UCLA Clinical and Translational Science Institute

April 29, 2015

FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

Deadline Extended! Technology Development Award for Substance Use Disorders

University of California investigators can apply by Apr. 30 for awards aimed at accelerating translational efforts in the development of medications for the treatment of SUDs, multiple therapeutic approaches, technologies or formulations to improve medication delivery and/or to deter drug abuse. Awards of up to $200,000 each; funding for up to two years. Details here.

Pathfinder Awards

This CTSI opportunity will support the study of (1) operational enhancements or innovations that build on existing CTSI infrastructure and (2) novel methods or technologies to enhance the development, testing or implementation of therapeutics or diagnostics for human disease. Applications due May 15.
More information here.

Center for Autism Research and Treatment Pilot Awards
The CTSI-CART awards are designed to foster interactions and interdisciplinary research projects in the basic and clinical areas of autism. Preference will be given to projects that are likely to lead to successful future funding (by R01-type awards, etc). Proposals addressing the mechanism and treatment of autism are encouraged. Applications due May 25. Full RFA here.

LOI Due for President's Research Catalyst Awards

UC President Janet Napolitano and UC Research Initiatives have issued a Request for Proposals where the aim is to advance innovative research in areas of strategic importance to UC that has the potential to benefit California and beyond and to stimulate public support for UC research. LOIs due Jun 4. Full details here.

DEADLINES

UCLA CTSI K Workshop

This popular event covers the NIH K award process, development of K proposals, the CTSI KL2 award process, an overview of CTSI resources plus an introduction to the K99. Participants can submit draft applications in advance of the workshop for review. RSVP by May 15. Gets details and register here.

CTSI Training Programs in Translational Science

These programs can offer you educational opportunities for advanced training in clinical research. These options vary from clinical research development seminar modules (Track 1) to a formal structured certificate program (Track 2) and a Master of Science in Clinical Research (Track 3). Tracks 2 and 3 applications due May 15. Details here.

UCLA California NanoSystems Institute Video Contest 2015

To enter, submit a two-minute video that highlights, stimulates interest, and raises curiosity about CNSI at UCLA in a fun and exciting manner by May 30. Participants can win up to $2000. More information here.

Nonhuman Primate Opportunities with UC Davis

Gain access to a specific nonhuman primate cohort without the typical use or purchase fees and a 50% reduction in the typical use or purchase feed for R21 grant submissions. Details here.

NEWS

Gordon Research Conference Puts Spotlight on CTSI-Supported Cartilage Research

Biagio Saitta, Ph.D., a research scientist at Cedars Sinai Medical Center, presented a novel approach for studying defects in cartilage development at 2015 Gordon Research Conference (GRC) in Cartilage Biology and Pathology in Galveston, Texas. Details here.

Watch the Webinar on the New NIH Biosketch Format

The NIH has updated its format for biosketches which will be in effect on applications beginning May 25. View the video by the CTSI Rapid Response Team which covers the basic changes, investigator responsibilities, techniques and approaches to use, and more.

Missed the Pathfinder Award Webinar? View It Now

Watch the recording of the webinar here.

Need Assistance with Your Clinical Research Studies?

The UCLA CTSI Research Associates Program (CTSI-RAP) aims to provide undergraduate UCLA students with the opportunity to gain exposure to hospital based medicine as well as clinical research in an academic medical center. Learn about working with this program.

National Research Council Releases Report on Team Science

The report examines institutional and organizational structures and policies to support team science and identifies where further research is needed. Download the report and see the major public policy recommendations.

UCLA Researchers Receive Prestigious Award

Drs. Gregg Fonarow and Jeffrey Saver were among the distinguished award recipients of a Clinical Research Forum Clinical Research Achievement Award. CTSI infrastructure facilitated their work. More information here.

CTSI EVENTS

Apr. 30: Environmental Health Sciences Seminar

Michele La Merrill, Ph.D. M.P.H., Assistant Professor of Environmental Toxicology, University of California, Davis. "DDT exposure and thermogenesis: The link between DDT, obesity and diabetes?" Details here.

