Consortium of Rural States (CORES) Multi-Institutional Pilot Award Program
The Clinical & Translational Science Award (CTSA) program, run by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), creates a network of medical research institutions collaborating to accelerate the translation of research into better patient care.
Nine CTSA institutions have teamed up to form the Consortium of Rural States (CORES), including Penn State. This award program encourages multi-institutional collaboration by funding innovative translational science research projects that involve two or more of these CTSA institutions.
The purpose of this award program is to promote multi-institutional collaboration across the CTSA consortium by funding innovative translational science research projects that involve two or more of these seven CTSA institutions.
Visit the CORES site for a list of 2025 pilot awardees.
This year, CORES is introducing a new, team–first approach to project development.
In Phase 1, interested investigators apply to join cross-institutional teams organized around shared translational challenges specific to our focus areas (see below).
In Phase 2, the assembled teams collaborate to develop their projects, refining questions and co-creating proposals designed for real-world impact in rural settings.
Finally, in Phase 3, funded projects are executed; teams work together to put their plans into action with ongoing support from the CORES consortium.