To overcome barriers that investigators face in successful translation of their work across the research continuum, we will fund proposals from researcher/investigator teams for Overcoming Barriers to Translational Success (OrBiTS) awards. These two-year grants will enable a team of at least three investigators to hire technical staff, procure specialized equipment, purchase data sets, or hire a specialized consultant so that they could generate strong clinical and translational research programs. The OrBiTS awards are not for specific research projects, but for infrastructure that will aid clinical and translational research. We anticipate that this type of support will provide considerable help in bringing basic scientists into the clinical and translational arena or facilitate translational researchers doing clinical trials, ultimately leading to procurement of large center-type grants.

The technical scope of the research plan should be related to clinical and translational research (see Rubio et al., 2010). Areas of high importance to the DE-CTR ACCEL program include:

• Rehabilitation
• Preventive Care
• Behavioral and Mental Health

Other areas of clinical and translational research will be considered. Use of one or more of the research cores at the ACCEL institutions is encouraged, but not mandatory. Information about these cores can be found on the ACCEL website.