CCTS Open House a Huge Success!
More than 125 people visited us last week, learning about the many ways CCTS sharpens science, finding new collaborators, and enjoying refreshments. Three new stations, highlighting our SHARe platform, ClinicalTrials.gov support, and upcoming I-Corps training, were especially popular. ICYMI click through to find links to Open House resources and a list of our drawing winners.
What’s New on the CCTS Website?
CCTS reaches across institutional boundaries to catalyze scientific innovation, accelerate the translation of biomedical discoveries, and improve human health. In our new Partnerships section, you will find information on our Partner Network, a wide variety of collaborators, and a new platform for multisite studies and clinical trials. Join us!
Mark Your Calendar for the CCTS Bioethics in Precision Medicine Symposium
“Bioethical Dialogue on Ethical Considerations in Population Health Research with a Genomic Overlay” will take place at the Battle House Renaissance Mobile Hotel and Spa on Thursday, March 23.
Mark Your Calendar for Upcoming Genomic Symposia and Seminar Series
Register today for the 4th Annual Rare Disease Genomics Symposium on Friday, March 3. Plan to attend the UAB-HudsonAlpha Center for Genomic Medicine (CGM) 2017 Symposium on Mon. May 8. CGM is also offering two new genomic seminar series in 2017: one on bioethics and one featuring T32 trainee research presentations.
Meet DiscoveryBioMed, Inc., Entrepreneur Dr. Erik Schwiebert at March Forum
What does it take to move from academia to becoming the CEO and Chief Scientific Officer of a successful life sciences and biotech company? Join us at our next CCTS Forum on Wed. March 1st to find out!
Drug Discovery Lecture Series Kicks Off Feb. 21
This 11-week seminar series will introduce attendees to the world of drug discovery, from determining valid targets and developing assays to test them to submitting an IND and moving a drug from preclinical to clinical trials. Presented by the Alabama Drug Discovery Alliance, cosponsored by CCTS and Partner Southern Research.
CHIA Registration Closes in Less than Two Weeks!
The Community Health Innovation Awards (CHIA) provide funding (up to $25,000) for projects offering innovative solutions to Birmingham health concerns. Registration for the 5th Annual CHIA will close at 5pm, Wed., March 1, 2017. Participants must be registered to attend the mandatory CHIA workshop on Sat., March 4. So don’t delay, register today!
Encourage a High Schooler in Your Life to Register for Alabama Brain Bee!
On Sat. Feb. 25, UAB will host the 7th Annual Alabama Brain Bee, an incredible opportunity for high school students to learn about neuroscience, win prizes, and perhaps move on to the U.S. National Brain Bee competition. Last day to register is Wed. Feb. 15.
CCTS Regional Community Engagement Consortium Sets Goals for 2017
Several CCTS Partners and community representatives met on Friday, Jan. 27, to discuss goals for the year, including the launch of a new networking platform that will help academic and community members with shared research interests connect more easily.
14th Carole Samuelson Lecture Highlights Importance of Inclusive Economy to Urban Progress
Jennifer Bradley, JD, founding director of the Center for Urban Innovation at the Aspen Institute and coauthor of The Metropolitan Revolution, presented “Connecting Innovation and Inclusion for Birmingham’s Future” at UAB in January.
You Are Invited! CCTS Opens Its House February 15th
Join us Wednesday, February 15th in PCAMS from 4-6pm for networking, refreshments, giveaways and an opportunity to learn more about the breadth of CCTS activities.
What Are the "Grand Opportunities" in Translational Science? Send Your Ideas!
The Spring 2017 CTSA Program Meeting will take place in Washington, DC, April 18. The theme is "Uncovering Grand Opportunities in Translational Science." The NIH and the National CTSA Consortium is calling for bold ideas to catalyze scientific advances that will enhance health, lengthen life, and reduce illness and disability. Submit your ideas to the CCTS (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ) by Feb. 13th.
Register Now for Spring 2017 Regional Seminar on Program Funding and Grants Administrations
The 2-day event scheduled for May 3-5, 2017, offers attendees from around the globe, a comprehensive program designed around the latest in NIH grants policies, program, and process information.
CCTS Develops New Resources for ClinicalTrials.gov Requirements
The federal reform efforts concerning ClinicalTrials.gov have officially taken effect. Learn the latest about requirements to register your clinical study and report your results with our new video, new web page, new drop-in clinics, and two upcoming trainings.
