Around 40 members of UT Southwestern leadership recently gathered for the inaugural strategic retreat for clinical research at UTSW. The half-day program reviewed current scope and metrics for clinical research as well as recent changes to the operational infrastructure.

Importantly, the group focused on key strategic issues, including faculty and clinical workforce development; the institution’s quantitative and data science needs; resources needed to expand site and multisite clinical trials and cohort studies; and ways to improve implementing scientific discoveries back into clinical practice.

In upcoming editions of this newsletter, we will be providing some of these research metrics as well as reporting progress on these major strategic initiatives. As an example of these institutional metrics, the figure below displays trends in overall, federal, private, and state grant-funding support for clinical research at UTSW. The data show that despite a pandemic, clinical research at UTSW has been growing across all funding sectors. With your help, we hope to continue to accelerate these trends in the coming years.  

*Total revenue (direct + indirect) is represented); For multi-project grants with primary focus on clinical research, total project funding was included.

The seventh annual Donald W. Seldin Research Symposium last month brought together trainees, faculty, and staff to celebrate the collaborative-mentored research performed by Internal Medicine trainees.

The tremendous research activity of Internal Medicine residents and fellows was showcased in a poster session featuring 100 exhibits. The posters were judged by faculty based on their experimental design and/or approach to patient-oriented problems.

This year, six individuals were selected as Foster Fellows in honor of the late Daniel W. Foster, M.D.: Matthew Almonte, M.D., Angela Duvalyan, M.D., Meredith McAdams, M.D., Kristeen Onyirioha, M.D., Taylor Triana, M.D., and Nil Saez-Calveras, M.D. The audience then selected the best overall poster by Dr. Saez-Calveras as the 2022 Seldin Scholar, named for Dr. Donald W. Seldin, who served as Chair of the Department of Internal Medicine from 1952 to 1988. Both the Foster and Seldin awardees received support for their medical education and career development.

New to this year’s symposium was the Social Impact Award, given for scholarly activity that focused on unmet clinical needs in underserved populations, advanced social determinants of health, or raised the collective consciousness about diversity, equity, and inclusion in medicine. Danielle Morelli, M.D., was the inaugural recipient.

Best Case Presentations were awarded to Bilal Ashraf, M.D., Heather Dalton, M.D., and Sapna Pathak, M.D., and the Award for Research in Quality of Care and Education at Parkland was presented to May Xac, M.D.

For patients, finding opportunities to participate in a clinical trial can be overwhelming. The Clinical Trials Webpage for Patients explains the basics of clinical trials: what they are, what it means to participate, and questions to ask. It also allows community members and patients to search for current trials at UTSW. Most recently, this information was updated by the UTSW Community Outreach Engagement and Equity Working Group.

We encourage sharing this resource widely with patients to help increase awareness and clarity on clinical trials and build trust with our community. If you have questions or suggestions, contact Erin Williams, Associate Director, Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, Clinical Research Operations. 

Community Engagement Grand Rounds

Ana Abraido-Lanza, Ph.D., presents “Latino Populations and Community-Engaged Research.”

• Tuesday, May 24, from noon to 1 p.m. Register to attend.

Clinical and Translational Research Forum

This interactive forum provides an opportunity for trainees to meet with established investigators in clinical and translational research to share their ideas and experiences.

• Thursdays at noon. Join via Zoom; meeting ID 918 5345 2714, passcode 361531. 

Clinical Informatics Research Colloquium

This event allows our scientists in clinical informatics to exchange ideas. In this month's colloquium, Yaa Kumah-Crystal, M.D., presents “Finding Your Voice in the EHR.”

• Tuesday, May 31, from 1-2:30 p.m. Contact Katherine Flannery to register for the virtual event.

Master of Science in Clinical Science

The application deadline has been extended for UTSW’s Master of Science in Clinical Science and related certificate programs. 

• Apply by May 31.