The National Institutes of Health aims to boost healthcare technology and science through 15 Institutional Clinical and Translational Science Awards. Total amount of the awards is $79 million in 2013.

The awards will be used to help translate basic discoveries into new treatments that tangibly improve human health requires innovative collaborations and resources, as well as a diverse, highly-trained workforce,” NIH officials said in announcing the awards on Oct. 22.

Led by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, the program catalyzes improvements across the entire spectrum of translational research through efforts to broadly develop, demonstrate and disseminate health interventions, according to NIH. It serves as a connector to engage key partners including other NIH institutes and centers, patient groups, communities, healthcare providers, industry, and regulatory organizations.

[See also: NIH establishes National Center for Advancing Translational Science.]

“Science and technology are progressing at an unprecedented pace, and the CTSA program — which represents NIH’s largest single investment in clinical research — is helping researchers harness these innovations and deliver improved diagnostics, treatments and cures for disease,” NIH Director Francis S. Collins, MD, said in a statement.

These latest awards represent NIH’s commitment to the CTSA program, which supports a consortium of more than 60 research institutions across the country that is focused on strengthening translational research, NIH officials said. Under NCATS’ leadership, the program is focused on solving roadblocks common to clinical translational efforts for all diseases.

“The CTSA Consortium is leading national efforts to enhance the efficiency, quality and safety of translational research, no matter the disease or condition,” said NCATS Director Christopher P. Austin, MD, in a statement. “This aligns with the NCATS mission to create new technologies and methods that can be applied widely to streamline development and implementation of interventions that improve human health.”

[See also: NIH makes big deal of big data.]

The 2013 awards expand consortium representation to New Hampshire with an award to Dartmouth, extending the network to 31 states and the District of Columbia. The institutions receiving five-year awards are:

• Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York City
• Dartmouth College, Hanover, N.H.
• Duke University, Durham, N.C.
• Harvard Medical School, Boston
• Indiana University, Indianapolis
• Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore
• Ohio State University, Columbus
• Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, Calif.
• Stanford University, Stanford, Calif.
• Tufts University, Boston
• University of Colorado, Denver
• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio
• University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas
• University of Utah, Salt Lake City