Mission

Our mission is to enhance UT Health San Antonio’s value and responsiveness to the community. To do so, our team works with our community partners to:

1. Increase the relevance and effectiveness of UT Health San Antonio for our citizen and practitioner communities
2. Increase the impact of UT Health San Antonio research

Services

1. Connect researchers and community partners
2. Provide technical assistance to communities wishing to explore local health problems
3. Maintain practice-based research networks for studying health problems in community-based practice settings
4. Make small grants available to launch collaborations between the UT Health San Antonio and the community for research, education, or service

Why engage communities?

Translational research is a multidisciplinary form of science used to “translate and move” knowledge from basic bench science, to patient-based applications, and then out into clinical practice for the enhancement of population health and well-being.  People often refer to “T1,” “T2,” “T3,” and “T4” when talking about translating scientific findings.  Each of these “T’s” or transitioning steps, is part of an important process as seen below. Community Engagement is vital for increasing the reach, effectiveness, uptake, implementation, and maintenance of clinical and translational research.

Engaging communities enhances research by:

• Increasing knowledge and awareness
• Allowing for the development of more effective solutions to address health concerns
• Empowering communities to make decisions and implement change