Advances in Health and Life Sciences
IUPUI’s health and life sciences enterprise has expanded along with the growing health and life sciences sector of Indiana’s economy. Today, as our state’s urban health and life sciences campus, we are home to an array of programs and initiatives that support health and life science research, education, and community outreach. Our research efforts focus on translational research, team science, and interdisciplinary/interprofessional research and practice—hallmarks of the health and life sciences. And, with five health science schools, including the nation’s largest nursing school and second largest medical school, we prepare health care professionals who serve the citizens of Indiana and beyond.
These strengths position us well to continue and intensify our focus on health and life sciences—and we must do so, if we are to meet critical local and national health needs and support the state’s ongoing economic advancement. We seek to develop new models of interprofessional health education and collaborative practice, particularly in the areas of population health, health care delivery, and public-private health care partnerships; to prepare health care professionals to influence and lead the health care system; to enhance our health care education infrastructure; to model sustainability; and to improve Indiana’s health status.
Leverage our Strengths in Health and Life Sciences- Today’s multifaceted health care issues demand interdisciplinary solutions developed and delivered by cross-functional teams. IUPUI’s Center for Interprofessional Health Education and Practice was created in Fall 2013 to foster interdisciplinary approaches to health care research and education and to prepare health care professionals skilled in delivering team-based care. The new center is a collaboration among the Schools of Dentistry, Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Medicine, Social Work, the Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health, and the IU-Bloomington Schools of Optometry and Public Health.
- The School of Medicine will partner with the University of Michigan and the Medical College of Wisconsin to lead a $30 million concussion research and education alliance funded by the U.S. Department of Defense and the NCAA. The Concussion Assessment, Research and Education Consortium will seek a deeper understanding of concussion injuries: how they affect the brain, how and to what extent the brain recovers, and how treatment and prevention can be improved. It will also develop education programs aimed at changing the culture of concussion reporting and management. Announced by President Barack Obama at a news briefing, the three-year project will involve about 37,000 student-athletes from 30 universities and will improve concussion prevention and treatment for both military service members and college athletes.
- Effective health care often depends on the provider’s ability to understand and respond to cultural differences. The Cultural Competency Training Project, sponsored by the Center for Urban and Multicultural Education in the School of Education, is an Internet-based training program in cultural competence for behavioral healthcare providers across Indiana. Offered in collaboration with the Indiana Division of Mental Health and Addiction, the program is taught by a multidisciplinary team that includes instructors from the Schools of Education, Liberal Arts, Medicine, Science, and the Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health, as well as IUPUI’s Office of Equal Opportunity, and Equity Institute on Race, Culture, and Transformative Action. Team members bring to the program expertise in mental health, intercultural communication, clinical psychology, and instructional design, among other areas.
- A $30 million renewal grant from the National Institutes of Health to the School of Medicine will enable the Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (CTSI)—a partnership of Indiana University, Purdue University, and the University of Notre Dame—to continue accelerating research discoveries across Indiana and beyond. Translational research turns research findings into new treatments and therapies. CTSI researchers have advanced discoveries in such areas as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, traumatic brain injury, and osteoporosis. CTSI grants to Indiana scientists generated a 1,900 percent return on investment, with $3.5 million in grants attracting $65 million in federal funds and private investment. The CTSI is also educating the next generation of translational scientists through programs ranging from summer internships for high school students to fellowships for new faculty members. The five-year renewal grant will help the CTSI to strengthen health care delivery at local hospitals, fund partnerships between medical schools and pharmaceutical companies, and improve health among urban youth in Indianapolis, among other projects.