Calling All Mentors! CCTS Seeking CHIA Champions
Last call to serve as a mentor for one of our 2017 Community Health Innovation Awards (CHIA) teams. If you've been looking for a way to make a difference, consider this rewarding opportunity. Apply by Monday, April 3rd.
Shaping Organizational Culture: The Role of Leaders
UAB Management Professor and Associate Dean for Graduate Education Peter Ginter, PhD, shared 25 of his best tips for what leaders can do to develop an adaptive culture in the workplace to make it not only resilient, relevant, and results-driven, but also fun.
Visit CCTS at Translational Science 2017!
CCTS will be well-represented at the Association for Clinical and Translational Science's annual meeting, which will take place in Washington, DC, April 19-21. Find out who will be where presenting what with this CCTS-specific agenda.
What's New on the CCTS Website: Research Data Request Pages
Are you a clinical, biomedical, or translational researcher in search of clinical data for your study? CCTS Informatics enables self-service (via i2b2) or analyst supported access to the UAB Enterprise Data Warehouse—learn about the different data and available, and submit your request via our new form.
From Bench to Bedside, and Onward to Market: Commercializing Academic Software
Join us for our next CCTS Forum on Wed., April 5th, when Dr. Mark Yandell, University of Utah Professor of Human Genetics and Founder and Chief Scientific Officer, IDbyDNA, Inc., will discuss how the nexus of three fields—metagenomic next-generation sequencing, precision medicine, infectious disease—inspired him to build a business that empowers clinicians and researchers to identify any pathogen from any sample.
Can’t Get to Mobile, AL, Next Week? Attend the Annual CCTS Bioethics Symposium via GoToMeeting
The Bioethics in Precision Medicine Symposium will take place next Thursday, March 23, at the Battle House Renaissance Mobile Hotel and Spa. This all-day interactive forum will help attendees, both in-person and virtual, consider the ethical issues that arise when engaging with communities as research partners, especially on genomics-based projects.
Mark Your Calendar for I-Corps South Spring Regional Training
Designed for busy biomedical scientists and engineers, this free two-week program is for teams of two-to-four people who are interested in commercializing research. The training kicks off on Wednesday, April 12, register now.
What’s New on the CCTS Website?
The CCTS Special Modules domain comprises three distinct research fields with tremendous promise: genomic medicine, drug discovery, and device development. Our goal is to connect investigators with the state-of-the art expertise and capacities found within the CCTS Partner Network in each area.
Updates to ADDA Lecture Series
Please note, the lecture scheduled for March 28 has been cancelled. The lectures scheduled for April 11 and April 18 have switched dates. See our updated flyer for the details.
CCTS Concludes First Kaizen Game on Scientific Reproducibility
They played, they learned! CCTS’s edutainment experiment using Kaizen platform succeeds in teaching NIH rigor, reproducibility, and transparency principles to those who were “game” enough to volunteer.
CCTS Launches 5th Annual Community Health Engagement Awards (CHIA)
More than 80 people attended our 2017 CHIA Innovation Workshop, where they learned about the competition’s multi-phase process, formalized their teams, and began turning ideas into proposals for sustainable solutions to Birmingham health concerns.
March Forum Highlights Journey from Academia to Startup CEO
Dr. Erik Schwiebert, CEO and Chief Scientific Officer of DiscoveryBioMed, shared key moments of his transition from tenured professor with a nascent business idea to successful life sciences and biotech leader, offering invaluable advice for aspiring scientist-entrepreneurs.
What’s New on the CCTS Website?
We’ve made it easier than ever to request a CCTS Panel with our new Panel Request Form. Whether your research is at the idea stage (perfect for a Nascent Project Panel) or already in draft grant form (requiring a fast-track Panels Done Quickly), you will benefit from collaborating with our multidisciplinary team of experts.
Mark Your Calendar: Time Changed for Upcoming ClinicalTrials.gov Training
The CCTS Research Seminar scheduled for next Thur., March 16, will begin at 11am to allow plenty of time for questions about NIH requirements for registering a protocol. Register today!
