The CTSI Integrating Special Populations (ISP) Core supports a group of special populations liaisons, who are research staff with unique expertise in engagement of special or underrepresented populations in biomedical research (UBR) across the lifespan.
These groups, who characteristically have been hard to reach or have been excluded from research include pregnant women, newborns, children, older adults, individuals with physical disabilities, African Americans and other ethnic minorities, people living in rural areas, and the LGBTQ communities. The ISP special population liaisons are supported by a “mind bank” of faculty with expertise in research across the lifespan or in UBR populations. The mind bank interaction pipeline helps investigators and liaisons develop strategies to integrate special populations into their studies and engage new research with an emphasis on UBR population.