OHSU has a robust research portfolio in child health, older populations, diseases across the lifespan, and underserved rural populations. However, there are significant gaps in coordinated support for these important programs that impair optimal performance and expansion of these efforts. The new OCTRI Integrating Special Populations unit (ISP) will enhance research in child health, older populations, diseases across the lifespan, and underserved rural populations with a critical analysis of current needs, development of feasible goals to address these needs, implementation of the highest priority goals, and evaluation and dissemination of the most effective processes. Planned activities include regional conferences and retreats with investigators and other stakeholders, development of toolkits and other educational modules, enhanced informatics tools, and other techniques tailored to each program. The ISP will coordinate closely with the CTSA network to adopt effective techniques developed at other CTSA sites, and to share local proven techniques after careful evaluation. These efforts will enhance knowledge of health-related issues in these special populations, leading to improved interventions to optimize their health and well-being. The OCTRI Clinical and Translational Research Center (CTRC) has greatly expanded and enhanced the conduct of clinical research at OHSU, with unprecedented growth over the past five years. The CTRC also serves as a major site for career development in clinical research at OHSU. However, stressors on CTRC operational and financial structures require a new funding model and increased operational efficiencies. These accomplishments and challenges set the stage for continued evolution of OCTRI’s Participant and Clinical Interactions (PCI) research capacity for the next five years. The CTRC will catalyze scientifically rigorous, ethical, feasible, and efficient patient-oriented research studies, with an emphasis on intensive phenotyping and early phase clinical trials in high priority areas for OHSU investigators. These efforts will advance knowledge of numerous human diseases and lay the foundations for disease-specific therapeutics to enhance human health. The CTRC will also continue to leverage and enhance the OCTRI Educational Program by utilizing the CTRC as the mentored “laboratory” for students, investigators, and study staff pursuing patient- oriented research. Finally, the CTRC will complete its transition to a new operational model as a University Shared Resource (USR), incorporating continuous quality improvement to ensure that sustainable and efficient operational and financial processes are in place to optimally support PCI research at OHSU and the region.