May 13: Could an SBIR/STTR award be right for you?

NCATS' Lili Portilla, NINDS' Stephanie J. Fertig and NHLBI's Elizabeth Shieh will discuss the $750M per year from NIH to support biomedical technology development thru SBIR and STTR programs at their institutes. Details here.

May 21: Environmental Health Sciences Seminar

Bevin Engelward, Sc.D., Deputy Director, MIT Center for Environmental Health Sciences, Prof. of Biological Engineering, Singapore MIT Alliance for Research and Technology. "Fluorescent detection of rare mutant cells sheds light on inflammation induced mutation risks" and "CometChip: Using engineering principles to bring the comet assay to the 21st Century." More here.

May 28: Save the Date for the Second Annual CDI Symposium

This year's symposium focuses on "Catalyzing and expanding interdisciplinary collaborations in translational child health research" and will include presentations by UCLA K12 Child Health Research Scholars, a poster session, and selected poster presentations by Pediatric Fellows. Register here.

CTSI SEMINARS
Apr. 29: Philip Beachy, Ph.D.

Professor of Biochemistry and Professor of Developmental Biology; Stanford University School of Medicine. "Stem cells and signaling pathways in regeneration and malignancy."Details here.

May 6: Arthur Horwich, M.D.

Professor of Genetics and Pediatrics, Yale University School of Medicine; Investigator, HHMI. "Protein folding, misfolding, and neurodegenerative disease." Details here.

May 13: Robert Schreiber, Ph.D.

Professor, Molecular Microbiology; Director, Center for Human Immunology and Immunotherapy Programs; Washington University School of Medicine. "Personalizing Cancer Immunotherapy." Details here.

May 27: Lynda Chin, M.D.
Professor & Chair, Dept. of Genomic Medicine, Scientific Director, Institute for Applied Cancer Science; University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Details here.

CTSI TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES

Module 6: CTSI Biomedical Informatics

This module provides basic and clinical translational scientists with a working understanding of biomedical informatics principles and their applications in biomedical data collection, standardization, representation, and analysis.

Registration details here. Classes below.

May 14: Introduction to Biomedical Informatics (Module 6A)

Douglas Bell, M.D. Ph.D. will introduce fundamental concepts of biomedical informatics, discuss the evolution of the field and its implications in health information technology, and review seminal work in motivating computerized-decision support. Details here.

May 19: Public Health Informatics & Quality (Module 6B)

Paul Fu Jr, M.D. will present basic concepts of public health informatics, discuss the impact of health information technology in a healthcare safety-net, and explain evaluation strategies for assessing public health information systems. Details here.

May 21: Introduction to Bioinformatics (Module 6C)

Eleazar Eskin, Ph.D. will present an overview of field of computational genetics, introduce concepts related to association studies, high-throughput sequencing, and examine computational techniques for sequence analysis. Details here.

May 26: Imaging Informatics (Module 6D)

William Hsu, Ph.D. will summarize approaches for capturing imaging data, describe techniques for representing, sharing, and reasoning on images and imaging-derived information, and discuss techniques for extracting quantitative and semantic information. Details here.

COHORT-FINDING TOOLS

UC ReX: a UC Shared Data Resource

UC Research eXchange and its UC ReX Data Explorer tool provide researchers and specialists access to cohort counts derived from the de-identified clinical data of over 12 million patients collected at the point of care from the five UC health campuses. Click here for more information.

REMINDERS

Drop-in Biostatistical Consults

CTSI offers drop-in biostatistical consults at UCLA Wednesdays and Fridays; Wednesdays at LA BioMed/Harbor-UCLA. Find details and times here.

Employment Postings

CTSI accepts postings for clinical and translational science jobs. To view job openings, go here. To submit a posting, send the job listing with your contact information to editors@ctsi.ucla.edu.

NCATS: News and Open Funding Opportunities

View the latest NCATS newsletter, announcements and currently open RFAs.