Rutgers University has been awarded a transformative $47.5 million federal grant aimed at accelerating the translation of laboratory research into practical healthcare interventions, ranging from diagnostics to medical procedures and behavioral health solutions.
Leaders from Rutgers and the New Jersey community recently celebrated the Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA), the state’s sole CTSA, funded through the New Jersey Alliance for Clinical and Translational Science (NJ ACTS). This grant will drive translational science by advancing discoveries into actionable health treatments and solutions, with a broad scope covering diagnostics, therapeutics, and preventive measures.
NJ ACTS, established in 2019 with an initial $29 million in National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding, includes a network of scientists, healthcare providers, patient advocacy groups, and community members. With this renewed funding for the next seven years, NJ ACTS will focus on implementing research to combat opioid overdoses, reduce maternal mortality, and examine childhood asthma in relation to environmental toxins.
Rutgers has noted that the grant will enhance translational science by expanding clinical trials, particularly complex, non-cancer trials like gene therapy, and by strengthening its community-engaged research network. It will also support workforce development initiatives, with a focus on training in dissemination and implementation science to bridge lab findings and healthcare delivery.
This initiative enables multidisciplinary research teams, including scientists and patient advocates, to tackle widespread clinical and operational challenges in translational research. Through NJ ACTS, Rutgers and its partners now engage nearly 7.5 million of New Jersey’s 9 million residents.
Reflecting on this milestone, reynold panettieri, vice chancellor for translational medicine and science and director of the Rutgers Institute for Translational Medicine and Science, expressed pride in the program’s growth. “It is inspiring to see how we have created a robust network among academic, clinical, state, and community partners to advance research and training opportunities that didn’t exist prior to our initial 2019 award,” he said. “Our partnership with RWJBarnabas Health has allowed us to expand clinical research, linking our 200+ investigators’ basic science discoveries to patient care across New Jersey.”
This significant funding positions Rutgers and NJ ACTS to further their impact on healthcare innovation, translating scientific breakthroughs into tangible benefits for communities statewide.
