The Clinical Translational Core of the Hawk-IDDRC seeks to address the challenges faced by those living with IDD at all stages of life by providing investigators with the resources to transition discoveries from the lab into patient practice, and enable an understanding of the biology behind clinical observations, in order to advance the research. This Core will fulfill the following goals:

(1) Facilitate and accelerate the recruitment and clinical evaluation of IDD-affected patients at all stages of life and from diverse areas to connect them and their families with clinical studies and resources;

(2) Provide IDD researchers with biobanking and bioinformatics services; and

(3) Facilitate and support the design, development, and testing of novel IDD therapies by providing a successful architecture for clinical trials and drug manufacturing services to IDD researchers.

Specific assets of the University of Iowa Clinical Translational Core that cover the lifespan of the patient include CoLab (Global Pregnancy Collaboration), an international collaboration of 40 sites focused on pregnancy outcome research, sharing clinical data and biosamples; a clinical recruitment center for SPARK, a nationwide genetic study of autism; UI-led statewide networks of collaborating clinics, schools, and providers in rural and urban areas; and the Intellectual Disability-Mental Illness (ID-MI) clinic, one of only a handful of inpatient units in the country that focuses on patients with intellectual disability and a co-occurring mental illness. Many of these CTC services are provided through the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.