Leading by Success: Impact of a Clinical and Translational Research Infrastructure Program to Address Health Inequities

Building research infrastructure capacity to address clinical and translational gaps has been a focus of funding agencies and foundations. Clinical and Translational Sciences Awards, Research Centers in Minority Institutions Infrastructure for Clinical and Translational Research (RCTR), and the Institutional Development Award Infrastructure for Clinical and Translational Research funded by the US government to fund clinical translational research programs have existed for over a decade to address racial and ethnic health disparities across the USA. While the impact on the nation's health cannot be made in a short period, assessment of a program's impact could be a litmus test to gauge its effectiveness at the institution and communities. We report the success of a Pilot Project Program in the University of Hawaii RCTR Award in advancing careers of emerging investigators and community collaborators. Our findings demonstrated that the investment has a far-reaching impact on engagement with community-based research collaborators, career advancement of health disparity investigators, and favorable impacts on health policy.