UIC Center for Clinical and Translational Science helps investigators overcome research roadblocks 

It can take decades for laboratory research to translate into health care practices. Researchers must navigate regulatory processes, data analysis, controlled experiments and human models, all which take time and resources. UIC’s Center for Clinical and Translational Science leverages collaboration, innovation and training to help UIC researchers bring scientific breakthroughs to the public more quickly. 

This year, the center secured a significant renewal of its Clinical and Translational Science Award and Career Development Program Award from the National Institutes of Health National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences. With a commitment of more than $30 million over the next seven years, this investment strengthens UIC’s capacity to transform promising medical and health discoveries from the laboratory, clinic and community into prevention strategies and treatments that reach patients faster. The grant renewal will allow the center to focus on improving how health research is conducted and searching for solutions to some of today’s most pressing health issues.  

“This renewal is a testament to the power of collaborative science,” said Robin Mermelstein, co-director of center. “It allows us to do more than conduct research in isolation. It positions us to work alongside our community, our health systems and our patients to solve the health problems that matter most.” 

As of fall 2025, the Center for Clinical and Translational Science has a leadership team comprised of multiple principal investigators. The directors include:

• Robin Mermelstein, PhD, is a distinguished professor of liberal arts and sciences and the director of the Institute for Health Research and Policy at UIC, a multidisciplinary all-campus research institute focused on fostering cross-disciplinary research on complex health issues, with an emphasis on research-to-practice and practice-to-policy translation, population health and community engagement. Mermelstein also has a long and successful history of mentoring graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and junior faculty. She brings leadership and experience in research at the upper end of the clinical-translational spectrum, engagement of diverse multidisciplinary researchers and involvement of key stakeholders. 
• Niranjan Karnik, MD, PhD, is a professor of psychiatry and director of the UIC Institute for Juvenile Research. As a child psychiatrist and sociologist, he has had a deep commitment to advancing health equity, promoting the career development of dozens of junior investigators and serving as a leading example of integrating clinical translational research into community settings and trials. His research has focused on the assessment, prevention and treatment of substance misuse and mental health disorders, as well as developing community-based and technology-mediated interventions. In recent years, Karnik’s work has increasingly moved into data science and machine learning, along with clinical trials. Currently, he serves as principal investigator and director of the Great Lakes Node of the National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network. He also serves as interim director of AI:Health4All Center Using ML/AI in the College of Medicine. His experience will help promote greater integration of informatics and AI tools into all aspects of the Center for Clinical and Translational Science and foster integration with other campus elements. 
• Terry Vanden Hoek, MD, currently serves as the department head and Earl M. Bane Professor of Emergency Medicine at UIC, with additional faculty appointments in physiology and biophysics, pharmacology and regenerative medicine. A practicing physician-scientist for more than 25 years, he has dedicated his career to improving survival after cardiac arrest, with a focus on translational research and large-scale, system-level interventions. His leadership has driven several impactful initiatives, including the Illinois Heart Rescue program and the development of national CPR and targeted temperature management guidelines through the American Heart Association. Vanden Hoek has been a valued Center for Clinical and Translational Science collaborator since 2016. As a co-investigator, he has played a key role in advancing our learning health system initiatives during his time as chief medical officer at UI Health. He brings deep expertise in multisite clinical trials, translational science, health system integration and workforce development — with a particular focus on expanding clinical trial infrastructure and increasing access. 

Among the most impactful initiatives enabled by this funding is the K12 Clinical and Translational Science Scholars Program, which cultivates the next generation of translational scientists. The program accelerates career progression for junior investigators committed to advancing health discoveries through protected research time, multidisciplinary mentoring, personalized career planning, development sessions and iterative workshopping of specific aims. 

The center is guided by four strategic aims designed to fundamentally reshape how health research supports patients: 

• Faster pathways to impact: The center will create streamlined processes to turn promising research into disease prevention and treatment strategies, reducing the time between discovery and patient benefit. 
• Community-centered research: Moving beyond the traditional laboratory model, the center will embrace a “rapid learning research and health system” that functions as a collaborative team. By bringing together researchers, patients, community representatives and health system stakeholders, this approach ensures research is grounded in real-world needs and community solutions. 
• Building a nimble, multidisciplinary workforce: Recognizing that breakthrough solutions require a breadth of perspectives, the center will train scientists from multiple disciplines and backgrounds to respond to emerging health challenges, tailor treatments to individual needs and develop community-informed solutions.
• Data innovation for health: The center will harness cutting-edge data science to identify health problems early, uncover patterns and solutions that save lives and ensure advances in health reach everyone — leaving no one behind.

“We’re focusing not just on driving translational research, but also expanding our scope to include translational science, and those are the processes within a translational research project that can really help or hinder its success,” said Lauren Rieger, director of research communications at the center. “The idea behind translational science is that it enables every scientist to do their research better and faster.” 

The renewal underscores UIC’s commitment to being a leader in translational science and to training the next generation of researchers who understand that great science must connect to real-world impact. Researchers who are interested in support from the center can get connected with their team on the center’s website.  

— Rebecca Clair, Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research