About Us

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The Irving Institute for Clinical and Translational Research, home to Columbia University’s Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) Program hub, and is one of over 50 medical research institutions across the nation that work together to speed the translation of research discovery into improved patient care. The CTSA hubs help to identify and overcome scientific and organizational barriers that slow the movement of discoveries from the lab bench to the patient bedside.  The Irving Institute works in partnership with researchers and clinicians across Columbia University Irving Medical Center, NewYork-Presbyterian, and the New York State Psychiatric Institute to support all phases of clinical and translational science.

Columbia University became one of the first 12 academic institutions in the nation to receive CTSA Program funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in 2006. Combined with increased support from our long-time benefactors, the late Herbert and Florence Irving, the new CTSA Program funding enabled the former Irving Center for Clinical Research, a longstanding NIH-sponsored General Clinical Research Center, to transform into the Irving Institute for Clinical and Translational Research - the academic and intellectual home for the next generation of clinical and translational researchers at Columbia University. The NIH CTSA Program has continually funded the Irving Institute since 2006, with the fourth and most recent 5-year grant cycle spanning from June 2021 through May 2026.

The Irving Institute has two locations – a headquarters located at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center and an off-campus center, the Columbia Community Partnership for Health located 10 blocks north at 390 Fort Washington Avenue. The institute provides over 70 services and programs to Columbia University and NewYork-Presbyterian researchers and study teams, our community partners in upper Manhattan, and collaborators from other academic institutions, industry, and local and regional government. These offerings span all stages of the translational science spectrum from basic research to public health, and cover six broad categories including research support services, core facilities, funding opportunities, community engagement, seminars and workshops, and education, training and mentoring. 

Mission

The mission of the Irving Institute for Clinical and Translational Research is to advance discoveries, knowledge, and innovation to improve human health across the lifespan for diverse populations in upper Manhattan and around the world. By mobilizing and connecting Columbia University’s researchers, we aim to create a seamless integration of community and academic partnerships. Our commitment to train a multi-faceted workforce, provide vital resources to researchers, and improve the efficiency of research processes, promotes the collaborative team science framework needed to translate research discoveries into effective interventions that address current and future health concerns.

The Irving Institute's goals are to:

  • Catalyze innovations in clinical and translational science so that researchers can seek out and easily collaborate with other investigators in both similar and different areas of biomedical research.
  • Affect institutional changes to ensure that multi- and interdisciplinary clinical and translational research, mentorship and team science is recognized, supported and promoted appropriately.
  • Train and educate a diverse workforce who will become agents of change as they translate basic science findings to the treatment of people.
  • Improve the health and well-being of our patients and neighbors in upper Manhattan.