Dear Colleague,
At the California Initiative to Advance Precision Medicine (CIAPM), we continue to work diligently to implement the Newsom Administration's and the California State Legislature’s investment in precision medicine to achieve health equity. This month, tune into the Winter Meeting of the California Precision Medicine Advisory Council on March 13 and submit nominations for experts in research recruitment of underrepresented participants. Keep reading for updates on the work of CIAPM’s programs, external funding opportunities and events, and a spotlight on CIAPM-funded researcher Dr. Pat Levitt and his project, Scalable Measurement and Clinical Deployment of Mitochondrial Biomarkers of Toxic Stress.
Thank you for your support,
The CIAPM Team
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Principal Investigator Spotlight |
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An Interview with Dr. Pat Levitt |
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Dr. Pat Levitt, Chief Scientific Officer, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles & CIAPM-funded Principal Investigator |
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Dr. Pat Levitt, PhD, is a Professor of Pediatrics, Integrative Anatomical Sciences, Pathology, and Neurology and the W.M. Keck Chair in Neurogenetics at the Keck School of Medicine at USC, and the Chief Scientific Officer, Vice President, and Director of The Saban Research Institute at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. Dr. Levitt received his BA in biological sciences from the University of Chicago, and his PhD in neuroscience at UC San Diego. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship in neuroscience at Yale University. |
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Project: Scalable Measurement and Clinical Deployment of Mitochondrial Biomarkers of Toxic Stress
How does your project address the health impacts of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and advance equity in California?
We know that prevention and early intervention for any health risk can reduce negative outcomes and be more cost-effective and scalable than interventions undertaken well into the course of a disease, and that scalability allows preventive strategies and interventions to be more widely available. ACEs drastically increase risk for many chronic diseases, and have a disproportional impact on underserved and overburdened families. Our research team is focused on developing a new approach for family healthcare providers that would enable screening for the ‘red flags’ of early adversity risk by using a simple swab of an infant’s cheek to test for biomarkers of stress.
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Representative Research Collaborative
Call for Nominations for Advisors and Steering Committee
CIAPM’s new Representative Research Collaborative is a nationally unprecedented partnership with the NIH in their historic effort to enroll and retain one million individuals from populations underrepresented in biomedical research (UBR), via the All of Us Research Program. In consultation with NIH, the Representative Research Collaborative will focus on three California UBR cohorts: Central Valley residents, far Northern California residents, and migrant workers. The Collaborative will also work to increase researchers’ use of the data generated by All of Us and contribute to the science of enrolling and retaining UBR.
The Representative Research Collaborative will launch a small steering committee and an advisory group whose expertise will help us engage our three UBR cohorts and develop external partnerships. The steering committee will initially meet twice a month and the advisory group will gather on an ad hoc basis. Thank you for your interest in guiding this groundbreaking endeavor. Nominations will be accepted until March 20. Read more about the program on the Latest News webpage
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Depression Research Program
CIAPM's new research program will launch later this year, focused on a precision medicine approach to depression. Up to $9 million in research funding will be available to California-based academic institutions in partnership with community and industry leaders. Staff are currently developing the request for proposals, which will be announced through this email list. Stay tuned!
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Precision Medicine World Conference Highlights |
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In January, CIAPM’s network featured heavily in the Precision Medicine World Conference in Santa Clara, California. Current CIAPM investigator Manali Patel gave a presentation titled “Equity in Delivery of Precision Cancer Care Through Community-Academic Partnerships". Former CIAPM-funded PIs Charles Chiu and Pratik Mukherjee chaired two sessions and presented in a session, respectively. |
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CIAPM Co-Director Shannon Muir chaired a session on future modalities, and California Precision Medicine Advisory Council Vice Chair Keith Yamamoto chaired a panel on how public-private collaboratives could catalyze transformative health breakthroughs. Data Integration Working Group Chair Hakan Sakul also chaired a fireside chat about the past, present, and future of precision medicine. |
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CIAPM staff (left to right) Saga Barberis, Julianne McCall, and Shannon Muir hosted a booth to provide PMWC attendees with information about the initiative.
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Farewell to Intern Megan Neel |
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Megan Neel, CIAPM's first-ever undergraduate student intern |
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Following nearly nine months with CIAPM as the program’s first-ever undergraduate student intern, Ms. Megan Neel concludes her internship this month.
In December of last year, Ms. Neel graduated from California State University, Sacramento with a Bachelor of Arts in Public Health/Healthcare Administration. Previously, she worked as a certified nurse assistant, bringing to CIAPM her rich experience of working directly with patients.
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Her energy, kindness, and reliability have characterized her time with CIAPM. Among numerous contributions, Ms. Neel facilitated the launch and maintenance of the Governor’s Office of Planning & Research Grant Administration Interest Group, coordinated advisory council administration, and served as the program’s communications liaison. We could not be more appreciative of Megan’s thoughtful impacts. |
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Seven Mid-Career USC MPA Students Join CIAPM
As part of the University of Southern California Masters of Public Administration degree program for mid- and advanced-career professionals, the Governor's Office of Planning and Research is host to seven students for their Capstone Project. The students, listed below, are supporting a program-wide impact assessment to help communicate to a public audience the results of funded research projects, CIAPM's fellowship and internship program, and other aspects of the first-in-the-nation state-level precision medicine initiative.
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California Precision Medicine Advisory Council |
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The Council will meet on Monday, March 13 for updates on and discussions about the depression research program, the Representative Research Collaborative, a program-wide impact assessment, and the cancer disparities and Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) research teams. Council members will also discuss recent meetings of the two working groups. The meeting is open to the public. Register at the link below!
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Equitable Consent Working Group
The Equitable Consent Working Group’s project to create a website that includes guidelines and best practices for increasing underrepresented minorities’ participation in research has been folded into the Representative Research Collaborative effort. We are currently developing a plan to merge the Equitable Consent Working Group’s project with the Representative Research Collaborative.
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Data Integration Working Group
On February 15, the Working Group on Data Integration of Social Determinants of Health held its quarterly public meeting. Dr. Peter Oh joined as a guest expert and presented on the California Department of Public Health’s Office of Health Equity Section on Health Equity Research and Statistics. For a copy of Dr. Oh’s presentation slides, please email ciapm@opr.ca.gov.
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Webinar: Harm and Healing: The Mental Health of AAPI and LGBTQ Children
Date: Wednesday, March 15, 2023, at 3 PM ET / 12 PM PT
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Translational Science 2023
April 18-20 | Washington, DC
Join CIAPM staff at 2023 Translational Science in Washington, DC for educational and networking opportunities at the intersection of biomedical research and clinical application.
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2023 Annual Conference of the National Postdoc Association
April 21-22 | Philadelphia, PA
Join the largest national conference dedicated to postdoctoral scholars, featuring scientific leaders across disciplines and sectors. CIAPM Co-Director Dr. Julianne McCall will serve on the "Sustainable Development: Policy is Stronger with Science" panel alongside international science policy luminaries.
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Additional upcoming external events are listed on CIAPM's website. |
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External Funding Opportunities |
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The purpose of this Funding Opportunity Announcement is to provide support for new investigators from diverse backgrounds, including nationally underrepresented groups in biomedical, clinical, behavioral, and social sciences research, to conduct small research projects in scientific mission areas.
All funding opportunities from the state are included on the California Grant Portal.
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Additional external funding opportunities are listed 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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