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A Message from Dr. Michael Konstan
H
appy New Year!
The past 10 years have seen significant progress in the catalytic translation of medical discovery to advance and impact human health. The Clinical and Translational Science Collaborative has made it possible to develop research relationships and collaborations between investigators within our partner institutions as well as nationally and internationally
to accelerate research. We are proud to have built and nurture an environment to efficiently accelerate discoveries and to train the next generation of clinical and translational researchers.
As we enter 2017, we will continue to build upon our successes and continue to pursue initiatives that will increase our collaborative opportunities to translate scientific discoveries into interventions and outcomes. One such initiative, the Trial Innovation Network (TIN) is a new collaborative within the CTSA Program and is composed of three key organizational partners - the CTSA Program Hubs (that's us!), the Trial Innovation Centers (TICs) and the Recruitment Innovation Center (RIC). The vision for the TIN is to innovatively address critical roadblocks in clinical trials and accelerate the translation of novel interventions into life-saving therapies. (Read more about the TIN in the article below.)
Other initiatives that we are excited to expand and further develop are our community health programs. Some of these programs are already underway and will support innovative teaching and training programs that increase the number of health care professionals serving Medicaid populations and working in underserved communities; leading programs to address and reduce infant mortality and obesity; and focusing on children's health in Northeast Ohio, specifically, children living in underserved areas.
The CTSC continues to be the catalyst for collaboration locally, regionally, and nationally for innovation in training, translational research, and processes to facilitate and support research. We have built a strong program that enhances the efficiency and quality of clinical and translational research and provides specialized training for the next generation of C/T researchers. The CTSC has provided pilot funding and other assistance to hundreds of citywide researchers that translates basic discoveries into improved human health and ultimately has a positive effect on our community.
As Principal Investigator of the CTSC, I am committed to providing a rich environment for training and education and the resources designed to develop, support, and promote clinical and translational research and innovation.
On behalf of the leadership team of the CTSC, we want to personally thank the entire CTSC community for contributing to the development, support, and success of our program. We look forward to 2017 and the opportunities that lie ahead for all of us to achieve even greater success!
Mike
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NEW to the CTSA Consortium:
Trial Innovation Network
The Trial Innovation Network is a collaborative national network that focuses on
operational innovation,
operational excellence and collaboration
and
will leverage the expertise and resources of the CTSA Program. The Trial Innovation Network will feature a single IRB system, master contracting agreements, quality by design approaches, and a focus on evidence-based strategies to recruitment and patient engagement.
The goal of the Trial Innovation Network is to not only execute trials better, faster, and more cost-efficiently but, importantly, to be a national laboratory to study, understand and innovate the process of conducting clinical trials.
Our CTSC's Trial Innovation team is currently building the key elements of the Trial Innovation Network here at our CTSA hub. The goal is to start early projects as soon as possible and collaborate with other NIH Institutes and partners to launch clinical trials in 2017. The Trial Innovation Network is designed to be a complementary resource and an option for investigators and NIH Institutes to optimize the clinical trials enterprise. An added value for Investigators include:
- One-stop shopping to implement clinical studies so investigators can focus on the scientific question
- TICs and RICs - expertise in operational innovation and operational excellence
- CTSA Program hubs - broad expertise; large, diverse patient populations
- More competitive clinical trials applications submitted to NIH ICs
We look forward to officially introducing the
Trial Innovation Network and our HUB's Liaison Team in the upcoming weeks.
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Congratulations to Top 40 Under 40, Jennifer Sweet!
Jennifer Sweet, assistant professor of neurological surgery and KL2 scholar, was named one of
Crain's Cleveland Business'
2016 40 under 40. This distinction has been given to individuals for their early career and civic contributions over the past 25 years.
Sweet received this recognition for her work in neuromodulation, which is the process of using electrode stimulation to assess the circuitry and its connection to the brain. She also gives lectures with the IQ+ program for CWRU's third year medical students and is a current KL2 Scholar.
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Congratulations to the October 2016 CTSC Core Utilization Awardees!
