UCSF's CTSI Focuses on Challenges Ahead

The sixth annual Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) retreat offered an opportunity for more than 250 people from across the UCSF community to focus on CTSI’s successes and challenges, as well as its evolution toward greater independence amidst a changing funding environment.

“When you have this many smart people in one room it’s amazing what new ideas emerge,” said Catherine Lucey, MD, the UCSF School of Medicine’s vice dean for education who participated in the July 25 retreat panel discussion at UCSF Mission Bay.

Ideas and discussion topics were wide ranging, including a challenge from special guest Victoria Hale, chief executive officer and founder of Medicines360, and founder and chair emeritus of One World Health.

“In our resource-limited world, only a select number of organizations are going to thrive,” said Hale, who is also a member of CTSI’s External Advisory Board. “How do we move beyond traditional for-profit or non-profit business models? How do we think differently?”

For many, the event also offered an opportunity to better understand the wide range of activities CTSI is involved in to support all types of research, and researchers, at UCSF.

The diverse audience included faculty and staff, campus leaders, representatives from all four schools, and CTSI partners, as well as a representative from the National Institutes of Health.

“It’s good seeing all types of scientists, the community, and all the different schools represented, and not just talking about where we’ve been, but really focusing on where it is we want to go and how we’re going to put all of the pieces together,” said David Vlahov, RN, PhD, FAAN, dean of the UCSF School of Nursing.

Read the entire story on the CTSI website.