Community engagement is essential to research. Community Advisory Boards (CABs) are frequently consulted to inform recruitment and engagement strategies. In our experience, a gap emerged between CAB recommendations and implementation, largely due to limitations in research infrastructure, funding, and team capacity. Researchers may underappreciate why providing contextual details about studies that relate to resources or constraints, can lead to tailored recommendations. In response, our institutional CAB now incorporates researcher input before and after consultations to clarify programmatic and institutional limitations. This ongoing, bidirectional dialogue supports more pragmatic, tailored recommendations that better align with research team capacity while advancing shared goals.

The United States faces a critical maternal health crisis, characterized by the highest mortality rates among high-income nations and profound racial disparities. The University of Illinois Chicago established the Luma Center, a Maternal Health Research Center of Excellence funded by the National Institutes of Health IMPROVE initiative. This article details the center’s development, implementation, and theoretical foundation. Central to the Luma Center’s mission is the Biopsychosocial Ecosystem Framework, which shifts the research focus from individual-level factors to the multilevel systemic drivers of maternal morbidity and mortality. Utilizing a transdisciplinary approach involving 18 academic disciplines, the Center operates through five core areas: Leadership, Community Partnership, Research, Training, and Data. The primary objectives are to conduct robust multilevel research, cultivate a diverse research workforce, and strengthen community partnerships to ensure the translation of findings into effective postpartum interventions. By integrating community expertise with academic innovation, the Luma Center seeks to systematically address the fundamental causes of poor maternal health outcomes and advance science to promote perinatal health and wellness.

Community Engagement and Outreach (CEO) Cores are a key component of the IDeA Clinical and Translational Research (IDeA-CTR) Program, serving to develop and implement capacity-building initiatives that empower communities to engage and collaborate with investigators in community-engaged research. To strengthen collaboration and shared learning across sites, a CEO Special Interest Group was established. In 2022, the group conducted a landscape analysis to systematically characterize and categorize CEO Core activities across the IDeA-CTR network, with a focus on capacity-building efforts related to knowledge transfer, co-learning, and infrastructure development. The analysis revealed several common approaches to community engagement and capacity building across sites, as well as distinctive strategies tailored to the specific needs and communities served. Multiple innovative practices were identified and disseminated across the network, highlighting opportunities to enhance collective impact and inform future community-engaged efforts.

The All of Us Evenings with Genetics (All of Us EwG) Research Program, funded in part by the National Institute of Health’s All of Us Research Program, engages researchers to utilize the All of Us Researcher Workbench to advance precision medicine. The All of Us EwG program has two core aims: (1) address barriers to research productivity for minorities, disadvantaged, and persons with disabilities aspiring to enter STEM fields; and (2) promote the use of the All of Us Researcher Workbench to develop research focused on health equity. To achieve these goals, the program implements three key activities: (1) Campus Seminars: hosted at minority-serving institutions and smaller universities to connect faculty with the All of Us Research Program to showcase ongoing research; (2) Biomedical Researchers Faculty Summit: a multi-day conference for early career researchers to foster collaboration and train participants in using the All of Us database; and (3) Biomedical Researcher Scholars Program: A yearlong initiative supporting the research teams formed at the summit in implementing the research projects developed using the All of Us data. Overall, the All of Us EwG program offers data science training, mentorship, and professional development; this report outlines its structure, outcomes, and lessons learned.

The Deep South has the highest prevalence of obesity, diabetes, and hypertension in the United States, with marked disparities by race, socioeconomic status, and rurality. Addressing these disparities requires not only effective interventions, but also a translational science workforce equipped to design, implement, and scale solutions in real-world settings. The Forge AHEAD Center was established to improve cardiometabolic health outcomes across the Deep South by advancing both research and scientific workforce development. As a central component of this mission, the Center has developed the “Pilot Plus” model, an integrated framework that combines pilot funding with structured training in translational science, multidisciplinary team-based mentorship, and embedded community engagement. Early-stage investigators are supported through coordinated access to methodological expertise, including dissemination and implantation science and assessment of social determinants of health, while community stakeholders are incorporated into the research process. By aligning funding, training, and infrastructure within a single program, the Pilot Plus model addresses fragmentation in traditional research development approaches and expands access to critical resources across institutions. This model provides an adaptable framework for strengthening translational research capacity and developing a cadre of demographically varied investigators prepared to advance health outcomes in regions with a high burden of chronic disease

Translating academic discoveries into clinical investigation remains a major barrier in translational science, particularly when investigators lack the regulatory infrastructure required to sponsor clinical trials. These challenges are especially pronounced for natural product therapeutics, which often lack commercial sponsorship despite promising preclinical evidence. The Penn State Cancer Institute established an Investigator-Initiated Trial Sponsor Support Unit (SSU) to facilitate investigator-initiated trials and support progression toward National Cancer Institute designation. We describe a translational science case study of a Sponsor-Proxy operational model in which a centralized institutional unit performs sponsor-level regulatory and trial infrastructure functions while investigators retain scientific and clinical leadership. Two National Institutes of Health-funded trials evaluating Angelica gigas Nakai extract (INM176) illustrate this framework. The SSU authored regulatory documentation including Investigator’s Brochures, coordinated Investigational New Drug submissions, and supported trial infrastructure while clinical teams maintained participant oversight. Both trials achieved activation timelines of 112 and 105 days, shorter than previously reported activation times and within National Cancer Institute operational benchmarks. Sponsor-level oversight continued throughout trial conduct, including regulatory reporting, safety monitoring, and protocol amendment support. This case study demonstrates how centralized institutional expertise can overcome sponsor-level barriers and enable translation of basic science discoveries into investigator-initiated early-phase clinical trials.