Amitabh Chak, MD
University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center
"Non-Endoscopic Screening of Barrett's Esophagus"
Philip Linden, MD
University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center
"Advanced Analysis of Daily Drain Amylase Levels for Early Detection and Treatment of Esophageal Leaks"
Goutham Narla, MD, PhD
Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
"Characterization of the Phosphoproteome of Colorectal Cancer Cells Containing Wild Type and Patient Derived Mutant PP2A A"
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CTSC Researchers Publish Article in JCTS
Researchers from the CTSC have recently published an article in the Journal for Clinical and Translational Science (JCTS), the newly founded official journal of the Association of Clinical and Translational Science (ACTS). The article is titled "
A consult service to support and promote community-based research: Tracking and evaluating a community-based research consult service" and focuses on how a community-based research (cbr) consult service functions in a CTSA institution.
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Cleveland Brain Health Initiative will promote collaboration among local hospitals and accelerate clinical trials and treatments for patients affected by brain health diseases
"The Cleveland Foundation is awarding a $1.5 million grant to Case Western Reserve University to help launch the Cleveland Brain Health Initiative (CBHI), which links the work of local scientific and medical leaders in brain disease and disorder treatment.
CBHI is a project to bring together groundbreaking work from Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals, MetroHealth Medical Center and the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center. The goal is for the initiative to become a national center of excellence to advance understanding and treatment of various brain diseases and disorders affecting nearly 100 million patients in the U.S."
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The Final Rule goes into effect January 19, 2018.
What do you need to know right now?
The Final Rule is a document which attempts to modernize, strengthen, and make more effective the Federal Policy for the Protection of Human Subjects originally laid out in the Common Rule (1991). The revisions are intended to better protect human subjects involved in research, while creating a more straightforward and efficient process for investigators.
The Final Rule includes some of the following changes:
- Clinical trials which are not federally funded are not covered by the final rule.
- Anything proposed as an "excluded" activity is now either listed as 'not satisfying the definition of research' or are classified as 'exempt'.
- The requirements for obtaining consent waivers under the Final Rule include:
- Information given as part of the informed consent process for potential research subjects has new requirements.
- Broad consent, or consent to use identifiable personal information and biospecimens in unspecified future research, will be allowed.
- Exempt research will be categorized basked on risk and may be required to undergo IRB review to ensure participant privacy.
- Continuing review will not be required for expedited review studies, studies that completed study interventions, studies only analyzing data, and observational followups with standard clinical care.
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Researchers: Pure Experts can connect you with other researchers!
In an effort to promote multi-disciplinary clinical and translational research, the Clinical and
Translational Science Collaborative of Cleveland (CTSC) is pleased to introduce Pure Experts, a directory of researcher expertise that enables collaboration among researchers.
This expertise portal is a key component of the CTSC's mission to catalyze new knowledge
and discovery to enhance and improve patient care and promote better health in the
community.
Pure allows you to:
- Capture and structure your research data centrally
- Identify funding, expertise and collaborative partners
- Report on the reliable, validated data
- Analyze the progress of your teams and departments
- Showcase your accomplishments
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Do you know the difference between a PMID and a PMCID?
A PMID, also known as the PubMed reference number, is a number assigned by the NIH National Library of Medicine to papers indexed in PubMed.
The PMC reference number (PMCID) is assigned when the article is posted on PubMed Central. It is the proof of compliance that you must include when submitting applications, proposals, and reports to the NIH.
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PRCHN Seminars
Mark your calendars for these upcoming PRCHN Seminars.
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2/8/17 -
Active Transportation as a Health Equity Strategy
Barb Clint, MBA, YMCA of Greater Cleveland
3/8/17 -
Ohio Tobacco Trends and Policy
Amy Bush Stevens, Health Policy Institute of Ohio
You can find more information on these seminars and other PRCHN programs
here.
