UMass FMCH Tuesday Talk - July 26, 2022/RESEARCH
Welcome to the FMCH Tuesday Talk. Please continue to send us your announcements, celebrations, and accomplishments to FMCHtuesdaytalk@umassmed.edu.
Table of Contents
Focus of the Week - Research
Announcements
Faculty Presentations/Publications
Frankly Speaking Podcast
Clinical Services Spotlight
Focus of the Week - Research

Since the new academic year is beginning…. A few reminders about human subjects research and the IRB:
  • Studies involving human subjects typically require review by the Institutional Review Board (IRB). If you are unsure whether your study requires review, contact the UMMS IRB for a determination. Information about the IRB and how to submit applications is available by following this link: https://umassmed.edu/ccts/irb/. 
  • Our department requires that all IRB applications be submitted for internal review prior to their submission to the IRB. You can find information on the Department’s policies and procedures for review and where to go for questions about your application here. https://umassmed.edu/fmch/research/irb/. There are some notes on those pages about QI and program evaluation projects and when an IRB review ‘might’ be required or not. The IRB is always available to answer your questions about those potentially non-research circumstances.
  • All members of the research team involved in the design, conduct, or reporting of human subjects research must complete training. Online training is provided through the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) human subjects training program. Information about the CITI exam and links to training modules are available here: https://umassmed.edu/ccts/irb/CITI-GCP/
  • CITI training must be renewed every three years. We urge all potential research team members to begin CITI training well before submitting an IRB application to avoid delays in approval of your application.
 
From Allison Blodgett, Director of IRB Operations and Heather Strom Tessier, IRB Educational Specialist: eIRB has being upgraded to a cloud-based environment as of late 2021. Several trainings have taken place and the new eIRB website provides information on ‘office hours’ held on a regular basis where you can get ALL of your questions answered! Toward the bottom of the home page (https://umassmed.edu/ccts/irb),
there is a notation and calendar with their weekly office hours. They also have many job aides for various components of the IRB documents and submission process.
 
UMass Single Sign-on:
In order to comply with UMass Chan Medical School data security policies and procedures, the new eIRB system will only be accessible via UMass Chan Medical School Single Sign-On (UMMS SSO). This means that individuals need UMMS credentials for themselves or their collaborators. If you need help getting UMMS credentials, please let Linda Cragin know.  
 
eIRB Upgrade and CITI Training:
The new eIRB will automatically display current CITI training dates for Human Subjects Training, Good Clinical Practice, and Conflict of Interest. In order for the dates to display properly, you must enter your umassmed.edu email in your Institutional Profile in CITI. To do this:
  • Go into your CITI account and, using the pulldown menu under your name, select Profiles. Go to the Institutional Profile (not the Member Profile) for University of Massachusetts Worcester, click EDIT PROFILE, and add your UMMS email address as the Institutional Email Address.
  • You can continue to use any email you like as your preferred and secondary emails in your Member Profile. However, your umassmed.edu email must be entered in the Institutional Profile. 
 
Request for Publications and Presentations for our FMCH Research Web Pages
Several times a year, but especially as the new academic year begins, we update our department’s research web pages (www.umassmed.edu/fmch/research) with new grants, publications, presentations, student/faculty projects, and many other research-related activities. If you have published something in the past year that hasn’t gotten to the Tuesday Talk, or you’ve given a research presentation, please send those updates to Judy Savageau (judith.savageau@umassmed.edu) and we’ll include them in the next set of updates. We would love to highlight all of your great work!
 
Research Support
A reminder that the Department offers support for FMCH faculty research leading to scholarly publications and/or presentations. You can find more information, including a form for requesting support, on the FMCH website: Research Initiatives - UMass Medical School - Worcester [https://www.umassmed.edu/fmch/research/research-initiatives].
 
Trying to Keep Up with the Literature?
The department pulls together the tables of contents (TOCs) for about 15 medical journals and distributes this bundle monthly to a select listserv that people can easily sign up for. The TOCs include 4-5 FM journals, JAMA, NEJM, AJPH, Health Affairs, Medical Care, JGIM, Am J Prev Med, key Pediatrics and key OB/Gyn journals, Addiction Medicine, and many more – lots of great articles that can easily be accessed through links within the bundle. We are also open to adding more journals if there’s an interest expressed! Take a look at what's been posted in the past several months by going to the department's web pages under the section on Research. You will see a tab in the left-hand margin for these TOC bundles that we post monthly: (www.umassmed.edu/fmch/research). If you’d like to be on the distribution list, please send an email to Judy Savageau at (judith.savageau@umassmed.edu).
 
