Fleming Erik S, Perkins James, Easa David, Conde José G, Baker Richard S, Southerland William M, Dottin Robert, Benabe Julio E, Ofili Elizabeth O, Bond Vincent C, McClure Shelia A, Sayre Michael H, Beanan Maureen J, Norris Keith C
Research Centers in Minority Institutions Translational Research Network, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, Los Angeles, California 90062, USA.
Ethn Dis. 2008 Spring;18(2 Suppl 2):S2-161-7.
The national research leadership has recently become aware of the tremendous potential of translational research as an approach to address health disparities. The Research Centers in Minority Institutions (RCMI) Translational Research Network (RTRN) is a research network that supports multi-institutional, multidisciplinary collaboration with a focus on key diseases and conditions for which disproportionately adverse racial and ethnic health disparities exist. The RTRN is designed to facilitate the movement of scientific advances across the translational research spectrum by providing researchers at different institutions with the infrastructure and tools necessary to collaborate on interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research projects relating to specific health outcomes for which major racial/ethnic disparities exist. In the past, the difficulty of overcoming the restrictions imposed by time and space have made it difficult to carry out this type of large-scale, multilevel collaboration efficiently. To address this formidable challenge, the RTRN will deploy a translational research cluster system that uses "cyber workspaces" to bring researchers with similar interests together by using online collaboratory technology. These virtual meeting environments will provide a number of tools, including videoconferences (seminars, works in progress, meetings); project management tools (WebCT, Microsoft Share Point); and posting areas for projects, concepts, and other research and educational activities. This technology will help enhance access to resources across institutions with a common mission, minimize many of the logistical hurdles that impede intellectual exchange, streamline the planning and implementation of innovative interdisciplinary research, and assess the use of protocols and practices to assist researchers in interacting across and within cyber workspaces.
国家研究领导层最近已意识到转化研究作为解决健康差距问题的一种方法具有巨大潜力。少数族裔机构研究中心（RCMI）转化研究网络（RTRN）是一个研究网络，它支持多机构、多学科合作，重点关注存在不成比例的不利种族和族裔健康差距的关键疾病和状况。RTRN旨在通过为不同机构的研究人员提供必要的基础设施和工具，以促进跨转化研究领域的科学进展，这些基础设施和工具用于开展与存在主要种族/族裔差距的特定健康结果相关的跨学科和跨领域研究项目。过去，克服时间和空间限制的困难使得高效开展此类大规模、多层次合作变得困难。为应对这一巨大挑战，RTRN将部署一个转化研究集群系统，该系统利用“网络工作区”，通过在线协作技术将有相似兴趣的研究人员聚集在一起。这些虚拟会议环境将提供多种工具，包括视频会议（研讨会、正在进行的工作、会议）；项目管理工具（WebCT、微软SharePoint）；以及用于项目、概念和其他研究及教育活动的发布区域。这项技术将有助于加强具有共同使命的各机构对资源的获取，最大限度减少阻碍知识交流的诸多后勤障碍，简化创新跨学科研究的规划和实施，并评估协议和实践的使用情况，以协助研究人员在网络工作区内和跨网络工作区进行互动。
