Abstract: We propose a University of Maryland Center of Excellence in Regulatory Science and Innovation (UM- CERSI) through a consortia of two leading sister campuses within the University System of Maryland, and the FDA. This proposal leverages the engineering, device, and technologies strengths at UMCP with the biomedical and health outcomes strengths at UMB. These strengths at UMCP and UMB, in concert with FDA, will allow for innovations in regulatory science in three areas: Project 1. Improving pre-clinical assessments of safety and efficacy Project 2. Ensuring readiness to evaluate innovative and emerging technologies Project 3. Harnessing diverse data through information sciences to improve health outcomes Improving pre-clinical assessments of safety and efficacy will focus on membrane transporters in drug development, hepatotoxicity biomarkers, and personalized medicine. Ensuring readiness to evaluate innovative and emerging technologies will focus on performance of optical imaging and therapeutic systems, biocompatibility of stents and vascular grafts, and engineered cartilage constructs. Harnessing diverse data through information sciences to improve health outcomes will focus on evaluation of risk evaluation and mitigation strategies, as well as infrastructure support and methods development to support decision science within pharmaceutical safety and effectiveness studies. Three Specific Aims are: 1. Establish and Build Mechanisms for Scientific Exchange and Training; 2. Create New Opportunities for Collaborative Regulatory Science Research; and 3. Establish Core Program Support and Management Plan to Ensure Success. Scientific exchange and training will entail formalized Center-wide programs including a CERSI Day, formalized programs in three proposed areas (e.g. quarterly lectures, workshops, semester courses, Visiting Scientist program, resource centers), casual discussions, as well as collaborative graduate student research. The sum of these activities will be a vibrant, cutting edge Center that stimulates innovative thought, disseminates understanding of regulatory sciences and practices, and generates new knowledge in support of the FDA's fundamental mission - to promote and protect the public health. These regulatory sciences advances will also promote the Critical Path Initiative toward more effective and efficient product development and evaluation.
NIH ExPorter
NIH ExPorter