Rural and low-socioeconomic status women face social determinants of health barriers leading to disproportionately low rates of breast cancer screening and markedly reduced participation in clinical trials. To address this gap, we developed the WeCARE (Women’s Engagement for Cancer Awareness, Resources, and Education) intervention using a community-engaged approach. This paper describes how Community Advisory Board feedback informed the development of Mayo Clinic Health System’s WeCARE intervention components. Their input was systematically analyzed using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR 2.0) to identify determinants of acceptability, appropriateness, and feasibility and to guide actionable refinements to intervention content and delivery.

Older adults experience high rates of chronic disease that reduce quality of life and independence. In South Texas, these challenges are compounded by limited access to culturally aligned care and a high burden of chronic conditions. Addressing these disparities requires infrastructure that bridges research and practice to support the translation of evidence into real-world care. This manuscript describes the establishment of the Supporting Older Adults through Research Network (SOARNet), a population-specific practice-based research network (PBRN) and reports early lessons from its development and recruitment strategies. SOARNet employs a multi-level leadership structure and an Advisory Board to guide research priorities, review member-initiated proposals, and facilitate collaboration among clinical, research, and community stakeholders. Recruitment strategies included informational materials, clinic visits, and targeted email outreach. Since inception, SOARNet has enrolled 61 members representing healthcare clinicians (55.7%), researchers (18.0%), community members (32.8%), and organizations (8.2%), with targeted email outreach proving most effective (n = 56). SOARNet has supported a collaborative research study, facilitated member consultations, and contributed to dissemination activities. These findings demonstrate the value of population-specific PBRNs in advancing community-engaged translational research to improve care for older adults. Future priorities focus on expanding partnerships and strengthening culturally responsive, bidirectional research.

Translational Workforce Development (TWD) is critical for Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) hubs preparing Clinical Research Professionals (CRPs) to conduct high-quality research. Yet programs struggle to reflect the practical demands of CRP roles, and generalized training often leads to disengagement and limited transfer of learning into practice. Using dissemination science principles, we applied findings from a single-site CRP needs assessment and the Research Knowledge Transfer Utilization (RKTU) framework to inform a redesigned approach to TWD. Survey data (n = 65) were analyzed to identify training needs, contextual factors, preferred formats, motivators, and knowledge broker and champion roles in supporting engagement and sustained knowledge use. CRPs described inconsistent onboarding, limited structured support, and challenges aligning existing training with real-world workflows. Respondents expressed interest in practice-based, role-aligned learning delivered through blended formats such as on-demand modules, hybrid workshops, and hands-on simulation. Motivators included career pathways, community connection, and protected time, while workload and system complexity were key barriers. Despite these challenges, CRPs demonstrated readiness to learn when supported by clear expectations and accessible resources. The resulting model provides administrators with a scalable, context-informed approach for co-creating TWD programs embedded within organizational systems and aligned with the realities of clinical research practice.

Equitable participation in clinical research is essential to generating broadly generalizable findings and advancing public health. Yet persistent sociodemographic disparities, driven by mistrust, limited access, and inadequate community engagement, continue to exclude underrepresented racial and ethnic groups from research. To address these barriers, the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center developed a comprehensive, multi-component community engagement model designed to build trust and enhance research readiness among UREG. The model integrates eight synergistic programs aligned across the five-level Social Ecological Model, including HealthStreet screening events, a Health Needs Assessment, the Community Research Registry, the North Texas Community Health Coalition, Community Engagement Grand Rounds, the Spanish Language Resource, the Community Advisory Panel, and a Community Health Grant Program. These initiatives collectively provide culturally informed outreach and structured pathways for bidirectional input from community members. Since 2023, the model has achieved substantial impact, including 5069 community-based health screenings, over 100 consultations to investigators, and more than $44 million in funded grants. Findings demonstrate that sustained, multi-level engagement can strengthen trust, expand research access, and support more equitable translational science.

The William Schnaper Visiting Scientist (WSVS) Mini-Symposium was established within the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) consortium to provide predoctoral and postdoctoral trainees with opportunities to present research, develop communication skills, and foster cross-institutional collaboration through a fully virtual, trainee-centered format. We describe the structure, implementation, and outcomes of seven WSVS Mini-Symposia conducted from 2021 to 2025. Program metrics included participation across CTSA hubs, trainee roles, research domains represented, and survey-based evaluations from presenters and attendees assessing perceived value, professional development, and program logistics. Seven symposia featured 62 trainee presenters from 28 CTSA hubs across 21 U.S. states. Most presenters were predoctoral trainees (79%), and research spanned basic (34%), clinical (52%), and implementation/public health (13%) domains. Survey responses indicated strong perceived benefit: 100% of presenters reported value for professional development and roughly 50% reported receiving useful feedback and establishing new professional contacts; 78% of attendees reported the symposium was a valuable learning experience. The WSVS Mini-Symposium demonstrates that a scalable, trainee-led virtual forum can effectively promote scientific communication, networking, and workforce development across geographically distributed training programs. This model provides a sustainable framework for enhancing translational science training nationwide.