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Surgeon General Releases First Report on E-cigarettes
In the first report on e-cigarettes, the U.S. Surgeon General expresses the health concerns posed by the use of e-cigarettes on their own and in comparison to their predecessors. More specifically, the report focuses on the high use of e-cigarettes by youths and the lifelong health effects that they pose to that population. The 150 experts that wrote and reviewed the report agreed that e-cigarettes are dangerous and laid out a set of recommended actions including:
- continuing to regulate e-cigarettes at the Federal level to protect public health,
- raising and strongly enforcing minimum age-of-sale laws for all tobacco products, including e-cigarettes,
- incorporating e-cigarettes into smoke-free policies,
- regulating e-cigarette marketing,
- sponsoring high-impact media campaigns to educate the public on the harms of e-cigarettes among young people, and
- expanding research efforts related to e-cigarettes.
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The Kresge Foundation Emerging Leaders in Public Health (ELPH) Initiative
Application Deadline: February 6, 2017
The emerging leaders public health program was launched in 2014 to educate public health leaders in a changing healthcare environment. The program pairs leaders who then undertake projects related to business, planning, and public health systems development for 18 months. ELPH aimed at helping current and future local public health leaders advance innovative models which improve their organizations and position them for new opportunities to meet the changing health needs of their communities.
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We encourage you to participate in the Northeast Ohio Data Day on March 2, 2017 and related events on March 3rd and 4th.
In coordination with events in cities around the world, funding from the MacArthur Foundation to the
National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership is being used to
explore how civic technologists, data specialists, and local government leaders can work more effectively together to address
pressing problems affecting low-income residents. Major projects are underway in Boston, St. Louis and Washington, DC. Together with Pittsburgh, San Antonio and Seattle, Cleveland will participate as a learning partner.
Locally, there will be workshops and training opportunities around working with open data on March 2nd. (Location details are still being finalized. Contact
[email protected] at the Mandel School Center on Urban Poverty for updates.)
On March 3rd, there will be a nationally-known speaker at the City Club and a Hackathon is being planned for March 4th.
In contrast with the Cleveland Medical Hackathon, this competition is seeking fully formed teams who will compete based on business plans that are refined during the competition. With support from the Office of the County Executive and others, over $100,000 in prize money will be awarded. Contact [email protected] for further information, or apply here: http://www.medicalinnovationcompetition.org/cleveland/2017
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As always, we continue to add datasets to Healthdatamatters.org and exciting new data visualization functionality to HDM.LiveStories.com. We welcome your requests for data sets, comments, or blog submissions if you have something to say about community health data.
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2017 Bioethics Conference: Ethics of Integrating Research and Clinical Care
March 23-24, 2017
The bioethics community is gathering again this spring in Cincinnati for the conference
Ethics of Integrating Research and Clinical Care,
March 23-24, 2017.
The conference will be hosted by the Cincinnati CTSA: Center for Clinical & Translational Science & Training (CCTST). P
resentations by Scott Kim, MD, PhD, NIH Dept. of Bioethics; Andrew Mulberg, MD, Amicus Therapeutics (former Deputy Director of FDA); and Kevin Weinfurt, PhD, Duke University School of Medicine will be given at the event.
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Brian Werbel Memorial and Cancer Center Summer Training Program for Medical Students
The Case Comprehensive Cancer Center is looking for medical students interested in summer research opportunities.
There are 9 openings available, with 5 supported by the Brian Werbel Memorial Fund and 4 by the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Details:
- Completed application and reference letter due by: Friday, March 31, 2017
- Awardees must be conducting cancer research with a Case Comprehensive Cancer Center member
- Those receiving the Brian Werbel Memorial Fund awards must attend the annual golf outing.
For more details and an application, contact Damian Junk: [email protected].
The Case Comprehensive Cancer Center (Case CCC) is a partnership of the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, the Seidman Cancer Center of University Hospitals Case Medical Center of Cleveland, and the Taussig Cancer Institute of the Cleveland Clinic. Through the collaborative research activities of the partner institutions, the Case CCC pursues its mission of translating research discoveries into improved treatments for cancer patients throughout the region and nation.Visit us on the web at http://cancer.case.edu.
