UAB Interventions & Translational Core

Overview

The Interventions and Translational Core (ITC) is a major focus of prevention and control research in diabetes and cardiometabolic disease both at UAB and at the national level. The Core serves a world-class cadre of investigators, including a large number of junior investigators (DRC Scientists, Mentored Members) whose work has become recognized at the national level and who constitute the future research leaders in diabetes interventions and community-based research. The Core provides expertise and services that range from methods of intervention development, basic study design and data analysis, and cutting-edge methodologies in measurement, to subject recruitment and retention strategies with an emphasis on increasing minority participation. Given the national stature of ITC leadership in diabetes and obesity intervention research and health disparities, the Core will serve as a nexus for the conduct of both phase 1 and phase 2 translational research in diabetes that will advance the national research agenda as outlined in the NIH roadmap.

Objectives

• Provide expert consultation for intervention development in diabetes prevention and management (e.g., interventions to optimize weight, exercise/physical activity, medication adherence, and/or glycemic control). This expertise will facilitate translation of basic science findings into efficacy-testing interventions ranging from clinical trials to community-based trials.
• Provide expertise on study design and evaluation, including measurement, quality control, quality assurance, and analytic support, for research to prevent and manage diabetes. These studies will include but also go beyond traditional clinical trials. For example, group-randomized trials evaluating weight loss interventions in community settings require specialized expertise in trial design, data capture and transfer, as well as in interventional and analytic tools.
• Design and facilitate culturally appropriate strategies to enhance the recruitment and retention of minorities and underserved populations in diabetes-related research studies, with emphasis on African American and rural communities.

Services

The ITC will provide support for research up to and including the T3 level of translational research. ITC personnel will work closely with DRC investigators to facilitate translation of scientific findings from the bench to interventions suitable for scientific evaluation in the clinic and community. The structure of the Core is consistent with the DRC theme that diabetes is both a metabolic and vascular disease and a manifestation of the cardiometabolic disease process. Thus, the Core will promote interventions relevant to both diabetes and cardiovascular disease. A brief summary of our services are:

• To provide expert consultation for intervention development in diabetes prevention and management (e.g., interventions to optimize weight, exercise/physical activity, medication adherence, or glycemic control).
• To provide expertise on study design and evaluation, including measurement, quality control quality assurance, and analytic support to research projects that aim to prevent and manage diabetes.
• To develop and implement a culturally appropriate plan to enhance recruitment and retention of minorities in diabetes-related Research studies.