The Trial Innovation Network Liaison Team: building a national clinical and translational community of practice

Marisha E Palm; Dixie D Thompson; Terri Edwards; Kitt Swartz; Keith A Herzog; Shweta Bansal; Benjamin Echalier; Kristen Clasen DeHart; Signe Denmark; Jurran L Wilson; Sarah Nelson; Salina P Waddy; Sarah E Dunsmore; Jane C Atkinson; Ken Wiley Jr; Sara Hassani; Jamie P Dwyer; Daniel F Hanley; J Michael Dean; Daniel E Ford

doi:10.1017/cts.2023.675

The Trial Innovation Network Liaison Team: building a national clinical and translational community of practice

J Clin Transl Sci. 2023 Nov 6;7(1):e249. doi: 10.1017/cts.2023.675. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Marisha E Palm^{1

2}, Dixie D Thompson^{3

4}, Terri Edwards⁵, Kitt Swartz⁶, Keith A Herzog⁷, Shweta Bansal⁸, Benjamin Echalier⁹, Kristen Clasen DeHart¹⁰, Signe Denmark¹⁰, Jurran L Wilson¹¹, Sarah Nelson⁵, Salina P Waddy¹², Sarah E Dunsmore¹², Jane C Atkinson¹², Ken Wiley Jr¹², Sara Hassani¹², Jamie P Dwyer^{3

4}, Daniel F Hanley^{13

14}, J Michael Dean^{3

4}, Daniel E Ford¹⁴

Affiliations

¹ Tufts Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA.
² Institute for Clinical Research and Health Policy Studies, Tufts Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA.
³ Clinical & Translational Science Institute, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.
⁴ University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.
⁵ Vanderbilt Institute for Clinical and Translational Research, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA.
⁶ Oregon Clinical and Translational Research Institute, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA.
⁷ Northwestern University Clinical and Translational Science Institute, Chicago, IL, USA.
⁸ University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, TX, USA.
⁹ University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA.
¹⁰ Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA.
¹¹ Clinical and Translational Science Institute at Children's National Hospital, Children's National Hospital, Washington, DC, USA.
¹² Division of Clinical Innovation, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, Bethesda, MD, USA.
¹³ Acute Care Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
¹⁴ Institute for Clinical and Translational Research, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.

Abstract

In 2016, the National Center for Advancing Translational Science launched the Trial Innovation Network (TIN) to address barriers to efficient and informative multicenter trials. The TIN provides a national platform, working in partnership with 60+ Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) hubs across the country to support the design and conduct of successful multicenter trials. A dedicated Hub Liaison Team (HLT) was established within each CTSA to facilitate connection between the hubs and the newly launched Trial and Recruitment Innovation Centers. Each HLT serves as an expert intermediary, connecting CTSA Hub investigators with TIN support, and connecting TIN research teams with potential multicenter trial site investigators. The cross-consortium Liaison Team network was developed during the first TIN funding cycle, and it is now a mature national network at the cutting edge of team science in clinical and translational research. The CTSA-based HLT structures and the external network structure have been developed in collaborative and iterative ways, with methods for shared learning and continuous process improvement. In this paper, we review the structure, function, and development of the Liaison Team network, discuss lessons learned during the first TIN funding cycle, and outline a path toward further network maturity.

Keywords: CTSA; Trial Innovation Network; clinical trials; collaboration; community of practice; team science.