The Brian Werbel Memorial Fund, established in 2007 at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, is dedicated to providing summer fellows an opportunity to focus on cancer research, with the ultimate goal to aid in curing cancer. Brian's hope was to find a cure for cancer --to make a difference in the world, just as he made a difference in the lives of everyone he touched.Learn More about Brian's Hope for the Future: http://www.brianwerbelmemorialfund.org
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CTSC Associate PI and Colleagues Map Structure of Cancer Protein
 Researchers from CWRU, UC San Diego, and ChemoCentryx collaborated to find the structure of a cancer cell receptor protein. They were the first to show how the receptor interacts with other molecules, including investigational drugs. Knowing more structural information about this protein makes it easier for researchers to create drugs to modify its function by blocking the receptor.
Professor, Vice Dean for Research, and Associate PI of the CTSC, Mark Chance, PhD, was a researcher and corresponding author for the project. Chance's team used over 100 probes to map the structure of ACKR3, a receptor associated with the chemokines that control cell movement.
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Fulbright Scholar Award Given to CWRU Researcher Brian Grimberg
 Brian Grimberg received the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program Award from the U.S. Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board for his research on a malaria detection device. The device is called Magneto-Optical Detector (MOD) and is used for rapid detection of the disease, providing accurate results in less than one minute.
Using this award, Grimberg will conduct research on the device, and teach and mentor all levels of university students at Cayetano Heredia University in Lima, Peru.
Grimberg has previously been awarded a CTSC Annual Pilot Award for work on this project.
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CWRU Researcher Finds Connection Between Psoriasis and Heart Disease
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Photo by Billy Delfs from the daily
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Dermatology researcher Nicole Ward studies the effect that skin diseases can have on other immune responses. Most recently, s
he has been working with the inflammatory responses that lead to psoriasis, and can also cause other diseases such as heart disease. Ward has worked with a few potential molecules, looking for a connection between responses. In articles in the Journal of Clinical Investigation and the Journal of Investigative Dermatology the processes used to study these connections are outlined.
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CWRU Professor Writes Book on Law, Ethics, and Policy in Medical Big Data
 In our world of electronics, medical "big data" (massive stores of electronic data) is used for research, public health endeavors, and other projects related to health. Most of this data comes from Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems, which have been widely used in medical institutions for the past few years.
With EHR systems comes ethical questions such as what information should be available to researchers to answer health related problems and what should remain confidential. Sharona Hoffman, professor of law and bioethics at CWRU, goes into the legal details of these questions in her book: Health Records and Medical Big Data: Law and Policy.
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Research ShowCASE 2017 - Abstracts Accepted Now through February 5th
Discovery, Collaboration & Community
When: Friday April 21st from
9am - 3pm
Where: Veale Convocation Center,
Case Western Reserve University
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Seminar in Multidisciplinary Clinical and Translational Research
WRB 6136 from 12-1 pm
February 13, 2017 - Robin L. P. Jump, MD, PhD, Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center (GRECC), Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of Infectious Disease and HIV Medicine, CWRU, will discuss
"Antimicrobial Stewardship in Nursing Homes"
April 10, 2017 - Jim Werner, PhD, Associate Professor, Dept. of Family Medicine & Community Health, CWRU, will discuss
"Practice-Based Research Networks: Essential Infrastructure for Translational Research"
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Save the Date:
1st Annual Cancer Disparities Symposium: Building Bridges to Address Cancer Disparities
Friday, March 17, 2017 | Cleveland, OH
The Case Comprehensive Cancer Center is excited to announce the inaugural Cancer Disparities Symposium: Building Bridges to Address Cancer Disparities. Understanding and addressing cancer disparities is complex and multi-faceted, and requires attention across the translational spectrum. This half-day event will showcase cutting-edge research, with a focus on reducing and eliminating disparities in cancer, going from bench-to-bedside-to-community and back. This important symposium will also feature two keynote addresses, including a key leader in our community, and an internationally-recognized cancer disparities researcher. We will promote the exchange of ideas and collaborative opportunities among scientists, clinicians, government, and community representatives.
