Translational teams bring together researchers, clinical and community partners, industry innovators and students with different skills and perspectives. By bringing all kinds of people together, translational teams aim to better understand the different layers of the problem they are trying to solve from the beginning. This approach helps to ensure that our research will have a positive impact on the people who need it most. Our translational teams help us create practical, real world solutions to improve people’s daily lives in schools, workplaces, homes, hospitals, clinics and our communities overall.
Community partners
Communities drive the questions we need to ask, and for that reason community partners are active, important members of translational teams. Our teams include people from hospitals, health care and dental clinics, schools, nonprofits, businesses and industry, charitable and grassroots organizations. These partners provide insights into the health needs of our communities, and bring unique and valuable skills and knowledge to the process.
We believe that community members are a vital source for new ideas and information about what challenges we should tackle next. Community members with ideas for new teams or partnerships are encouraged to contact us at CHSTranslationalTeams@asu.edu.
Student opportunities
Students are also important members of translational teams. Students provide new perspectives, creativity, enthusiasm and help with team productivity. Both undergraduate and graduate students are encouraged to participate in translational teams in many different ways, including involvement in research, delivering programs, working in communities and more. Search for opportunities on the Community Placements Database.
Translational Teams at the College of Health Solutions
The following translational teams are working to improve health outcomes with better solutions:
- Autism Spectrum Disorder: Optimizing interventions, understanding co-occurring conditions and identifying biomarkers to optimize quality of life for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder, with a focus on underserved populations and vulnerable and aging adults. Team leads: Blair Braden and Maria Dixon.
- Cancer Prevention and Control: Developing collaborative research with communities to improve cancer detection, prevention and quality of life with a focus on underserved populations. Team leads: Dorothy Sears and Linda Larkey.
- Child Language and Literacy: Improving early literacy, language skills and health literacy in young children with disabilities or from low-income homes, and providing support to teachers working with these children in rural communities. Team lead: Shelley Gray.
- Infectious Disease Prevention and Public Response: Addressing the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic through collaborative, translational research. Team leads: Brad Doebbeling, David Sklar, Matthew Scotch and Frank LoVecchio.
- Improving Outcomes for Children with Cleft Palate: Addressing communication, feeding and access to care for children with cleft palate, and training the next generation of health workers in this field. Team lead: Nancy Scherer.
- Integrated Rehabilitative Solutions for People with Movement Disorders: Developing whole-person, whole-system solutions that integrate health care solutions to improve quality of life for people with movement disorders such as Parkinson’s Disease and Multiple Sclerosis. Team leads: Ayoub Daliri and Daniel Peterson.
- Interdisciplinary Approaches to Problems of Substance Use: Developing multi-faceted, collaborative approaches that address issues of substance use in Arizona. Team leads: Raminta Daniulaityte, Ronald O’Donnell and Matthew Martin.
- Maternal Child Health: Leveraging a community of practice to address early childhood, special needs, mother and baby behavioral health and special health conditions. Team leads: Cady Berkel and Corrie Whisner.
- Metabolic Health: Working to create new solutions for the growing epidemic of Type 2 diabetes and related metabolic disorders through solutions-oriented research. Team leads: Dorothy Sears, David Larson and Tannah Broman.
- Patient Work: Furthering research and interventions to address patient work using a transdisciplinary, community-engaged approach. Team leads: Katie Pine, Elizabeth Kizer, Samantha Whitman, Edward Kalpas and Rida Imtiaz.
- Safety Net Advancement Center in Arizona: Improving the health care safety net across Arizona, particularly in rural areas, to ensure equity and access for underserved populations. Team lead: William Riley and Katie Pine.
Contact
Interested in getting involved or learning more? Contact us at CHSTranslationalTeams@asu.edu.