An Atlanta research partnership responsible for the South's first human hand transplant has secured a new $31 million federal grant to continue a coalition launched five years ago.

The Clinical & Translational Science Institute is a partnership led by Emory University. It also includes other major health care and research players like Georgia Tech, Morehouse medical school, Grady Health System and the VA Medical Center.

The alliance was formed to connect a range of researchers, technology developers and medical professionals who actually treat people. The idea is to help research from clinical and laboratory settings translate into better outcomes for patients.

The five-year grant from the National Institutes of Health is basically an extension of a 2007 grant that launched the organization. NIH grants come from federal tax dollars.

Tags: federal grant money, National Institutes of Health, gpbwell, hand transplant