Calling All Mentors! CCTS Seeks CHIA Champions
We are looking for a few special individuals to serve as mentors for the historic number of applicants who responded to our 2017 Community Health Innovation Awards (CHIA) (see Did You Know? in March 3rd CCTS Digest). If you’ve been looking for a way to make a difference, consider this rewarding opportunity. Apply by Monday, April 3rd.
CCTS Director Talks Translation Acceleration
Dr. Robert P. Kimberly, UAB Senior Associate Dean for Clinical and Translational Science, highlighted the many ways CCTS helps speed the pace of scientific discoveries and their progress along the translational pipeline to a standing-room only crowd at Wonderful World of Technology event.
Last Call: CCTS Seeking New K-Scholars
Calling all full-time jr. faculty with a clinical or research doctorate! If you are interested in translational or patient centered outcome research, consider applying for an institutional K award, which provides funding for up to 2 years. Letters of Intent (LOI) due March 6, 2017. Request an LOI package TODAY.
Digital Education Pioneer Predicts Disruptive Future for Higher Ed
Dr. Anant Agarwal, CEO of edX, demonstrated a scalable model that “unbundles” learning from classrooms, campuses, and traditional curricula, offering students an alternate pathway to economically viable credentials.
CCTS Thanks Outstanding Roster of Panel Participants
Nearly 300 faculty members served on CCTS PDQ/NPP Project Panels in 2016, with a record breaking number from our Partners. The support of so many accomplished scientists is one reason why our panel recipients enjoy the “CCTS Bump,” getting funded three times more often than the NIH average.
Mark Your Calendar! Children’s Health Research Unit to Host Open House
On May 12th from 1-3pm the CCTS CHRU will celebrate its new space on the 3rd Floor of Dearth Tower. The expansion will open up new opportunities for rigorous clinical and translational research in childhood diseases.
CCTS Helping Advance Southeast SHRINE Agenda
SHRINE stands for the Shared Health Research Information Network. The Southeastern (SE) SHRINE Consortium comprises five CTSAs (including CCTS) with a strong interest in sharing federated health data to support clinical trial feasibility testing, recruitment, and comparative effectiveness research.
What is I-Corps? Watch Our Brief Informational Webinar to Find Out
At noon CT on Mon. May 15th, CCTS will host an informational webinar about the National Science Foundation's I-Corps program, the premiere federally funded innovation and commercialization program in the U.S., which is being adopted by NCATS. Presented by Dr. Molly Wasko, Professor and Associate Dean, UAB Collat School of Business. GoToMeeting accessible.
I-Corps South Regional Training Kicks Off June 6
Designed for busy biomedical scientists and engineers, this free two-week program is for teams of two-to-four people who are interested in commercializing research (or developing grants, drugs, medical devices, or behavioral interventions that meet real-world health needs). Space is limited, register today.
Registration Open for 4th Annual Auburn University Bioinformatics Bootcamp
This weeklong training workshop in genomics and computational biology for researchers interested in working with modern genomic data resources will take place June 5-9. Apply by April 30. Registration fee is $500.
New CCTS Kaizen Game Launches on May 1st – Register Today!
Have fun while fulfilling an NIH requirement for formal training in scientific rigor and reproducibility! CCTS has made certification enjoyable for all federally funded trainees with this web-based game built on a Kaizen platform. Players from CCTS Partner institutions welcome.
CCTS Bioethics Symposium Explores Concerns in Era of Precision Medicine
The CCTS Bioethics Symposium, held in Mobile on March 23rd, provided an opportunity for investigators, community partners, and research administrators to develop a deeper awareness of sensitive ethical issues in genetics and genomics-based research projects.
Our Patients are Waiting! Public-Private Partnerships to Bring New Treatments to Patients
Mark your calendar for May 3rd, when Dr. Scott J. Weir, Director, Institute for Advancing Medical Innovation, and Translational Research Professor, University of Kansas Medical Center, will present the final Innovating in Healthcare topic at our May CCTS Forum.
CCTS Connects at UAB Mentoring/Graduate Appreciation Week
Graduate students had the opportunity to chat with CCTS staff and experts who presented posters at this annual event. CCTS offers numerous mentoring resources, including trainings, assistance with Individual Development Plans (IDPs), and a monthly mentoring lunch that takes place the first Friday of every month.
The Digital Education Disruption
Mark your calendar for 9am on Mon. April 17, when we will hear from Dr. Anant Agarwal, CEO of edX, an online learning destination founded by Harvard and MIT. Agarwal taught the first edX course on circuits and electronics from MIT, which drew 155,000 students from 162 countries.
Deadline Extended for CHIA Mentoring Opportunity
It's not too late to make a difference for a deserving CCTS Community Health Innovation Award (CHIA) team! Chosen mentors should plan to attend the Refinement Workshop on Sat., April 29. Apply by Monday, April 21.
Registration Open for Center for Genomic Medicine's 3rd Symposium
Hosted by two CCTS Partners, UAB and HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology, the Symposium offers attendees a chance to learn about the latest in genomic medicine research, tour HudsonAlpha's biotech campus, apply to a new granting program, and network with genomics experts. A detailed agenda is now available.
July CCTS Forum to Explore the Business Side of Clinical Trials
What are the critical considerations in crafting and negotiating a fair and appropriate clinical trial budget? Join us on Wed. July 5th for a discussion of the financial realities and hidden costs of implementing a clinical trial. Discover how other clinical trial experts get the best deal for their research units.
Mark Your Calendar for Our 2017 Community Engagement Institute!
The 4th annual CCTS CEI will take place on Fri., Oct. 6th, at the BJCC. The theme is "Community Engagement and Environmental Renewal (CHEER) for Civil Inclusion and Empowerment." CEI 2017 will feature two keynote speakers: President and CEO of Associated Black Charities Mrs. Diane Bell McKoy and Dr. Errol Crook, Director of the Center for Healthy Communities and Chair of Internal Medicine, University of South Alabama College of Medicine.
CCTS Communications Survey Deadline Extended!
Please take a moment to share your thoughts about our website and the CCTS Digest. How can we improve our communication efforts to better meet your information needs? Click through takes less than 5 minutes although we welcome more thoughtful replies.
Mock NIH Study Section to Review R01 Application
Mark your calendar for Wed. June 28! CCTS will conduct a mock NIH study section review of a real R01 grant that successfully navigated the resubmission process to reach funded status. Register soon, seats fill up fast!
CCTS I-Corps Teams Gear Up for Customer Discovery
Eleven teams are trained and ready to connect with potential "target customers," including engineers, radiologists, pharma VPs, clinicians who use PEG tubes or who care for stroke patients, helicopter pilots, patient safety officers, young single teen moms, and biomed operations officers. If you are an expert in only these categories, please say "yes" to a brief interview with our intrepid scientist-entrepreneurs!
Mark Your Calendar! CCTS Biomedical Informatics Summer Seminar Series Begins Next Week
Cosponsored with the UAB Informatics Institute, this 8-week informatics overview kicks off next Wed. June 14 with “What is Informatics? Why Should I Care?” Open to all levels (student to professor). Free unless taken for credit. Drop ins welcome. Participants may attend individual sessions or the entire series.
The Kaizen Platform: A Data-driven Look at Why It Works
Dr. James Willig, CCTS Informatics Co-Director and UAB Assistant Dean of Clinical Education, explained what inspired him to create the Kaizen online gaming environment, the behavioral theories that helped fuel its success, and how the platform has evolved to enable enhanced learning and knowledge retention across a wide variety of curricula.
Academic Medicine to Host Ask-the-Editor Twitter Chat
Would you like to know what common pitfalls to avoid when preparing a paper for this venerable high-impact peer-reviewed journal? Ever wondered how to get more deeply involved in scholarly publishing for medical education, training, research, and policy? Editor-in-Chief David P. Sklar, MD, will take to Twitter on June 13, from 1 to 2pm CT, to discuss topics with broad appeal to the academic medicine community. To join, tweet @AcadMedJournal #AsktheEditor.
Help Us Help You! Take Our 5-Minute CCTS Communications Survey
Does Digest provide news you can use? Is our website wonderful or woeful? To better serve your information needs, please take our 5-minute survey. Responses, due Monday, June 12, will be anonymous.
CCTS Launching New Round of Kaizen R2T Game
Have fun while mastering required NIH policies for rigor, reproducibility, and transparency (R2T) in our online Kaizen game! The third round of this highly popular approach to learning competencies will run June 19-July 27. Originally designed by CCTS Informatics for federally funded trainees, Kaizen R2T is open to players at any professional level across the CCTS Partner Network.
