Happy 50th Anniversary to MetroHealth's Clinical Research Unit!

 

Last month, MetroHealth System celebrated the 50^th anniversary of its Clinical Research Unit with a symposium of its current investigators. The celebration marked a half-century commitment to innovation, discovery, and collaboration for one of our valued partners in health, and led me to reflect on the long history of excellence these two institutions share.

 

When the unit began in 1964, it focused on perinatology and was one of only two such units in the country with a specialty focus (and to this day, a strong component of Maternal Fetal Medicine persists with great work from its current director, Pat Catalano, MD, as well as Brian Mercer, MD, and Ed Chien, MD). Later, when the NIH funding cycle moved away from specialty units, the Metro unit combined with a University Hospitals unit to form a general clinical research center.

 

In 2007, the NIH began the Clinical and Translational Science Awards, prompting all of the clinical research centers at CWRU-affiliated hospitals to come together and create the groundbreaking Clinical and Translational Science Collaborative.

 

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"And then there is the question of how to test discoveries in patients. Our CTSC maintains Clinical Research Units at CCF, Metro, and UHCMC that are efficient sites for patient-based research. These are directed by Wilson Tang, MD, Pat Catalano, MD, and Jackson Wright, MD, PhD, respectively. These CRUs can help with first-in-man studies, study designs, and creating the informatics platforms necessary to record the clinical data."

On February 10, 2015 we held the first reunion of the KL2 scholars supported by the CTSC and its predecessor, the K12 award. Current scholars came and presented posters, listened to a keynote talk on industry and academia, and delivered - in rapid succession - their 2-minute "elevator speeches" designed to intrigue those listeners without scientific expertise.

 

Wow! What wonderful projects! This milestone allowed us to reflect upon the program, its success, and its larger implications.

 

This program was among the first to forge a citywide alliance among faculty based at MetroHealth, Cleveland Clinic, the Cleveland VAMC, University Hospitals, and CWRU in support of the next generation of patient based researchers.

 

Last week's reunion was the latest response by KL2 Program Director Raed Dweik, MD, to trainees' thirst for a learning community and a sense of place. It follows earlier innovations such as a boot camp for grantwriting, and placing KL2 scholar graduates on the admissions committee so they learn to review applications.

 

Overall, the progress of the program, and its participants, is stunning. More than 75% of KL2 graduates are now funded. Two of them, Kurt Lu, MD, and Rebecca Boxer, MD, were awarded a joint NIH U01 grant - evidence that they developed real teamwork. Several graduates have gone on to creative educational endeavors. Jim Spilsbury, PhD, MPH, was instrumental in securing approval for a PhD in clinical investigation at CWRU, in addition to prosecuting his R01-supported research. Mary Dolansky, PhD, RN, was-on top of her funded research-the nursing partner while the VAMC renewed its status as one of only five national VA Centers of Excellence in Primary Education.

 

Still other KL2 participants are exemplars in individual and team science. Vikas Gulani, MD, PhD, was a critical physician on the team that developed magnetic resonance fingerprinting, which is on the precipice of revolutionizing how we analyze magnetic resonance scans. He now mentors the next generation of KL2 scholars. Jayme Knutson, PhD, a member of the FES Center, was the first KL2 grad to receive an R01 grant from the NIH and works to restore upper arm function in patients with stroke. 

 

The KL2 represents two important features of our school: first, it is highly collaborative across schools, disciplines, and institutions, and in this aspect, it was a pioneer; second, it is turning out another generation of eager researchers who will populate our faculty and make us proud. This all bodes well for our future. Congrats to the KL2 and all those associated with it!

 

Pam

"Correlation of AMP-activated protein kinase phosphorylation status, and protein expression with prostate cancer progression to castration-resistance and metastasis in human archived specimens"

The Case Center for Reducing Health Disparities is funded by the National Institutes of Health to offer a variety of services to faculty members, health care providers, student researchers, and community organizations. One of our many services include a Community-Based Research Consult Service to help researchers and organizations develop quality research. 

The consult service has expertise in areas including, but not limited to: research project development, IRB application process, grants assistance and funding, survey development and refinement, needs assessment, data collection, program evaluation, best practices, focus group development, recruitment strategies, dissemination of findings, and Spanish Translation. 

For additional information, visit the Center for Reducing Health Disparities website: http://www.reducedisparity.org/.

For assistance, please contact Katrice Cain (216-778-8467 or kcain@metrohealth.org) or Mary Ellen Lawless (216-778-1304 or mel15@case.edu).

NIH Postpones New Biosketch Format Requirement until May 25, 2015
  

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently announced that a new biosketch format will be required for all applications submitted for FY2016 funding, and will be required beginning May 25, 2015. Originally, the requirement was to go into effect beginning January 25, 2015, but in response to input from the research community, the mandatory change in format was postponed.

The NIH has been piloting a planned modification of the biosketch since June 2012. The new format increases the page limit from 4 to 5 pages and increases the number of peer-reviewed publications from 15 to 20. The new format allows investigators to include a link to a complete listing of their publications in SciENcv or My Bibliography.

Visit the NIH website under the heading "Additional Format Pages" to obtain templates for the new biosketch format: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/424/index.htm.

