The Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (CTSI), a research partnership among Indiana University, Purdue University and the University of Notre Dame, has launched a new program called “All IN for Health” to help grow public awareness of the state’s current health challenges and to invite the public’s participation into research studies taking place at our academic partner institutions.

The initiative aims to sign up at least 100,000 Indiana residents to its health research volunteer registry over the next three years. So far, the initiative has recruited more than 6,000 people.

The All IN for Health website, www.AllIN4Health.info, provides valuable resources aligned with the major health issues affecting Indiana, such as information for expectant mothers interested in quitting smoking. The website also offers opportunities to become research volunteers and be matched to any of the 1,000 active Indiana-based research studies made possible through IU, Purdue and Notre Dame. One such study is part of the new FIT Core located at the IU School of Medicine. FIT stands for Functional, Imaging Tissue Core and allows participants to get screenings of grip, gait speed and bone density at no charge.

All IN volunteers receive an email when they are matched with a study and can then decide if they want to participate. The program’s director Tiffany Campbell said listening to the public is also critical to achieving the Indiana CTSI’s long-term goal of making Indiana one of the nation’s healthiest states.

Tiffany Campbell, director of the Indiana CTSI’s “All IN for Health” initiative, which aims to increase Indiana residents’ research literacy and invite them to participate in health research studies. Photo: Indiana CTSI

“Until we clearly understand the full picture of health—including individual motivations—for a diverse population of our state’s residents, we won’t be able to come up with more successful solutions that will last,” Campbell said. “We know Indiana’s health issues are complex and personal, so we need to meet people where they are. There may be communities with higher rates of smoking, and that needs to change, but if those same people are living in a food desert, then access to food becomes much more important to those community members.”

There are two ways to sign up to be “All IN for Health”: Visit www.AllIN4Health.info and subscribe to its email newsletter containing resources for healthy living or sign up for the program’s volunteer registry to participate in health research. Community organizations are also encouraged to join the initiative by sharing All IN resources with their constituents and adding their health resources to All IN’s website.

The new grant is the Indiana CTSI’s third, five-year Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) from the NIH’s National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences. The CTSA Program, which includes a nationwide network of more than 50 academic medical centers, aims to improve the translational research process to get more treatments to more patients more quickly.

“The Indiana CTSI is an incredible asset to the State of Indiana. This program is one of the best of its kind in the country and enables our research universities and private companies to collaborate, speed clinical translation and have more impact,” said Jay L. Hess, MD, PhD, MHSA, vice president for University Clinical Affairs at IU and dean of the IU School of Medicine. “This new grant and the programs it makes possible will not only benefit our researchers, but will ultimately improve health for countless Hoosiers across the state.”

All IN for Health also helps Notre Dame researchers connect to potential research volunteers throughout Indiana and provides study feasibility numbers for grant submission. Email request@allin4health.info to list your health study or clinical trial, or to match volunteers to your current studies.

About the Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute

The Indiana CTSI brings together the state’s brightest minds to solve Indiana’s most pressing health challenges through research. It is a statewide partnership among Indiana University, Purdue University, the University of Notre Dame and numerous life sciences businesses, government entities and community organizations. The Indiana CTSI engages with the public at every level of research—from basic science to patient care. It has been continuously funded by multimillion dollar grants from the National Institutes of Health since the Indiana CTSI’s founding in 2008 and is housed at the Indiana University School of Medicine. For more information, visit indianactsi.org.

Originally published by Andrea Zeek at www.indianactsi.org on May 22, 2018.

Originally published by Andrea Zeek at ctsi.nd.edu on May 22, 2018.