Washington, DC—U.S. Congressmen Henry Cuellar (D-TX-28) and Tony Gonzales (R-TX-23) wrote a bipartisan letter to National Institutes of Health (NIH) Acting Director Lawrence Tabak, requesting renewal of the Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) and its academic home, the Institute for Integration of Medicine and Science (IIMS). Continuing the National Institutes of Health’s funding for the CTSA program will significantly advance the biomedical and healthcare sectors of the South Texas regional economy.

“In learning about IIMS initiatives within our communities through ongoing work with Translational Advisory Boards (TABs), we are impressed by the capacity of these groups to bring about change in their local communities through CTSA-supported translational research projects. We are especially excited about the active TABs within our districts, including those in Bexar, Atascosa, Medina, Frio, La Salle, and Maverick counties. Community-identified health priorities (e.g., diabetes, obesity, cancer, liver disease, dementia, COVID-19) are targeted for study and intervention, some of which are supported through the CTSA / IIMS Community Engagement Pilot Project program,” the Congressman wrote.

The Congressman continued, “We are confident the community linkages being forged through CTSA initiatives will create many opportunities for improving regional health through the combined resources and technological expertise of participating organizations. If awarded, UTHSA’s CTSA program will provide tremendous support toward growth of bioscience research, healthcare capacity, and public health programs in San Antonio and the South Texas and Border region.”

A copy of the letter can be found here.

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