The Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) has awarded pilot funding to four University of Minnesota projects that aim to speed the journey from discovery to health impact.
Launched in 2023, the translational science funding program helps overcome roadblocks that delay or prevent innovations from reaching patients. CTSI’s Office of Discovery and Translation (ODAT) leads the initiative, drawing on more than a decade of experience supporting translational research through funding, mentoring, and infrastructure.
“This funding program is unique in its drive to improve the process of advancing health innovations from concept to care,” said Brittni Peterson, PhD, ODAT’s Senior Program Manager. “Whereas other ODAT programs support individual technologies, this NIH-funded program targets the root cause of challenges that prevent much-needed solutions from making it into real-world use where they can benefit individuals.”
2025 funding recipients
Each awardee received $40,000 in funding over 12 months to advance solutions that improve the process of translation:
Carlye Lauff, PhD – College of Design
Validating the P.A.C.E.D Methodology for Effective Prototyping and Testing in New Medical Device Product Design
James Houseworth, PhD – Institute on Community Integration
Consent Procedures in Research Involving People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities: An Exploratory, Stakeholder-Driven Project
Thomas Byrd, MD, MS – Medical School
Charting the Path for Clinical AI: Analysis of an Interoperable Predictive Model Implementation
Margo Wheatley, PhD – School of Public Health
Translating Decision Science Modeling into Public Health Policy & Practice
Project summaries
Carlye Lauff, PhD – Assistant Professor of Product Design, College of Design
Validating the P.A.C.E.D Methodology for Effective Prototyping and Testing in New Medical Device Product Design
Early-stage healthcare product development is costly and often fails to meet critical human needs. This project will apply and validate PACED (Provocative, Appropriate, Conceivable, Equal, Divergent), a human-centered approach designed to improve success in medical product development. The goal is to create a scalable framework that ensures products are designed to address unmet needs and are more likely to reach patients and improve health.
James Houseworth, PhD – Research Associate, Institute on Community Integration
Consent Procedures in Research Involving People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities: An Exploratory, Stakeholder-Driven Project
Complex consent processes often exclude individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) from participating in research. This project gathers input from researchers, individuals with IDD, and other stakeholders to develop more accessible consent forms, guidelines, and best practices for presenting information and assessing comprehension. By making consent more accessible, this work aims to increase participation for people with IDD and others with diminished or fluctuating capacity across research and healthcare settings.
Thomas Byrd, MD, MS – Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine
Charting the Path for Clinical AI: Analysis of an Interoperable Predictive Model Implementation
Machine learning (ML)-driven clinical decision support tools have the potential to improve patient outcomes. Implementing machine learning (ML) tools into clinical workflows is resource-intensive. This project will conduct a case study of a validated ML model in a health system, producing a detailed playbook of technical, administrative, and regulatory challenges to guide and accelerate future clinical ML implementations across health systems.
Margo Wheatley, PhD – MADMC Senior Research Associate and Manager, Division of Health Policy and Management, School of Public Health
Translating Decision Science Modeling into Public Health Policy & Practice
Decision science models can guide public health interventions, but are rarely adopted due to gaps in communication, transparency and alignment with public health needs. This project will create a framework for modelers and public health professionals to collaboratively develop models that meet real-world needs. This framework has the potential to improve health outcomes through more effective public health interventions and lay the groundwork for broader application.
About the Translational Science funding program
The Translational Science funding program is made possible through support from CTSI’s Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) from the National Institutes of Health’s National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS). The goal of NCATS is to get “more treatments for all people more quickly.”
What’s next
Applications for the next round open in early 2026. Visit the Translational Science program page for details and updates.
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