The University of Colorado School of Medicine has been selected as the prime award institution for a $64 million award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to establish a consortium focused on palliative care research.
“While palliative care as a field has advanced significantly in the last few decades, there are still a lot of unmet needs. This consortium will serve as a springboard for filling gaps and offering resources to researchers who will ultimately improve the field,” says Jean Kutner, MD, MSPH, distinguished professor of medicine and chief academic officer of UCHealth, who will serve as a principal investigator of the Advancing the Science of Palliative Care Research Across the Lifespan (ASCENT) Consortium.
With the NIH funds, the ASCENT Consortium will provide resources, expertise, and coordination to advance innovative, high-quality research for those living with serious illness and those who care for them.
The consortium includes principal investigators from the CU School of Medicine and four other academic centers across the country — New York University Rory Meyers College of Nursing, Duke University School of Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai, and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania — and 40 key personnel from more than 20 institutions, representing the interdisciplinary approach that is integral to palliative care.
These scientists will help transform the field of palliative care research through generating new knowledge and methods, fostering the future scientific workforce, and implementing findings to benefit people living with serious illness.
“The goal is to have a multiplier effect, to have more investigators, stronger research, and an increase in funded palliative care science,” Kutner says. “Improving care and improving the lives of people with serious illness is what drives this work.”
Becoming a national leader
The ASCENT Consortium’s creation comes at a critical juncture for palliative care research, as two vital programs — the National Institute of Nursing Research-funded Palliative Care Research Cooperative, which Kutner led at the CU School of Medicine for 13 years, and the National Palliative Care Research Center — have been expected to sunset in 2025. Both organizations have been leaders in pushing research forward.
“The conclusion of these two entities leaves a big void in the field and threatens the ability to move forward from a research perspective, and therefore potentially threatens the quality of care to some of the most vulnerable people who have serious illness,” Kutner says.
Since Kutner’s time as a research fellow in the mid-90s, palliative care research has evolved tremendously and become increasingly more sophisticated.
“We've gone from publishing observational and cross-sectional work to where we are today with demonstrating effective and innovative interventions,” Kutner says.
The ASCENT Consortium will continue furthering that mission with four aims as guiding principles:
- Aim 1: Developing a national scientific infrastructure and community needed to advance palliative care research.
- Aim 2: Creating new research knowledge and research methodologies.
- Aim 3: Fostering the career development and impact of the palliative care workforce through pilot awards, access to methodologic consultations, and mentorships.
- Aim 4: Disseminating palliative care research findings and facilitating implementation. This will include providing resource libraries, guidance documents, best practices, training, and toolkits.
The award is being administered by the National Institute on Aging with funding and collaboration from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institute of Nursing Research, and National Cancer Institute.
“We know from demographic studies that we are living longer with serious illnesses, and all Americans deserve to benefit from the latest scientific advances that can provide relief from physical and psychological symptoms and receive well-coordinated care that is aligned with their goals,” says Richard Hodes, director of the National Institute on Aging. “NIA is pleased to see the launch of the Consortium for Palliative Care Research Across the Lifespan, and I know that my colleagues in the participating NIH institutes are equally committed to supporting the research resulting from this initiative so that we may improve the quality of life for those in need of palliative care.”
Transforming the field
The World Health Organization estimates nearly 57 million people per year facing life-threatening illness receive palliative care, which takes into consideration pain, suffering, and issues beyond physical symptoms.
While palliative care is often associated with older adults, the ASCENT Consortium offers a broad approach.
“At some point we are all going to face some sort of serious illness. It's a sort of fact of life, so this is something that applies to everybody,” Kutner says. “There's a specific focus in what we proposed being that we focus on palliative care across the lifespan because there are infants, children, adolescents and young adults that also suffer from serious illness.”
For Kutner and her co-investigators, the next several years will come with plenty of hard work and equally as many transformative opportunities.
“We're honored and excited to receive this award. It's an exciting moment for the field and ultimately, this is about the patients and the families we care for. That's really what drives our research,” Kutner says. “At the end of the day, this consortium is meant to be a resource for the field, so there will be a number of opportunities for investigators from across the country to apply for funding, access consortium resources and get involved.”
