RTI International and Rush University Partner to Fund Global and Local COVID-19 Response Projects as Part of New Research Initiative

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. — RTI International, a nonprofit research institute, and Rush University in Chicago, Ill., announced that they are jointly funding two projects focused on alleviating pandemic-induced problems through their new partnership, R3: The Rush-RTI Research Initiative to Address COVID-19 (R3 Initiative).

RTI and Rush awarded “Addressing COVID-19 Mental Health Disparities: Digital Screening and Automated Resource Identification System” and “Establishing Surveillance: Metabolic Impact of Diabetes Phenotypes and Age on COVID-19." The length of the awards is 12 months, beginning on Oct. 1, 2020 and concluding on Sept. 30, 2021.

“Many pressing challenges have arisen due to the pandemic  and will need in-depth research to pinpoint appropriate and effective solutions,” said Joshua Richardson, Ph.D., RTI’s Research Health Information Technology Scientist, Applied Health Informatics Program. “RTI and our partner Rush University have selected these innovative proposals because they will expand the scope in which we view and understand the pandemic’s effects, from physical to mental health. These projects will address immediate and long-term needs from an international setting to Chicago’s West Side.”

The R3 Initiative is jointly funded by RTI and Rush University to foster new and exciting collaborations that can attract future funding opportunities from extramural federal and non-federal sources. The initiative focuses on COVID-19 research that will address the significant impact the pandemic has had on local and global populations and the strong research positions that both Rush and RTI have taken to improve the response.

“Rush University is excited to begin a partnership with RTI with this initial interaction supporting research focused on COVID-19,” said Dr. Andrew Bean, vice provost for research and dean of the Graduate College. “Investigators from both institutions forged new collaborations resulting in the development of innovative proposals that address the effects of COVID-19 on the west side of Chicago and internationally. The RTI and Rush groups worked seamlessly and the projects selected are novel and potentially quite impactful. Rush University looks forward to a continuing fruitful interaction with RTI.”