Health Research Alliance Arizona

Background

HRAA logo Northern Arizona University (NAU) has become a key partner in an effort to build a state-wide infrastructure for Clinical and Translational Research in the state of Arizona. Beginning in February of 2008, NAU joined the collaborative efforts of Arizona State University and the University of Arizona in applying for a Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA), entitled the Health Research Alliance Arizona (HRAA). CTSA’s are a grant funding opportunity offered through the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The HRAA CTSA is working to "forge a uniquely transformative, novel, and integrative academic home for Clinical and Translational Science".

HRAA Project Summary

Arizona is actively participating the National Institutes of Health roadmap for medical research in the 21st century by seeking a Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA). The purpose of the CTSA Program is “to assist institutions to forge a uniquely transformative, novel, and integrative home for Clinical and Translational Science.” The CTSA program will provide the infrastructure to link and transfer new clinical and behavioral research from medical research scientists, to hospitals, and to communities. Arizona’s three state universities (ASU, NAU, and UA) are collaborating to coordinate the activities of the program, in partnership with Arizona hospitals, research institutes and biomedical institutions.

Health Research Alliance Arizona Overarching Goals:

Provide the core infrastructure to create a state-wide academic home for interdisciplinary, inter-institutional teams of clinical and translational investigators
Explicitly support investigator-initiated approaches to team building across the continuum from translational to clinical to community research and adoption

HRAA’s five core resources work together across disciplines, institutions, and geographic sites, in investigator teams. These core resources are as follows:

The Biomedical Informatics and Communication core provides a statewide network for communication and collaboration across the state for communication, collaborative efforts and data sharing.
The Translational Technologies core provides access to biotechnology resources through a virtual biotechnology core.
The Clinical and Translational Studies Resource Core supports inter-institutional clinical and translational studies including community involvement through the Clinical Research core.
The Research, Education, and Training and Career Development Core delivers educational modules including a graduate certificate and masters’ degree in Clinical and Translational Science. This core also provides support for trainee career development.
The Evaluation, Tracking, and Feedback Core provides evaluation of processes, and outcomes, and feedback loops.

Arizona's Unique Populations

Arizona is home to 22 federally recognized Native American tribes. According to the United States census (2006) the Hispanic/Latino(a) population in Arizona accounted for 29.2% of the Arizona population. The terms "Hispanic" and Latino(a) includes people of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central and South America, Dominican, and Spanish descent. NAU is in close proximity the largest Native American population in the country, thus serving the health needs of many Native people (in conjunction with Indian Health Services & reservation clinics).

HRAA has made a commitment to serving underserved populations. These populations include minorities and medically underserved populations. Minority populations include Blacks,/African Americans, Hispanics/Latino(a)s, American Indians and Alaska Natives, Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (according to NIH). Medically underserved populations (according to NIH) include older Americans and individuals living in communities lacking adequate health services or experiencing language, educational, financial, or transportation barriers.

State-wide Partnerships Through HRAA:

Arizona Biomedical Research Commission (ABRC), Arizona Area Health Education, Arizona Board of Regents (ABOR), AHCCCS, ASU Biomedical Informatics Department, ASU Center for Metabolic Biology, ASU Office of the President, ASU College of Nursing Healthcare Innovation, ASU School of Computing and Informatics, ASU Vice President of Research, Arizona Health Query (AZHQ), Banner Health, Battelle, BIO5 Institute, City of Phoenix, El Rio Community Health Center, Flinn Foundation, Fort Defiance Indian Hospital, Harvard University, Maricopa Integrated Health System, Mariposa Community Health Center, Mayo Clinic Arizona, Mayo Clinic Rochester, Mountain Park Health Center, NIDDK Phoenix, NAU Anthropology, NAU E-learning, NAU College of Health and Human Services, NAU Office of the Executive Dean, NAU Office of the President, NAU Vice President of Research, Partnership for Personalized Medicine, Phoenix Office of the Mayor, Phoenix Children's Hospital, PCC Office of the Chancellor, St. Joseph's Medical Center, Scottsdale Health Center, Translational Genomics Research Institute (T-Gen), UA Office of the President, UA College of Medicine, UA College of Medicine Phoenix, UA College of Nursing, UA College of Pharmacy, UA Department of Family & Community Medicine, UA Vice President of Research, UMC Office of the President, University Family Care, University of New Mexico Health Center, UPH, Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust