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The Education and Career Development Steering Committee
(EdCD) believes that a necessary first step to transforming research
training must be the creation of a unique academic discipline and a
national scientific community of scholars and mentor-scientists
committed to clinical and translational research. The identification
and dissemination of core competencies leading to an advanced degree
has brought together the EdCD, CTSA leadership, and NCRR staff in
several efforts toward that goal.
First,
in an NCRR workshop on January 30–31, 2008, representatives of
NCRR-funded education and career development programs recognized the
challenges to furthering translational research (e.g., workforce
shortage, medical schools’ traditional focus on basic science) and the
need for a new, discrete academic discipline for clinical and
translational research. Beyond the skills and competencies needed to
conduct basic scientific research, clinical and translational science
requires the ability to identify major clinical/public health problems,
develop relevant research questions to investigate those problems, and
design protocols that emphasize translational research to address them.
Second, the committee hosted the 2008 National Annual Meeting
for CTSA KL2, K12, and K30 Clinical Research Scholars on March 25–26,
2008. A record number of 225 scholars representing 33 national academic
institutions attended the meeting. The Scholars’ Program agenda
included “Looking Beyond the K Pathways to the R01,” “Career
Development in Clinical and Translational Research,” “Writing Skills,”
“Developing Successful Multidisciplinary Research Teams,” and “Research
Networking Among Scholars” sessions with NIH program staff. Meeting
participants also gave input on the proposed core competencies,
pointing out that clinical and translational research requires
investigators who can collaborate with other disciplines and also with
commercial/industry representatives in an effort to make research
findings more widely accessible. The EdCD is finalizing its
recommendations and will present them next to a panel of education
experts and the principal investigators of the NCRR-supported education
programs for review.
On
April 18, the EdCD named Frederick Meyers, M.D., M.A.C.P., as its new
chair. Dr. Meyers is Professor of Medicine and Chairman of the
Department of Internal Medicine at the University of California, Davis,
School of Medicine, where he also serves as the Program Director for
the Clinical and Translational Science Center research training and
education program. Dr. Meyers’ clinical, education, and research
activities have focused on advanced malignancies. In recognition of his
pioneering role in the hospice movement in the United States and his
research to improve end-of-life care for cancer patients, Dr. Meyers
has been elected a Master of the American College of Physicians. As
chair of the EdCD, Dr. Meyers’ goal for the year is to work with the
EdCD membership to develop global priorities that would be a blueprint
for sustainable success in the transformation of the research education
mission. Dr. Meyers will replace the outgoing chair, Sherine Gabriel,
M.D., M.Sc., Co-Principal Investigator and Director of Education of the
Mayo Clinic. |
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Institutional CTSA Events |
Emory University—Ethics and Translational Research: From Discovery to Implementation Conference
This May 15, 2008,
conference will focus on the challenges in maintaining patient safety,
the integrity of research, and the public’s trust in research
universities and institutions that are presented by the growth of
translational research. CME credits will be offered.
For more information or if you wish to attend, e-mail translationalrsvp@emory.edu.
University of Rochester Symposium: Frontiers in Stem Cell Medicine
The May 23, 2008,
symposium will bring physicians, clinical researchers, and basic
science researchers together for a day of concentrated interaction.
More information, including registration details, is available at http://www.urmc.rochester.edu/ctsi/news/StemCellSymposium.cfm.
We want to post your CTSA-sponsored institutional event with open attendance in the CTSA e-Newsletter and on the CTSAweb.org Events page. Please send submissions to Kameha Kidd at kiddka@mail.nih.gov. |
NCRR Announces CTSA Administrative Supplements for Consortium Projects
The National Center for Research Resources (NCRR) has announced a solicitation that requests administrative supplement
applications to CTSA grants to support CTSA Consortium projects. The
administrative supplements are to support projects of national scope
for established CTSA-wide consortia, defined as CTSA Steering
Committees, Work Groups, or Task Forces. Proposed projects must
contribute to national efforts and relate to the mission of CTSA-wide
consortia. The goal of this solicitation is to support projects
within the focus areas of the CTSA-wide consortia that facilitate the
transformation of 1) performance or 2) training in clinical and
translational science on a national level. Additionally, projects are
expected to collaboratively engage multiple CTSAs.
The Michigan Institute for Clinical and Health Research Web Site Helps Spread the Word About Clinical Research
The
Michigan Institute for Clinical and Health Research (MICHR) at the
University of Michigan developed Engage, a Web portal that links the
community to a single gateway for clinical research. An integral piece
of MICHR’s Community Engagement Program, Engage (www.UMengage.org)
consists of several pieces—a study database, information on clinical
research for the public, multicultural research pages, a public search
tool, information for study teams, and a HIPAA and IRB Compliant
Registry.
New Tool Helps Researchers Find Core Resources at University of California, San Francisco
The University of California, San Francisco’s (UCSF), Clinical and
Translational Science Institute launched the Cores Search feature within its Web site,
which enables searches of more than 90 cores at UCSF. Researchers can
search and sort by campus location, resource category, and specific
service or equipment. Information about the full range of services
available for each core and who to contact for pricing is also
accessible.
New Help Desk E-mail for the CTSA Web Systems
The CTSA Web systems have a new help desk e-mail, help@CTSAweb.org. Please contact the help desk if you have questions regarding the CTSA systems, including CTSA Wiki and password questions. |
Upcoming Committee Meeting Dates |
Key: CTSA
Consortium Meeting CTSA
Consortium Workshop NIH
Staff Meeting |
Monday |
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
Thursday |
Friday |
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1
CTSA Consortium Meeting |
Communications Communication Systems and Information Management Taskforce
3:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m. |
CTSA Consortium Meeting |
Communications Media-Public Relations Taskforce 
11:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. |
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2 |
5
CTSA Consortium Meeting |
Translational
3:30 p.m.–5:00 p.m.
Democracy 1, Room 987/989
NIH coordinator
Doug Sheeley |
CTSA Consortium Meeting |
Regulatory and Ethics IRB Taskforce
12:00 p.m.–1:00 p.m.
NIH coordinator
Daniel Rosenblum |
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6
CTSA Consortium Meeting |
Evaluation Standardizing and Operationalizing Definitions Workgroup
4:30 p.m.–5:30 p.m.
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7 |
8
CTSA Consortium Meeting |
Evaluation Shared Resources Workgroup
3:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m.
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9
CTSA Consortium Workshop |
Accelerating the Dissemination and Translation of Clinical Research into Practice
8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
Natcher Conference Center (Building 45) |
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12
CTSA Consortium Meeting |
Regulatory Knowledge Clinical Research Management Taskforce
1:00 p.m.–2:00 p.m. |
NIH Staff Meeting |
Translational NIH Subcommittee
10:00 a.m.–11:00 a.m.
Democracy 1, Room 987 |
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13
CTSA Consortium Meeting |
Biostatistics/
Epidemiology/
Research Design Evaluation Taskforce
4:00 p.m.–5:00 p.m.
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14
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15
CTSA Consortium Meeting |
Evaluation Social Network Analysis Workgroup
3:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m. |
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16
CTSA Consortium Meeting |
Community Engagement Operations Committee
12:00 p.m.–1:00 p.m. |
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19
CTSA Consortium Meeting |
Regulatory and Ethics IRB Taskforce
12:00 p.m.–1:00 p.m.
NIH coordinator
Daniel Rosenblum |
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20
CTSA Consortium Meeting |
CTSA Consortium Oversight
1:00 p.m.–2:00 p.m.
Democracy 1, Room 987
NIH coordinator
Anthony Hayward |
CTSA Consortium Meeting |
Clinical Research Ethics Operations Committee
1:00 p.m.–2:00 p.m.
|
CTSA Consortium Meeting |
Public Private Partnerships Aggregating Resources Workgroup
3:00 p.m.–4:30 p.m.
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21
CTSA Consortium Meeting |
Public Private Partnerships Agreements Workgroup
3:00 p.m.–4:30 p.m.
|
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22
CTSA Consortium Meeting |
Community Engagement Community-Based Academic and Practice Partnership Workgroup
12:00 p.m.–1:00 p.m.
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23
CTSA Consortium Meeting |
Community Engagement Regional Workshops Workgroup
1:00 p.m.–2:00 p.m.
|
CTSA Consortium Meeting |
Regulatory Knowledge
2:00 p.m.–3:00 p.m.
Democracy 1, Room 1037
NIH coordinator
Jody Sachs |
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26 |
27
CTSA Consortium Meeting |
Administration Grants Management Taskforce
1:00 p.m.–2:00 p.m.
|
CTSA Consortium Meeting |
Biostatistics/
Epidemiology/
Research Design Evaluation Taskforce
4:00 p.m.–5:00 p.m.
|
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28
CTSA Consortium Meeting |
Communications Operations Committee
12:00 p.m.–1:00 p.m.
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29
CTSA Consortium Meeting |
Communications Communication Systems and Information Management Taskforce
3:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m.
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30
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Updated Information on CTSAWeb.org |
CTSAweb.org
was developed to ensure access to CTSA resources, enhance
communication, and encourage sharing. The site continues to evolve with
the CTSA in promoting this new direction of clinical and translational
science.
Features and updates:
Access archived CTSA e-Newsletters on the CTSAweb.org CTSAs in the News page.

We
hope you find this newsletter helpful and informative. If you have any
questions or comments, or to remove yourself from this distribution,
please contact Kameha Kidd, Office of Science Policy and Public Liaison, NCRR. |
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