This season on Science in Translation, we will explore how Northwestern University's interdisciplinary culture drives discovery and impact, harnessing diverse expertise to address society's most challenging problems. In this episode, Eric J. Perreault, PhD, Vice President for Research at Northwestern University, discusses the power of collaboration and how Northwestern's deeply interdisciplinary culture across multiple schools and units drives research and real world impact.

Priya Kumthekar, MD, didn't have industry connections or commercialization training when she started working with small companies to help bring scientific advancements to her patients with brain tumors. She learned along the way the many steps it takes to bring new scientific breakthroughs to the marketplace specifically through clinical trials. In this episode, Kumthekar explains how she is now helping to streamline this commercialization process with The Chicago Biomedical Consortium Hub for Innovative Technology and Entrepreneurship in the Sciences (CBC-HITES) where she serves as a clinical trial translation guide and how NUCATS members and investigators from across Chicagoland universities and colleges can benefit from funding and training offered by the program.

Through implementation science, NUCATS is dedicated to accelerating and moving new interventions into impact that improves health for all. In this episode of Science in Translation, Amy Van Pelt, PhD, discusses her work in implementation science and its impact on global health, particularly in resource-limited settings. She shares the importance of bridging gaps between research and practice, linguistic barriers, and the cultural adaptation of health interventions through implementation science. She also shares new educational opportunities for investigators to learn more about implementation science.

In this episode of Science in Translation, Laura Rasmussen-Torvik, PhD, explains some of the innovative strategies and programs driving career development in clinical and translational science at NUCATS. She talks about her new role as co-director of the Center for Education and Career Development (CECD) at NUCATS, her journey in research and mentorship, and the intersection of career development, research excellence, and fostering a collaborative research ecosystem.

From being a pastor to becoming an assistant professor and team scientist at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Cory Bradley, PhD, is focused on integrating health equity and social justice into translational science, developing diverse communities and workforces, and creating public health interventions that benefit marginalized communities. In this episode he talks about his career path and current projects within NUCATS that align with its aims to include, innovate, and implement.

As part of $55 million recently awarded to NUCATS by the NIH's Clinical and Translational Science Awards Program, NUCATS will provide critical resources and services that empower clinical and translational research across Northwestern and its affiliates. Leah Welty, PhD and Anju Peters, MD are co-leading an effort to streamline research processes, enhance inclusivity, and foster innovation through collaborative efforts. In this episode they talk about what NUCATS members can expect as these efforts launch in the months ahead.

NIH Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) programs connect investigators with communities as well as with each other, providing opportunities for investigators from different institutions to work together. Proof of such collaboration is the relationship between NUCATS Institute member Nia Heard-Garris, MD, MBA, MSc, and Monique Jindal, MD, MPH, a member of the University of Illinois Chicago School of Medicine's Center for Clinical and Translational Science. In this episode, they discuss their recent study on racial disparities in pediatric medicine, the challenges of researching social determinants of health, and the impact of relationships that go beyond institutional walls.