Penn State receives $27.3M in grant money to study improvements to delivery of health care

There is no shortage of information that can be examined for clues about how to transform health care for the better. The problem is that there is so much data that it takes too long for researchers to examine it. In fact, it’s generally estimated that it takes 20 years for a breakthrough to impact how health care is delivered to patients, from the time the time the discovery is made to the time it becomes commonplace.

The point of the Clinical and Translational Science Awards from the National Institutes of Health is to shorten the amount of time it takes for medical findings to help patients. Recently Penn State learned that as part of the federal program, it will get $27.3 million in grant money over the next five years. The University of Pennsylvania and University of Pittsburgh have also received awards.

Penn State will use part of its money for new graduate and undergraduate degree programs on analyzing data and putting it to work for patients’ benefit. For example, the university wants to start a minor in translational research, which could appeal to undergraduates majoring in fields like sociology, economics and computer science.

He says this initiative could yield information about how people can live longer. “A big challenge in medicine is the simple things,” says Larry Sinoway, director of Penn State’s Clinical and Translational Science Institute. But people could have healthier lives if they understood exactly how their behaviors – eating habits, for example – affect their longevity.

Source: Larry Sinoway, Penn State Clinical and Translational Science Institute
Writer: Rebecca VanderMeulen