TRANSCEND (Translational Science Engaging North Dakota) unites healthcare researchers and clinicians across North Dakota to address diseases and other health challenges facing the state's citizens.

Led by UND in collaboration with North Dakota State University and Sanford Health, the program is funded by a five-year Clinical and Translational Research Development (CTR-D) award from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS).

Now in its second year, TRANSCEND draws on diverse expertise to develop innovative, practical solutions.

“Our goal is to increase the pool of clinical and translational (C&T) researchers in North Dakota who can help North Dakota transcend some of its health challenges,” said TRANSCEND program director Gary Schwartz on the program’s website.

North Dakota State University associate professor of psychology Jeff Johnson is a co-lead of the TRANSCEND Health Research Core (HRC) with Dr. Steven Powell of Sanford Health and Holly Brown Borg, UND Distinguished Professor of biomedical sciences.

“This program is expected to benefit the state by fostering connections between North Dakota scientists, clinicians and community members, by providing them with access to infrastructure and educational and training opportunities, and by funding meritorious research projects that show potential for translation from basic science (the lab) to clinical application (treatment or intervention),” Johnson said.

Johnson was trained as a cognitive neuroscientist, focusing on the use of brain recording and stimulation techniques, as well as computational models of brain function. Recently, in collaboration with researchers at the Center for Biobehavioral Research at Sanford in Fargo, Johnson has begun to explore how attention and memory processes may contribute to the development and persistence of eating disorders, such as binge eating.

Clinical/translational research (CTR) aims to translate findings from basic research into clinical applications, to improve the health of the community.

“This is important because it has the potential to turn laboratory observations, which are often only available to researchers who have access to the peer-reviewed scientific literature, as well as insights from the clinic and the community, into interventions that improve the health of individuals and the public,” Johnson said.

NDSU professor of nursing Loretta Hauer is the co-lead of the TRANSCEND Community Engagement and Outreach Core (CEOC), which partners with populations experiencing health disparities to establish community-driven research priorities to improve health outcomes. NDSU emeritus professor Paul Carson is a co-lead on the TRANSCEND Professional Development Core, which aims to provide comprehensive didactic training and mentorship in clinical research.

The TRANSCEND HRC is focusing on stimulating growth, expertise and engagement in clinical and translational research, mainly through the development, review and selection of project proposals for TRANSCEND funding awards, Johnson said

TRANSCEND held its first annual symposium last year at UND where it also selected five pilot projects and two development projects for funding. The TRANSCEND Pilot Project grant awards are designed to support a research team in pursuing a novel hypothesis. Three NDSU faculty received Pilot Project grants at the symposium:

• Amy Werremeyer, NDSU chair and professor of pharmacy practice: Evaluation of the Impact of a Methadone Dispensing Unit in a ND Community Pharmacy ($75,000)
• Natasha Petry, NDSU associate professor of pharmacy practice, Impact of pharmacogenomic testing on medication outcomes in long-term care ($75,000)
• Anna Finley, NDSU assistant professor of psychology, Social and Affective Neuroscience of Loneliness (total cost $74,910)

Finley started the Social Psychology and Affective Neuroscience in Health (SPANH) lab in the fall of 2024 when she joined the NDSU faculty. The TRANSCEND award helped her launch a study to learn why feeling isolated or lonely is such a complex emotion to shake.

“Loneliness, or the feeling of social isolation, is more than an unpleasant emotional experience – it is associated with poor mental and physical health outcomes and increases in mortality comparable with smoking,” Finley said “Loneliness is on the rise and addressing it isn’t as simple as telling people to be more social. My study uses the neuroscience of electroencephalography (EEG) to precisely measure how the brain responds to social and emotional information to better understand why loneliness can be so hard to combat.”

NDSU researchers have the opportunity to get involved in TRANSCEND, Johnson said. They are eligible to attend the TRANSCEND-sponsored talks and training seminars, as well as next spring’s symposium, which will take place at NDSU on May 20.

“NDSU researchers are also eligible to apply for funding through TRANSCEND, which offers one-year pilot project awards and two-year development awards for projects focused on clinical-translational topics,” Johnson said.

While the program is in its second year, there is optimism that it will become a long-standing part of addressing the state's healthcare challenges.

“We hope that the training opportunities and researcher–clinician–community partnerships made possible by this award will support the continued growth of high-quality, health-focused research in North Dakota well beyond the grant end date,” Johnson said.

Rural and community health, as well as biomedical sciences, are emerging research areas for NDSU’s Office of Research and Creative Activity, and TRANSCEND will help further these efforts.

“The Office of Research and Creative Activity has been supporting faculty as they apply for and win TRANSCEND pilot projects, with the goal of having these researchers go on to secure competitive external funding to further their clinically relevant, translational projects,” said NDSU interim vice president for research and creative activity Heidi Grunwald. “The infrastructure and support that a TRANSCEND award provides are important for helping faculty connect with community clinics and health care settings and for helping them navigate human subjects research, IRB protocols and the regulatory burden they may face as they design interventional studies aimed at improving health and wellness.”