Organizing Committee: Monica Webb Hooper, PhD, Cynthia Owusu, MD, MSc, Smitha Krishnamurthi, MD, Siran Koroukian, PhD, and Cancer Center Administration
Please save the date! More information to follow.
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CRSP 401 "Introduction to Clinical Research"
Application Deadline: May 15, 2017
Seminars will be held from July 5 - 27, 2017 in the mornings in the Wolstein Research Building.
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Special Funding Opportunity
The Case Western Center for Reducing Health Disparities will be leading CWRU's application for an NIH-funded Specialized Center for Research on Minority Health and Health Disparities.
Research Initiative Details
This Notice encourages investigators with expertise and insights into the science of health disparities, particularly the complex interplay between risk and protective factors acting at multiple levels across the life course, to begin to consider applying for this new FOA.
The FOA will encourage collaborative activities combining expertise in biomedical and behavioral research, research education, clinical and health services research, social science, environmental health science, population science, translational science, implementation science, and the science of community engagement. Each COE is expected to have a thematic focus in a specific scientific area that may include, but are not limited, to social determinants of health, men's health, women's health, maternal and child health, chronic disease prevention, environmental health disparities, precision medicine, health services and policy research. The COEs will be expected to work closely with community partners to facilitate development of programs that can be implemented in real-world settings to improve minority health and reduce health disparities.
Projects must include a focus on one or more NIH-designated health disparity populations, which include Blacks or African Americans, Hispanics or Latinos, American Indians or Alaska Natives, Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders, socioeconomically disadvantaged populations, underserved rural populations, and sexual and gender minorities.
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Notice
# NOT-TR-17-004
The purpose of this Notice is make modifications for PAR-15-172 " Collaborative Innovation Award, Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) Program (U01)" for the March 9, 2017, and subsequent due dates, and expand the list of high priority translational research opportunities to novel clinical trials of drugs that target shared molecular etiologies underlying multiple diseases.
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PCORI Funding Opportunity
Letter of Intent Due: February 14, 2017
The
Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI)
will be re-opening the targeted funding announcement titled, "Comparison of Surgical and Nonsurgical Options for Management of Chronic Nonspecific Low Back Pain." The goal of this announcement is to support patient-centered CER that addresses questions about the effectiveness of lumbar fusion versus optimized, multidisciplinary nonsurgical approaches. Up to $22 million in direct costs will be available to support 1-2 studies in this area.
The mission of the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) is to improve the quality and relevance of evidence available to help patients, caregivers, clinicians, employers, insurers, and policy makers make informed health decisions.
Letter of Intent Deadline: February 14, 2017
017
Application Deadline: May 17, 2017
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Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI)
Application Deadline: February 15, 2017
The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) has announced the Hanna H. Gray Fellows Program. Recognizing the value of individuals from different backgrounds to move science forward, HHMI seeks to increase diversity in the biomedical research community. The Hanna H. Gray Fellows Program will recruit and retain early career scientists who are from groups underrepresented in the life sciences and who have the potential to become leaders in academic research. Through their successful careers, Hanna H. Gray Fellows will inspire the next generation of scientists from America's diverse talent pool. The Institute will select and support up to 15 Fellows in this first competition.
Fellows will receive funding ($80,000) for up to four years of their postdoctoral training and may continue to receive funding ($270,000) for up to four years during their early career years as independent faculty. The program includes opportunities for career development, including mentoring and active involvement in the HHMI scientific community.
Application Deadline: February 15, 2017
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Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation and Harrington Discovery Institute at University Hospitals
Letter of Intent Due: March 17, 2017
The
Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation and Harrington Discovery Institute
at University Hospitals in Cleveland, Ohio are pleased to announce the request for proposals for the 2017 ADDF-Harrington Scholar Award.
The ADDF-Harrington Scholar Award supports research efforts that seek to prevent, treat, or cure Alzheimer's disease, related dementias and cognitive aging.
Letters of Intent are now being accepted.
