Message from the Director

Eric Orwoll, MD
OCTRI Director

Welcome to the Oregon Clinical and Translational Research Institute. 

We are a unique partnership between Oregon Health & Science University and the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research.  With major funding from the National Institutes of Health through the Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA), and significant institutional commitment from OHSU and Kaiser Permanente, our mission is to improve human health by enhancing clinical and translational research. 

We are guided by the values of:

OCTRI was established in 2006 as one of 12 academic health centers across the nation awarded with a Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) from the National Institutes of Health. Initially, OCTRI focused its energy and resources on building clinical and translational research at Oregon Health & Science University and the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research.  We are broadening our efforts to partner with regional institutions interested in biomedical issues, including academic institutions and members of industry.  Our hope is to provide a regional platform for clinical and translational research and to increase collaboration with a variety of clinical and basic science investigators. Moreover, we are working towards additional partnerships with regional communities and governments to maximize our collective ability to stimulate research that is relevant to the health of our communities. We also use the unique perspective of the community to help guide priorities and opportunities for research and training.

By improving our understanding of heath and disease, developing new diagnostics and treatments, and shaping new approaches to the delivery of effective healthcare, OCTRI is bringing science to bear on the lives of our region's citizens.

Our primary aims are divided into three main areas.

RESEARCH RESOURCES

OCTRI provides a coordinated infrastructure of core research tools. The OCTRI research infrastructure supports investigators with expertise, equipment, facilities, and tools in bioinformatics, biostatistics, community-engaged research, compliance and regulatory support, inpatient and outpatient clinical research, and laboratory analysis. 

In addition to OCTRI's research infrastructure, we are working with our institutional partners to create a broader research support system that nurtures transformative health research by promoting collaborations across institutions and academic units, by streamlining the administrative process of research, and by leveraging existing resources. All of our efforts aim to enable a diverse group of investigators to more effectively pursue their research goals.

Read more about OCTRI Resources.

EDUCATION & TRAINING

OCTRI is nurturing a new cadre of highly-trained, interdisciplinary investigators through a strong, diverse educational curriculum. The OCTRI educational component will develop translational research expertise in a wide variety of learners, including those in basic biology, clinical medicine, dentistry, nursing, biomedical engineering, pharmacy, epidemiology, and community-engaged research. Our goal is to expand the pool of successful mentors and productive investigators at all career levels.

Learn more about Education & Training opportunities.

FUNDING & SUPPORT

OCTRI directly supports innovative new translational research through strategic investments and a pilot project program.  Several funding programs are available to investigators – all with the basic goal of expanding biomedical research and developing new research methodologies.  OCTRI places emphasis on multidisciplinary research since it is particularly likely that breakthroughs will occur when investigators take advantage of collaborations between experts who bring complementary expertise to shared areas of interest.

View Funding & Support Opportunities.