDeA-CTR, such as Amy Desaulniers of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, have access to research services, grant funding, mentorship and collaboration.

Our network is working to support research that will result in better health outcomes across the Great Plains.

We are focused on key priorities:

We approach these priorities through Community Services, Clinical Care, Telehealth or Innovative Technology, Social Determinants of Health, and Health Literacy. Download our key priorities.

We are funded by a grant through the Institutional Development Award Networks for Clinical and Translational Research  under the National Institute of General Medical Sciences.

Creating a Robust Network

The Great Plains IDeA-CTR Network accelerates clinical and translational research by curating expertise, resources, services and infrastructure into highly specialized cores that are accessible to all members.

Our Cores

Administrative

This core is the heart of the IDeA-CTR program. Providing leadership and coordinating the successful day-to-day operations necessary to fulfill its shared vision, the core is helping to shape a robust infrastructure for advancing clinical and translational science in the Great Plains region. With this vision in mind, the core fosters communication among all stakeholders, oversees the budget and fiscal operations, leads committee organization and meetings, and facilitates innovative collaborations within our network and our communities. 

The core values transparency and welcomes input from all partners, community members, and program participants. This core seeks expert guidance from a series of advisory committees related to governance, policy, and procedural issues related to the management of research and educational activities. These committees assist in strategic problem solving, goal revision and strategic planning, and realignment of resources as opportunities arise.

Biomedical Informatics, Bioinformatics and Cyberinfrastructure Enhancement

This core provides support in research informatics needs by offering a rich repository of information technology resources. Through this core, we provide training and consultations to investigators looking to access large datasets, utilize clinical data, and adopt best practices when utilizing biomedical data in their research.

This core can provide support with data sharing plans, forming collaborative teams for your research, and assist with navigating informatics resources to ensure investigators can conduct successful and efficient research. 

Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Research Design

This core provides investigators with expertise in biostatistics, epidemiology, and research design. Through this core, we provide various services, including data acquisition, study design, and data analysis. As part of services for IDeA-CTR members, we work closely with the Center for Collaboration on Research Design and Analysis in the UNMC College of Public Health to facilitate research support ranging from study design, the comprehensive development of research protocols and data analysis plans, to data management and data analysis.

This core also provides various tutorials on accessing population-based data sets and basic biostatistics and epidemiology training to clinical and translational investigators and host workshops and seminars to build cutting-edge statistical expertise related to clinical and translation research.  

Community Engagement and Outreach

This core builds capacity and cultivates partnerships between community partners and academic researchers across the translational research and community engagement spectrums. Through the promotion of systems change, the provision of resources and the application of Community-Based Participatory Research principles, this core supports community partners and researchers in building mutually beneficial research collaborations that aim to address locally relevant health priorities.

The core offers research consultations, trainings, workshops, and pilot funding to develop culturally humble, knowledgeable, and skilled researchers. The core also provides training and workshops to build research and evaluation capacity among community partners. The core works collaboratively with the other cores, advisory groups, the Community Advisory Board, and the Great Plains Primary Care Practice-Based Research Network to execute the overall mission of the CTR.   

Pilot Projects Program

The goal of this program is to provide a mechanism to test the most promising and novel clinical translational research projects, and help investigators obtain preliminary data necessary for successful investigator-initiated extramural grants. Applicants can choose from several pilot funding mechanisms to best suit their research needs. Awards range from $5,000-$100,000 for a one-year project, as well as access to resources of the Great Plains IDeA-CTR Network to support their research efforts.

The priorities for pilot grant projects are a combination of scientific and regional needs developed by the GP IDeA-CTR Community Advisory Board. Our intention is to support work that moves science forward and can be applied to address regional health issues. 

Professional Development

Professional development is a critical component of efforts to enhance research activities across our region. The goal of this core is to leverage and integrate the resources and strengths of the Great Plains IDeA-CTR Network to offer clinical translational research education, training, funding, and mentoring opportunities to develop successful translational research investigators.

In collaboration with our partner institutions, this core offers experiences and services that help build infrastructure in clinical translational research. Key strengths of this include:

  1. Educational offerings for diverse audiences.
  2. Training for mentors and mentor-matching for early-career translational research faculty.
  3. Formal programs to support the development and retention of promising early-career translational research faculty.
Tracking and Evaluation
This core collaborates with all cores to monitor and measure the short- and long-term success of the Great Plains IDeA-CTR network. We follow a translational science benefits logic model to outline our activities and outcomes utilizing a participatory, collaborative, and utilization-focused approach. We strive to provide meaningful data demonstrating progress and to drive improvement.  
Logos for Boys Town National Research Hospital, Children's Nebraska, Creighton University, Omaha VA Medical Center, UNK, UNL, UNMC, UNO and Dakota Community Collaborative

Hosted at UNMC, the Great Plains IDeA-CTR connects leading academic institutions as partners in collaborative work to achieve health equity through regionally relevant research. A collaborating IDeA-CTR network is the Dakota Community Collaborative on Translational Activity.

Our Objective and Impact

We are developing a robust, networked research infrastructure to nurture, develop and guide our clinical and translational research investigators, as well as build collaborations among them and with community members across the northern Great Plains. We foster partnerships with other IDeA-CTR entities to share best practices and become more competitive for research awards as we better understand the development of disease and the means for its prevention.

Our impact will be seen in an expanded infrastructure and increased number of successful clinical and translational researchers working on innovative ways to reach medically underserved populations and improve the health of individuals living within our region.

This initiative will advance the NIH mission to improve the health of Americans through innovative research, the highest quality patient care, outreach to underserved populations, and premier educational programs in the areas of mind, brain and body health.

Our Goals

To Develop

We will develop the infrastructure, services, resources and community relationships needed to expand funded clinical and translational research that addresses health problems faced by our region.

To Strengthen

We will strengthen collaborative partnerships across the northern Great Plains to expand clinical and translational teams, enhance the use of existing resources, reduce duplication, build new programs and resources, and improve health outcomes.

To Expand

We will expand professional development activities to cultivate a cadre of successful clinical and translational investigators who are prepared to develop and implement innovative tools and approaches and lead teams to address health issues pertinent to the region.

To Create

We will create an environment that fosters innovative multidisciplinary, multisite, and cross-entity partnerships, and collaborations among IDeA-funded resources and other national entities.