Dean Nancy Andrews, MD, PhD, has announced that L. Ebony Boulware, MD, MPH, chief of the Division of General Internal Medicine, will serve as the contact principal investigator for Duke’s Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), effective March 1, 2015. Dr. Boulware replaces Robert Califf, MD, professor of medicine (Cardiology) and vice chancellor for clinical research, and will work with CTSA co-principal investigators Jennifer, Li, MD, MHS, and James McNamara, MD. Dr. Califf will serve as deputy commissioner of the FDA.
A general internist, Dr. Boulware received her MD from Duke and MPH from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She studies interventions to improve patient care and clinical outcomes with chronic diseases such as chronic kidney disease and hypertension and is particularly interested in identifying ways to eliminate ethnic and racial disparities in these diseases. She will continue to serve as division chief.
The CTSA is the NIH’s largest single investment in biomedical research. The goal of the award is to support the development and implementation of national standards and best practices for the full range of translational medicine – from discovery science through clinical research and community health. In 2013, Duke was awarded the five-year, $47 million grant which today helps provide infrastructure for researchers at Duke to conduct clinical trials, train young scientists and share developments across a consortium of more than 60 other leading centers throughout the country.
The CTSA provides critical funds to pay for essential needs at Duke including biostatistical and regulatory expertise, technical support, biobank access, startup capital and other essentials. As a proven clinician, researcher and leader strongly committed to collaboration and team-building, Boulware is well-equipped to oversee and guide the implementation of this very important grant, Andrews wrote.