Pa. — Penn State Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) at Penn State College of Medicine recently received a seven-year, $28.2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences. The funding will help the institute pioneer scalable models to solve health challenges in rural areas and turn medical discoveries into real-world treatments who directs CTSI
This project aims to develop innovative programming that will reach communities with limited access to healthcare and research opportunities. The project goals also include applying artificial intelligence (AI) and biomedical data sciences to integrate clinical and research data to better serve the needs of rural communities and to better represent rural communities in clinical trials
“This award shows our commitment to making sure the latest medical breakthroughs and clinical trials reach everyone, especially people in rural areas who are often left out of research,” said Kraschnewski, who is also the vice dean for research, clinical and translational science at the College of Medicine. “It allows us to accelerate the missions we’ve always been so passionate about: deepening community partnerships, harnessing emerging technologies, expanding implementation science and advancing discoveries into practice. This work would not be possible without an outstanding team, and I am grateful for the efforts of our CTSI staff, faculty and collaborating partners, as well as the support from the University, including the College of Medicine and the Office of the Senior Vice President for Research.”
A foundation of measurable impact
The new award builds upon a highly successful period of growth and innovation for the institute who pointed to the CTSI’s recently completed 2021-2026 Five-Year Impact Report
Over the past five years, the CTSI supported more than 150 pilot research projects, which generated over $254 million in follow-on funding — a 15.7-to-1 return on investment. The institute also played a vital role in developing the next generation of translational leaders by training dozens of mentored career development award (KL2) scholars and translational research (TL1) trainees and supporting over $25.6 million in funded implementation science grants
“The institute has been a powerful engine for research excellence across Pennsylvania,” Kraschnewski said. “This proven track record laid the groundwork for the NIH’s continued, expanded investment.”
Building powerful statewide rural clinical networks, research infrastructure and translational workforce
A primary goal of this new funding is to strengthen the Rural Clinical Research Network — an expansive, collaborative infrastructure designed to reduce barriers to multi-site clinical trials and improve rural engagement in research. Within this structure, the CTSI will establish a novel Learning Community Health Network (LCHN). Grounded in the principles of a continuous learning health system, the LCHN will bring partner organizations together to collectively identify obstacles to research participation and co-create, implement, and disseminate research projects that advance rural health.
To achieve this, the CTSI has assembled an unprecedented statewide clinical network that includes Penn State Health, Allegheny Health Network and Highmark Health, Primary Health Network, Geisinger Health System and the Pennsylvania Association of Community Health Centers (PACHC). Together, this expansive network comprises 32 hospitals and over 1,100 clinics and health centers, caring for over 5 million patients — nearly 40% of the state’s population
To ensure shared governance and equitable resource distribution, the CTSI is expanding its Internal Advisory Board to include representatives from the PA Office of Rural Health, Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), and members of the rural communities they serve. Furthermore, a newly formed Network Steering Committee, comprising CTSI leadership and a senior executive from each collaborating organization, will serve as the ultimate decision-making body. This committee will govern project coordination and oversee the distribution of resources, including the selection and funding of collaborative rural health research projects across the network.
Beyond its external clinical network, the CTSI is heavily investing in the research infrastructure and workforce across Penn State. To address staffing and training needs, the CTSI is expanding its iSMART (Infrastructure for Staffing, Mentorship, and Research Training) program and the Accelerated Staff Assistance Program (ASAP). ASAP provides vital short-term, trained research staff to support faculty projects during start-ups or staff leaves, ensuring continuous research operations
“The CTSI will also continue to offer robust pilot funding, comprehensive research navigation services and streamlined operational support to accelerate the pace of scientific discovery for Penn State investigators,” Kraschnewski said
Advancing AI and biomedical data sciences
As part of this project, the team will focus heavily on biomedical data sciences and artificial intelligence (BDAI) in partnership with the Penn State Institute for Computational and Data Sciences
Vasant Honavar, Penn State’s inaugural vice provost of AI, will provide technical leadership for the Penn State Digital Collaboratory for Precision Health Research, which will use AI to integrate and analyze multimodal clinical, imaging and genomic data. Working collaboratively with George Garrow, CEO at Primary Health Network, Pennsylvania’s largest FQHC, the team plans to co-create an community health dashboard to better track and serve the needs of rural patients
In addition, the CTSI is launching a flagship initiative to test whether trained community health workers can act as “research messengers” to increase clinical trial enrollment of rural community members. A major challenge in translational science has been the limited participation of rural communities in clinical research
“Working closely with the PACHC and its vast network of FQHCs, the CTSI will integrate recruitment directly within community health centers and routine clinical workflows,” Kraschnewski said. “By leveraging these trusted community voices alongside new BDAI reeep rural populations from participating in real-world research.”
Strength in leadership
To support this undertaking, Kraschnewski is backed by a robust leadership team, including CTSI Associate Directors Orfeu Buxton, William Calo and Lauren Van Scoy; and additional representatives from the Penn State College of Medicine, the College of Health and Human Development, College of Nursing, College of Engineering, College of Information Sciences and Technology, College of the Liberal Arts and Penn State Harrisburg
As a funded hub within the National Institutes of Health’s Clinical and Translational Science Awards Program network, the Penn State CTSI will share its newly developed toolkits, rural engagement strategies and LCHN framework with over 60 other CTSA institutions nationwide. By disseminating these scalable models, Penn State aims to provide a national blueprint for improving rural health and clinical trial participation across the country
The work described above is supported by the NIH’s National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences through award number UM1TR006339. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH
Last Updated September 1, 2026
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