Applicants have the opportunity to receive:
- Funding up to $600,000 over two years
- Drug development and project management support through the Harrington Discovery Institute's Innovation Support Center
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NSF: Advanced Biomanufacturing of Therapeutic Cells
Application Deadline: April 17, 2017
In recent years, somatic cells as therapeutic agents have provided new treatment approaches for a number of pathological conditions that were deemed untreatable, or difficult to treat. Several successful cell therapies using T cells have been demonstrated for cancer and autoimmune diseases, while stem cell therapies have given relief for heart disease and stroke. Hundreds of clinical trials are ongoing to examine efficacy of cell therapies for a variety of other diseases including diabetes, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and Crohn's disease. Production of therapeutic cells is currently expensive and, therefore, cost prohibitive for the large number of people who might benefit from these treatments. The overarching goal of this Advanced Biomanufacturing of Therapeutic Cells (ABTC) solicitation is to catalyze well-integrated interdisciplinary research to understand, design, and control cell manufacturing systems and processes that will enable reproducible, cost-effective, and high-quality production of cells with predictable performance for the identified therapeutic function.
Application Deadline: April 17, 2017
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Sigma Theta Tau International
Application Deadline: May 1, 2017
Founded in 1922, Sigma Theta Tau International supports the learning, knowledge, and professional development of nurses working to make a difference in global health.
To that end, the organization is inviting applications from registered nurses for its Global Nursing Research Grant program. Through the program, a single grant of up to $10,000 is awarded annually to encourage nurses to focus on responding to health disparities globally.
To be eligible, the principal investigator(s) should be a registered nurse (or country equivalent) with a current license and have at least a master's in nursing (or country equivalent). Preference will be given to Sigma Theta Tau members.
Application Deadline: May 1, 2017
For more information visit the STTI website.
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Little Giraffe Foundation
Application Deadline: July 14, 2017
The
Little Giraffe Foundation
is dedicated to funding neonatal research and supporting patients and parents of the NICU. The foundation is accepting Letters of Intent for 2017.
Grants of up to $10,000 will be awarded to qualified scientists, doctors, and nurses at universities, hospitals, and research institutions in support of research that addresses both the long-term and immediate health needs caused by premature birth as well as the causes of premature birth and ways to prevent it. Research subjects appropriate for support include basic biological processes governing development, genetics, clinical studies, studies of reproductive health, environmental toxicology, and social and behavioral studies.
Letter of Intent Deadline: July 14, 2017
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Special Funding Opportunities
Multiple Deadlines
Advanced Development and Validation of Emerging Biospecimen Science Technologies for Basic and Clinical Cancer Research (R33)
Advanced Development and Validation of Emerging Molecular and Cellular Analysis Technologies for Basic and Clinical Cancer Research (R33)
(RFA-CA-17-011)
Innovative Molecular and Cellular Analysis Technologies for Basic and Clinical Cancer Research (R21)
(RFA-CA-17-010)
Technical Assistance Videocast for RFA RM-16-019 "NIH Health Care Systems Research Collaboratory - Demonstration Projects for Pragmatic Clinical Trials (UG3/UH3)"
(NOT-RM-17-005)
NEI Translational Research Program (TRP) to Develop Novel Therapies and Devices for the Treatment of Visual System Disorders (R24)
(PAR-17-099)
Research on the Health of Women of Underrepresented, Understudied and Underreported (U3) Populations An ORWH FY17 Administrative Supplement (Admin Supp)
(PA-17-101)
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Have you explored Pure yet?
Check out
Pure Experts, a directory of researcher expertise that enables collaboration among researchers! For more information on Pure, see the
Pure Brochure.
Also be sure to contact our
Research Concierge Service for all CTSC and research-related queries.
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Researchers: Register for an
ORCID ID
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NIH has now adopted the ORCID ID, a free, open-source unique identifing number.
Learn more about ORCID.
It is also recommended that researchers link their ORCID ID to their CV in NIH's SciENcv, which creates a current, customizable biosketch on NIH grant form pages for any NIH grant.
If you would like to learn more about how to register and link your ORCID number, please contact: Clara Pelfrey, Evaluation Director at
[email protected] or (216) 368-6478.
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