Clinical and Translational Research Incubator - CITRIC

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Established in 2020 by AKU Medical College's Dean's Office, CITRIC is designed to serve as a designated space for clinical and translational research. The incubator is a momentous step towards realising His Highness the Aga Khan's founding vision of AKU as a globally-recognised research university. Research continues to be a priority; in his 2020 address, pertaining to the pandemic, the Chancellor stated:

"AKU aims to be as relevant for the next global health crisis as it has been for this one. Today, AKU is building its capacity for cutting-edge research applicable to the distinctive health risks for populations in Asia and Africa. It will seek to harness the enormous potential of advances in artificial intelligence, genomic medicine and stem cell science to address tomorrow’s challenges, as well as today’s".

The CITRIC Space

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The incubator is divided into two spaces: CITRIC Main (left), CITRIC Junior (right)

CITRIC's beneficiaries span senior leadership, faculty, researchers, staff, fresh medical graduates and students.

Research Incubation

Nine centres are housed within CITRIC, providing their team members with designated spaces for collaborative research.

The Centre of Excellence for Trauma and Emergencies's mission is to bridge the gap between the existing state of community-wide emergency responsiveness and where we ought to be, and to improve the provision of emergency care in low-and-middle-income countries i.e. LMICs. CETE aims to train 10 million citizens through its Pakistan Lifesavers Programme.

Director: Dr Junaid Razzak

Access CETE's Website Here

As the first health data science initiative in Pakistan, this centre is a key element in advancing knowledge regarding the social determinants of health and the complexities of disease prevalence. Its findings will guide policymakers and the public.

Director: Dr Zainab Samad

Access the centre's website here

CCBP launched in May 2020, with a mission to provide evidence-based care to the communities where AKU operates, consistent with international clinical best practices and the Chancellor's vision. They are developing an internal manual of clinical therapeutics for AKU, and are creating an online repository that will serve as a resource for electronic health records nationwide.

Access the centre's website here

Centre for Patient Safety, CPS, is a multi-disciplinary research centre that investigates the conditions affecting patient care. CPS is working to promote systemic patient safety, identify medical errors, and develop and implement preventive strategies.

Director: Dr Asad Latif

Access the CPS website here

The Covid Tele-ICU initiative partners with Pakistan's Health Ministry to remotely offer trainings, tele-consultations, and nationwide assessments of ICU and HDU facilities to build capacity in critical care for ill and hospitalised Covid-19 patients in public sector hospitals.

Director: Dr Asad Latif

Access the Covid Tele-ICU website here

The centre is a shared space where research questions affecting the health of people in low- and middle-income country (LMIC) settings are addressed using a multidisciplinary approach. Medical College-wide projects centred on pathogen genomics, the gut microbiome, and cancer stand to benefit from this shared resource.

The focus is to promote analysis of data generated from omics such as 16s rRNA and shotgun metagenomics, genomics, transcriptomics, epigenomics and to ensure storage space and computational power is available to address these needs.
Access the CBCB website here

Directors: Dr Fyezah Jehan and Dr M Imran Nisar

This centre is dedicated to pioneering basic science, translational, and epidemiological research, alongside impactful clinical trials, to transform cancer care within AKU and beyond.

Directors: Dr S Ather Enam and Dr Azhar Hussain

To improve provision of accessible and affordable essential surgical care in resource-constrained environments across the world.

Through the generous contribution of Alnoor Dhorlia, gifting $1.6 million to the Aga Khan University to establish a Centre of Excellence for Ageing Gracefully, to work towards a goal set by His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan IV in His Golden Jubilee and reiterated in a speech made at Harvard in 2015. “The developing world is now facing a major challenge: How does it care for the elderly?”

18 million
secured in funding through grants

100 %
of initial investment into CITRIC has been recouped

220 +
beneficiaries since CITRIC's inauguration

Research Training

Dean's Clinical Research Fellowship - DCRF Programme

AKU_(82).JPG Offered to AKU's MBBS graduates to strengthen their clinical research portfolios while proving structured mentorship. It is a one-year, fully-funded position that prioritises exposure to various areas of clinical research in specific areas of interest. The programme involves practical research as well as focused teaching sessions and workshops. Learn more about DCRF.

Director: Dr Shahzad Shamim

Research Facilitation

AKU_(66).JPG A one-stop-shop for research faciliation. CITRIC provides work stations, meeting rooms and administrative support to early career researchers and faculty. There are 96 work stations, of which 24 are established as flexible hot-desking seats shared by various research project staff.

Celebrating CITRIC's 1st Anniversary

Researchers, faculty and senior leadership gathered to celebrate one year of impact from CITRIC. Dr Asad Ali, Associate Dean Research, delivered a welcome address and an impact report. Dr Shamim, Dr Atiq and Dr Nadeem presented their initiatives.