Integrating Special Populations into Research (INSPIRE) | UC Davis CTSC

Participation of diverse patient groups in translational research over the lifespan from early childhood through adolescence and adulthood to senescence and aging is essential to ensure advances in human health. INSPIRE works closely with research teams focused on child health and development, aging, and lifespan conditions, as well as populations with specialized needs, to accelerate discoveries to improve health and better understand the causes of health disparities.

Program services include consultations, training, and functional tools to assist investigators in effectively integrating the public––as patients, advisors, and co-investigators––in the design, implementation, and dissemination of innovative, robust, high-quality lifespan research studies. Leveraging HERO’s internal, local, and national networks of translational researchers, public engagement experts, and community partners, the INSPIRE team fosters cross-cutting collaborations and develops opportunities for researchers to engage special populations with both rare diseases and common health conditions. INSPIRE is led by faculty co-directors Oanh Meyer, Ph.D., M.A.S. and Kathy Angkustsiri, M.D., M.A.S.