The Institute for Translational Medicine and Therapeutics (ITMAT) was launched in early 2005. Originally housed in the School of Medicine, within which it spans all Departments and Divisions, ITMAT has now expanded to include investigators focused on clinical and translational research in all schools at Penn, the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, the Wistar Institute and the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia. These partner institutions competed successfully for the Clinical and Translational Award (CTSA) funded under the NIH Roadmap, designating ITMAT as the academic home for the program. It is hoped that this website will develop to function as a common portal for all investigators interested in translational research.

ITMAT is designed to cluster the many existing entities which support translational research. These include the General Clinical Research Centers (GCRCs) in both Penn and CHOP which have now been integrated into the Translational Research Laboratories, the former Center for Experimental Therapeutics (CET), the educational courses in patient oriented and translational research, including the Masters Program in Translational Research (MTR), elements of the Office of Human Research (OHR) and newly developed resources which support the translational mission. Catalyzed by the CTSA, ITMAT will be home for new Centers in Bioinformatics in Translation, Personalized Medicine and Chemical Biology. Eleven new cores will support clinical and translational research and new programs will be fostered including several which span the pediatric – adult divide.

ITMAT initially focused its endeavor on research which spans the translational gap from proof of principle in model systems to completion of studies of drug mechanism and dosing in humans at the conclusion of Phase II. Its objectives in this area are (i) to increase the size and integration of the community of researchers operating within this space; (ii) to create for them a substantial and visible presence and a common home; and (iii) to address the infrastructural hurdles which they face. Its remit has now been expanded to include the interface with chemistry and drug discovery at one extreme and pharmacoepidemiology and translation of research discoveries into practical clinical utility in the community on the other.

ITMAT will facilitate growth in the community of Penn researchers pursuing translational research (i) by direct recruitment into its own research space (roughly 23,000 NSF in Biomedical Research Building II/III); (ii) by adding to recruitment packages of other academic entities within Penn; and (iii) by fostering education in translational medicine and therapeutics. During the course of the CTSA, significant additional spatial resources will become available to ITMAT as it fosters program and development across the partner institutions in the domain of clinical and translational research.

ITMAT will foster the pursuit of translational medicine and therapeutics in the Greater Delaware Valley through interactions with investigators and administrators in academic institutions and the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. In this regard, ITMAT launched its International Spring Symposium Series, in 2006. These meetings have been sponsored by Financial Times and Nature Reviews Drug Discovery. The first symposium focused on the nature of translational research. The topic of the second meeting was the personalization of medicine. The third meeting will be held on April 14 and 15, 2008. The topic is the emergence of the academic sector into the domain of drug discovery and drug development. Presentations from the previous symposia are found at http://www.itmat.upenn.edu/symposium.shtml.

ITMAT represents an exciting new departure for both basic and clinical researchers at Penn. Investigators are encouraged to interact with this website or to contact the Director or Associate Directors to offer suggestions for initiatives that might be pursued by the Institute and to suggest listings which might usefully be included on this website.

Professor of Medicine and Pharmacology
McNeil Professor in Translational Medicine and Therapeutics
Associate Dean for Translational Research

Chair Department of Pharmacology
Director, Institute for Translational Medicine & Therapeutics

215-898-1184
Fax: 215-573-9135
Email: garret@spirit.gcrc.upenn.edu

Contact the Director or
Associates Directors

• Director, Garret FitzGerald, M.D.
  garret@spirit.gcrc.upenn.edu

• Assoc. Director, Peter C. Adamson, M.D.
  adamsonp@spirit.gcrc.upenn.edu

• Assoc. Director, Raquel Gur, M.D., PhD.
  raquel@spirit.gcrc.upenn.edu

• Assoc. Director, Carole L. Marcus, M.B.B.Ch
  marcus@spirit.gcrc.upenn.edu

• Assoc. Director, Daniel Rader, M.D.
  rader@spirit.gcrc.upenn.edu