Research Forums:
In September, we will begin our monthly research forums and invite all of you to attend (whether in person or via zoom – it’s too soon to tell!). These run from September through June on the 3rd Friday of each month from noon-1pm. We would be happy to add you to our list of upcoming presentations (it’s very informal) if you’re working on a new project idea or an on-going project and would love some feedback from attendees. We occasionally also have a session or 2 on methodologic issues and the ‘how to’ of accessing resources. Please contact Judy Savageau (judith.savageau@umassmed.edu) if you would like to be on our schedule of an upcoming presentation.
Announcements

The Admissions Office is recruiting for MMI (Multiple Mini Interview) raters to assess the applicant pool to UMass Chan Medical School. As a volunteer, you interview applicants during a 3-hour, scheduled window. To sign-up for the training please go here: https://doodle.com/meeting/participate/id/eERjZKWa
or contact Brenda Fusaro, MMI Coordinator at Brenda.Fusaro@umassmed.edu

FMEC Annual Conference - Opportunity for Students
Student Scholarships are available for the FMEC annual conference in Arlington Virginia September 16-18th. Please encourage students with interest in Family Medicine to attend. There is a call for student poster presentations open until July 30th if they have an interesting project to present this is a great opportunity.  
Faculty Presentations/Publications

Sara Shields, MD, MS, FAAFP, presented a tour of the Worcester Art Museum to visiting medical students on July 14th as part of the UMass Chan Medical School program.  
Frankly Speaking Podcast

A weekly Podcast series covering newsworthy topics in primary care medicine.

Please join us for an overview: The controversy surrounding whether to prescribe aspirin for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease in adult patients has left many clinicians unsure of the right approach. In this podcast, we'll review the latest USPSTF recommendation on this topic and dig into the evidence behind the recommendation. Guest: Robert A. Baldor, MD, FAAFP, presents: "USPSTF: Aspirin No Longer Recommended for Primary Prevention". - Frankly Speaking Ep 286.
Clinical Services Spotlight:
CLINICAL UPDATES

COVID-19 MA
  • The total confirmed cases in MA is 1,793,437, and confirmed deaths are 19,860.
  • 7-day percent positivity is 8.17%.
  • There are 189 patients hospitalized for COVID related illness and 589 patients hospitalized with COVID.
  • There are 52 patients in the ICU and 20 intubated.
  • There have been 36,723 breakthrough cases in MA.
 
COVID UMMMC
  • There are 26 cases with 65% fully vaccinated.
  • The 7-day percent positivity rate is 10.7%.
 
Monkeypox
  • WHO declared a public health emergency.
  • Total 3,847 cases worldwide, and 82 confirmed cases in MA.
  • There is now a record of cases in all 50 states.
  • Signs and symptoms of Monkeypox include fever, swollen glands, muscle aches, fatigue, headache, and sore throat.
 
The Spread of Monkeypox:
  • Direct contact with the infectious rash, scabs, or body fluids.
  • Respiratory secretions during prolonged, face-to-face contact, or during intimate physical contact, such as kissing, cuddling, or sex.
  • Touching items (such as clothing or linens) that previously touched the infectious rash or body fluids.
  • Pregnant people can spread the virus to their fetus through the placenta.
  • The disease can also spread through droplets from face-to-face contact with an infected person.
  • Monkeypox can spread from the time symptoms start until the rash has fully healed and a fresh layer of skin has formed. The illness typically lasts 2-4 weeks.
  • There are two vaccines approved in the US. The vaccines are JYNNEOS and ACAM 2000. The US has limited vaccines.
  • JYNNEOS vaccine requires two shots, 28 days apart for maximum effectiveness.
  • People are considered fully vaccinated about two weeks after their second shot.
 
Who gets vaccinated:
  • Known contacts identified by public health via case investigation, contact tracing, and risk exposure assessments (this may include sexual partners, household contacts, and healthcare workers), as well as presumed contacts who meet the following criteria:
  1. Know that a sexual partner in the past 14 days was diagnosed with Monkeypox.
  2. Had multiple sexual partners in the past 14 days in a jurisdiction with known Monkeypox.
Wellness Resources

The Caring for the Caregiver Program provides resources such as the Caregiver Support Line (508-334-HELP) and The Employee Assistance Program (EAP) which offers a variety of services and supports (including virtual peer support and wellness tips. EAP can be accessed at 866-263-3525, or www.LiveandWorkWell.com, [company code UmassMemorial]. More information is available on the Caring for the Caregiver page.

Wellness
You are invited to become a member of the Department Wellness Committee. Key goals for this year include improving the efficiency of use with the Electronic Health Record. Watch your email for future training sessions.
Working on Wellness
Yoga Classes with Dr. Liz Erban

Classes have resumed!!

Great time to join!
This is a great time to join, new members always welcome. Start your mid week with some relaxing yoga! 

Please join for early morning gentle yoga, Wednesday mornings 6:30am via Zoom.
Join Zoom Meeting ID: 923 9393 3653 Passcode: 764113
Zumba with Dr. Anna Zheng

ZOOM Zumba, Thursdays at 6:00am.
Meeting ID: 557 899 5952
Passcode: 123456

Please join department members Thursday, early mornings at 6:00am. Please note details and any changes via webpage: http://annazheng.zumba.com/. Much appreciation to Dr. Anna Zheng for hosting these outstanding classes. New to the class? Please email Dr. Zheng at ZumbawithAnnaZheng@gmail.com to register, complete brief health screen if it's your first class and the ZOOM link.