 Local Assistance Available with New Biosketch Formatting

 Contact Kathy Blazer, Interim Director, Cleveland Health Sciences Library, (216-368-1361 or kcb2@case.edu) if interested in having Kathy conduct a departmental information session, or to answer individual questions.

 Review the Health Sciences Library's slide presentation at: http://www.case.edu/chsl/library/NIHBiosketch.pptx.

Click here to tell us your own story! 

Social Network Analysis and Health Mini-Series 

 

Lecture: Social Networks and Health

Wednesday, May 6, 2015, 12:30-2:00pm

CWRU, BRB Room 105

Free and open to the public.

 

Workshop: A Hands-On Introduction to

Social Network Analysis and its Applications

Thursday, May 7, 2015, 9:00am-4:00pm

CWRU Kelvin Smith Library, Room LL06

Workshop Scholarship Application (Deadline Feb. 27, 2015): http://tinyurl.com/ml6cpuz 

Regular workshop registration will be available on March 2, 2015 ($50 fee required).

 

Featuring Dr. Thomas Valente, Professor, Institute for Prevention Research, Department of Preventative Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of South California

The Social Network Analysis and Health Mini-Series is a forum to enhance our understanding of social network theory and methods and their application within the field of health research. Social network analysis is increasingly used by scientists across the prevention-to-treatment continuum to understand relational dynamics of complex health issues. The goals of the mini-series are to introduce this method through case examples that include applications related to a range of chronic and infectious diseases among adult and youth populations. The public lecture will orient faculty, fellows, students, clinicians, and the broader Cleveland community to applications of social network theory and methods. The full day workshop requires a $50 registration fee. Spaces are limited to 30 registrants for the workshop. A small number of workshop scholarships are available to support graduate students and non-faculty trainees/post-doctoral fellows. A letter from the student/trainee's mentor is required to obtain the scholarship. The full day workshop is intended for researchers interested in applying social network analysis in their programs of research. Prior experience with the method is not required for participation. The workshop will provide a broader overview of social network analysis and an opportunity for participants to explore analytic software including UCINET, NETDRAW, Exponential Random Graph Models, and SIENA. Trial versions of the software will be available to participants for use during the workshop.

For more information go to: http://casemed.case.edu/ctsc

Exciting Updates for Translational Science 2015!

Registration is Now Open
Hundreds of your colleagues will be coming to Washington, DC for Translational Science 2015 - register today and make sure you're part of the excitement! Visit our website for more information, including hotel information.

The Brocher Foundation, located on the shores of the Geneva Lake, in Hermance (Geneva-Switzerland), is calling for proposals for the 2016 residencies. The residencies last between one and four months. They give researchers the opportunity to work at the Brocher Centre on projects on the ethical, legal and social implications for humankind of recent medical research and new technologies. Every month a dozen of visiting researchers live and concentrate on their research project at the Foundation.

The Brocher Foundation offers to successful applicants a workplace and an accommodation in its premises. Breakfast and dinner are also provided every day. "Junior" visiting researchers can apply for an additional scholarship in order to cover their travel and local expenses in Geneva. To be eligible to this "Additional scholarship for Junior researchers", the applicant should be a PhD student or should have obtained his PhD degree within a maximum of five years and should not perceive any other income during the time spent at the Foundation.

Deadline for submission is March 1, 2015.

For more information on the terms and conditions and to submit a proposal visit the Brocher Foundation website.

To accelerate the research needed to discover solutions and ultimately cure this deadly epidemic, the American Diabetes Association has launched a bold initiative, Pathway to Stop Diabetes, to inspire a new generation of diabetes researchers. Pathway will provide crucial support to individuals focusing on innovative ideas and transformational approaches that will lead to ground-breaking discoveries in diabetes prevention, treatment and cures.

Pathway will support creative scientists early in their diabetes research careers, or investigators who are established in other disciplines but would like to expand their focus to diabetes research. Through awards of $1.625 million over the course of up to seven years, the program will provide researchers the freedom, autonomy, time and focus needed to explore new ideas.

For more information on this limited submission opportunity, visit the Office of Research Administration website

Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network (BCAN)

Application Deadline: March 4, 2015

 

The Bladder Cancer Advocacy is now accepting applications for the 2015 Young Investigator Awards. The $100,000 grants will cover costs associated with a two-year bladder cancer-specific research proposal. The purpose of this grant is to support the development of outstanding research scientists and clinical cancer research investigators who have demonstrated a commitment to improving the understanding and treatment of bladder cancer. Investigators may be working in basic, translational, clinical, epidemiologic, bioengineering or any other field, but must be working in a research environment capable of supporting transformational bladder cancer research.

Application Deadline: March 4, 2015

For more information visit the BCAN website.

The American Cancer Society is accepting proposals for research projects designed to generate new knowledge of the effects of the United States healthcare system structure and the role of insurance on both access to and outcomes of cancer screening, early detection, and treatment services.

Studies investigating how one or more factors affecting access and outcomes interact - such as insurance status, costs, capacity, personal characteristics, provider characteristics, components of the healthcare delivery system, and other known factors - are encouraged. Studies may be at the state, ate, or national levels, or otherwise involve large populations.

The program will award grants of up to $200,000 per year. Projects may not exceed a period of four years, although it is anticipated that most applications will require no more than two years to complete the research.

Application Deadline: April 1 and October 15 For more information visit the ACS website.