Dear Colleague,
As 2023 comes to a close, we are grateful beyond measure for the degree to which the California Initiative to Advance Precision Medicine (CIAPM) community stepped up this year in response to unprecedented federal opportunities and helped shape our new Precision Medicine Depression Research Program through statewide listening sessions and our first-ever Request for Information, among other efforts! Read on for programmatic updates, including a report on our 2023 ACEs Research Symposium and our experience of a transformative UCSF Workshop, Toward Algorithmic Justice in Precision Medicine.
Thank you for your partnership this year,
The CIAPM Team
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CIAPM Depression Research Program
Following five statewide listening sessions, a public Request for Information, and the Request for Proposals launch, CIAPM received 60 Letters of Intent for the latest funding opportunity, “A Precision Medicine Approach to Improve the Prevention, Diagnosis, and Treatment of Depression.” Through this opportunity, CIAPM will award up to $9 million total across three to five independent research teams ($1.8 to $3 million per team) over a three-year project term.
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CIAPM ACEs Research Symposium
CIAPM hosted a virtual research symposium on November 1, 2023 spanning seven State-funded projects on Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). CIAPM's Drs. Julianne McCall and David Reiner overviewed the research portfolio and California Surgeon General Dr. Diana Ramos provided opening remarks. ACEs research teams from Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, Stanford University, Loma Linda University, UC Irvine, UC Los Angeles, UC San Francisco, and UC San Diego gave brief presentations of their projects, and project team members engaged in rich discussions of lessons learned and paths forward. Read more about the event and watch the recording on the CIAPM website.
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CIAPM Representative Research Collaborative
In an effort to support representation in biomedical research across California, staff are preparing a Request for Information (RFI) to gather priorities, ideas, and guidance from communities, patients, researchers, healthcare providers, industry, and others to help shape the focus of the Representative Research Collaborative, the State’s new cross-sector research equity program from CIAPM. The RFI will result in a list of community needs regarding engaging underrepresented populations for more equitable representation in research, which CIAPM can consider when developing the scope of future funding opportunities.
We encourage you to share the forthcoming RFI with your networks in the Far Northern California and Central Valley regions. We may also schedule listening sessions. If you are interested in hosting a listening session, please email us at ciapm@opr.ca.gov.
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UCSF Workshop: Algorithmic Justice for Precision Medicine
On November 7, CIAPM staff attended UCSF Precision Medicine’s workshop Toward Algorithmic Justice in Precision Medicine, co-hosted by numerous other UCSF offices. The full-day workshop considered how systematic flaws in data collection and AI tools can perpetuate or exacerbate health inequities, and how to equitably implement AI tools for precision medicine. Throughout the workshop, patients and patient advocates provided valuable insight and perspectives to these discussions. Among several featured speakers was Dr. Alondra Nelson, recent Deputy Assistant to President Joe Biden and Acting Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
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Call For Future Priorities
Ahead of the next Advisory Council Meeting, CIAPM staff wants to hear from you, the precision medicine network in California, which topics and issues deserve priority status as we look ahead to 2024 programmatic efforts and beyond.
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Connect With CIAPM At Upcoming Events
We encourage those gathering in Silicon Valley January 24-26 for the 2024 Precision Medicine World Conference to watch CIAPM researchers discuss their work and connect with CIAPM Staff.
Are you speaking at or organizing a public scientific or outreach meeting? Let us know by email at ciapm@opr.ca.gov.
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Farewell to Science Fellow Dr. Pennington
Dr. Elyse Pennington concluded a one-year policy fellowship supported by the California Council on Science & Technology this November. As a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from California Institute of Technology, Dr. Pennington stepped into her role with CIAPM ready to stretch her scientific approach. She co-led the development and publication of the Depression Request for Proposals, which included a gap analysis of depression research literature and funding opportunities, listening sessions across California, a Request for Information, and informational interviews with out-of-state subject matter experts. Through this process, she collaborated closely with the California Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission and the Office of the California Surgeon General. Dr. Pennington is now working with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory as a postdoctoral researcher. CIAPM staff applauds Dr. Pennington on completing her fellowship. We know her future is bright.
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Welcome New Graduate Interns
Following a highly competitive selections process, UC Davis' Hanna Butler-Struben and Joanna Guan were offered the two internship positions to support CIAPM in broadening its outreach, streamlining research administration, and contributing fresh perspectives and ideas.
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Ms. Hanna Butler-Struben is a PhD Candidate at UC Davis in Animal Behavior. Her thesis focuses on how social behavior can be altered by oxytocin and social stress. A transfer student from Sacramento City College, Hanna obtained her BA in Psychology at UC Davis before completing her MS in Biology at San Francisco State. She has published numerous journal articles about improving the welfare and methodology of laboratory animal research. She expresses her love of teaching and mentoring through her efforts within her local science communication organization, Science Says, at UC Davis. Her goal is to use her wealth of knowledge to not only expand minds at the university level but also within her community. |
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Ms. Joanna Guan is a Psychology PhD student at the University of California, Davis in the developmental area. She received her BA in Psychology from the University of California, Santa Barbara. She then went on to spend three years working at the University of California, San Francisco in the Center for Health and Community, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, and Department of Medicine. There, she worked on a series of studies in discovery, intervention, and implementation research across Northern and Central California to understand the psychobiological mechanisms linking stress to risk for, and resilience against, maladaptive health outcomes. |
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CIAPM Network in the News |
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At the Society of Neuroscience Meeting in Washington, DC on November 13, UCI Lead PI Dr. Tallie Z. Baram and PhD Candidate Lara Taniguchi presented a poster on their CIAPM-funded ACEs project. |
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California Precision Medicine Advisory Council |
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The next Advisory Council Meeting will take place today, December 18, from 1:00-3:00 p.m. PT. The meeting is virtual and open to the public. |
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Adolescents have increasing access to and spend an increasing amount of time engaging in online social interactions and consuming content on social media platforms, yet there is limited knowledge of how online social behavior and experiences interact with adolescent mental illness and risk for psychopathology. This opportunity will support projects that focus on understanding bidirectional relationships between social media use and adolescent mental illness, psychiatric symptoms, and risk or resilience for psychopathology.
Letters of Intent Due Date: February 1, 2024
The purpose of this initiative is to support investigator-initiated research in genomics and health equity, with the ultimate goal of developing approaches, generating and disseminating data, and implementing metrics or interventions that will advance the equitable use of genomics to improve health in U.S. populations. Awardees will conduct innovative and generalizable research in genomics and health equity spanning across genomic research areas and will incorporate a plan for enhancing diverse perspectives.
Letters of Intent Due Date: February 29, 2024
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The Annual San Diego International Conference on Child and Family Maltreatment
January 20-24 | Town and Country San Diego Hotel
Presented by the Chadwick Center for Children and Families at Rady Children’s Hospital - San Diego, The Annual San Diego International Conference on Child and Family Maltreatment educates participants across the workforce about updated practices that promote equity and child and family health. This year’s conference theme is, “Centering Our Work in Equity.”
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Precision Medicine World Conference
January 24-26 | Santa Clara Convention Center
The Precision Medicine World Conference brings together leaders, researchers, and innovators in healthcare and biotechnology to share practical content and collaborate. It is an important event for the healthcare and biotech communities to exchange information on technology, clinical implementation, research, and regulation.
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Find more external events on CIAPM's website. |
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P.O. Box 3022
Sacramento, CA 95814-3022
(916) 322-2318
info@opr.ca.gov
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