CCTS Announces 2017 Pilot Awardees
Congratulations to our six CCTS Partner Network Multidisciplinary Pilot Program awardees for 2017. Their projects seek to address disparities in diseases disproportionately represented within the Deep South, including cystic fibrosis, cardiovascular disease, and several cancers. Stay tuned for the launch of our 2018 pilot program this August.
Featured Community Partner: Innovate Birmingham
CCTS One Great Community partner, Innovate Birmingham, recently graduated its first class of Generation IT students. Some have already landed positions with the area’s biggest employers, including UAB. Help us share the news about this life-changing opportunity--the next class starts June 5.
Help Us Help You! Take Our 5-Minute CCTS Communications Survey
Does Digest provide news you can use? Is our website wonderful or woeful? To better serve your information needs, please take our 5-minute survey. Responses, due Monday, June 12, will be anonymous.
Calling All Trainers! Don’t Miss the June CCTS Forum on Kaizen
On Wed. June 7, CCTS Informatics Codirector and UAB Assistant Dean of Clinical Education Dr. James Willig, creator of the Kaizen platform, will explore the many ways this flexible, web-based tool can be used to develop trainings based on gamification theory. Learn how Kaizen can help your trainees not only learn, but also retain their knowledge.
CHIA Announces Results, Stay Tuned for Awards Ceremony
CCTS is pleased to announce its six 2017 Community Health Innovation Award (CHIA) grantees. A total of $85,000 will be distributed to enable these grantees to develop their projects addressing health concerns in the Birmingham community. A date for the awards ceremony will be announced soon.
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Postdocs and faculty throughout the CCTS Partner Network are encouraged to finalize their teams and register for the upcoming I-Corps training. Whether you want to know more about the commercialization of scientific discoveries, or how to better convey the value of your research to funders, this unique opportunity will deliver.
CCTS Children’s Health Research Unit Opens New Space
To meet the growing needs of our pediatric researchers, we have opened a new 2,547-square-feet facility on the 3rd floor of Dearth Tower. Our space on the 7th floor of Dearth Tower, the “CHRU Satellite,” will continue to see patients as well.
UAB Health Services Foundation General Endowment Fund Accepting Applications
The HSF-GEF provides support to multidisciplinary projects in clinical care, medical education, lab research, and patient-oriented research. The fund has awarded nearly $64 million for 316 projects since it began in 1996. Apply by 4pm Friday June 30, 2017.
FDA Seeking Your Thoughts on Patient Engagement
FDA has opened a public docket in the Federal Register for input on a new Office of Patient Affairs and other ongoing and potential efforts to provide a more transparent, accessible, and robust experience for patients. Comments accepted until June 12.
May CCTS Forum Explores Public-Private Partnerships in Translational Science
At our fourth Innovating in Healthcare Forum, Dr. Scott Weir, director of the University of Kansas Medical Center’s Institute for Advancing Medical Innovation, shared lessons learned in moving scientific discoveries from an academic medical setting into a commercialization pipeline.
CCTS Updates Voucher Program
We have updated our voucher program to provide up to $5,000 in direct research support to overcome small barriers in grant and peer-reviewed journal article development by accessing CCTS expertise in study design, data analysis, and clinical services.
Translational Bioinformatics Mini-Symposium Spotlights Collaborative Opportunities
More than 100 people attended this inaugural event, which showcased informatics projects in immunology, omics, and complex diseases like cancer and started a dialogue between bioinformatics and other disciplines (biostatistics, structural analytics, network medicine).
CCTS Connects at Translational Science 17 Annual Meeting
CCTS investigators, trainees, and staff embodied TS17’s tagline—“explore, collaborate, educate, and innovate”—sharing innovative techniques, discussing best practices, and gaining inspiration from the outstanding efforts of colleagues from across the CTSA network.
FDA Visits UAB to Discuss Inspections of Clinical Investigators
Barbara Wright, FDA Consumer Safety Officer and Bioresearch Monitoring Specialist, addressed a packed room at the latest Alabama Society of Clinical Research Associates chapter meeting, held at UAB on April 26, providing numerous tips for passing an inspection.
CCTS Informatics Gateway Open for Business
The CCTS Informatics Gateway, a joint effort with our partner the UAB Informatics Institute, supports biomedical research across the translational spectrum, from study design and data sets to innovative tools and data analytic services. Request a consultation today!