1.11.19 CTSA ANSIBLE
THE SPOTLIGHT | WHAT’S NEW | GET INVOLVED | CONSORTIUM CORNER
Dear Reader,
Welcome to the inaugural edition of the rebooted CTSA Program newsletter with its new name: CTSA Ansible.
First, I want to thank you for all your suggestions, which included a variety of interesting and innovative alternatives, including humorous as well as a few ‘puny’ offerings. In the end, I elected to go with a name that was more reflective of the newsletter’s intent and our overall mission as a whole.
To save you the trouble of ‘Googling’ you can find a thorough description of ‘ansible’ here. Briefly, an ansible is a device or technology capable of instantaneous or faster-than-light communication. Coined in 1964 by Ursula K Le Guin (the grand dame of science fiction who, sadly passed away just last year) as a contraction of ‘answerable,’ multiple subsequent authors continue to liberally adopt its usage. Our hope is that this refreshed newsletter provides you with just that – timely answers to your queries – and perhaps sometimes before you even think to ask.
On a more mundane note, as you all know, our Spring Program Meeting will be focusing on training, education, and CTSA Program Groups activities such as the DTFs, Common Metrics and Communications. We hope this meeting serves as a venue to meet in person with your colleagues, share experiences, and discuss current and future activities within the Program.
I encourage sites to support in-person attendance, including their Communications POCs, if possible. We anticipate a productive meeting and look forward to seeing you there.
All the best,
Dr. K
Michael G. Kurilla, M.D., Ph.D., Director of the Division of Clinical Innovation, NCATS
THE SPOTLIGHT
SPRING CTSA PROGRAM GROUP MEETINGS
Registration is now live for the 2019 Spring CTSA Program Group Meetings, which are taking place Monday, March 4 and Tuesday, March 5 in Washington, D.C. The following groups have meetings scheduled: the CTSA Program Steering Committee, Hub Communicators, Methods & Processes DTF, Workforce Development DTF, Collaboration & Engagement DTF, KL2 PI/Directors, TL1 PI/Directors and Common Metrics. Many of these sessions are open (with priority seating for group members) should you wish to attend multiple sessions (clarification on this is included in the registration form linked below).
In order to reach a wider audience, all meetings will be available to off-site participants via Zoom but registration is required for both in-person and online attendance. During the registration process, you will be asked if you are attending in-person or online. If you select online attendance, a separate Zoom registration link will be sent shortly after registration.
WHAT’S NEW
Prior Approval Requests that Involve Human Subjects Research
The activation of the new eRA Human Subjects System presents an opportunity to consolidate and simplify the submission, review and approval of Prior Approval requests involving human subjects research. Effective Jan. 1, 2019, Prior Approval requests that do involve human subjects research, including studies that may be considered exempt, must be submitted via the new NIH Human Subjects System (HSS).
Call for Proposals – the CD2H $100K Idea Competition
CD2H has launched the CD2H Idea Competition, an opportunity to turn scientific questions into a DREAM Challenge to be tackled by teams around the world. If your idea is selected, you will receive up to a $100K subcontract to run the DREAM Challenge in collaboration with the CD2H. The deadline for initial Idea Competition proposals is Feb. 15, 2019.
First CLIC-funded Synergy Paper team to focus on solutions for bridging the gap between research, policy and practice
One of the major barriers limiting widespread adoption of evidence-based practices is the cultural discrepancy between academic research and large public health systems. A team of CTSA Program hubs and city and county health organizations are collaborating to produce a the first CLIC-funded Synergy Paper that will help drive innovations in clinical care and population health.
Due Date Extension: NIH HEAL℠ Initiative
The application due date for RFA-NS-19-02, “HEAL Initiative: Pain Management Effectiveness Research Network: Clinical Trial Planning and Implementation Cooperative Agreement (UG3/UH3 Clinical Trial Required),” has been extended from February 1, 2019 to February 11, 2019.
New Steering Committee (SC) Members
NCATS is pleased to announce the following new CTSA Program SC member’s John Buse, Rachel Hess, Julianne Imperato-McGinley, Gerald Stacy and Patricia Winokur. Barry Coller will also serve as the next CTSA Program SC Co-Chair. With Barry’s appointment, Kathleen Brady will assume Emeritus status on the SC, replacing Alan Green. NCATS would like to recognize the outgoing SC members for their time and service as well: Ebony Boulware, Kathleen Brady, David Center, and Dan Cooper. Linked below is a full list of CTSA Program SC members, along with their corresponding institutions.
Supporting the Next Generation of Clinical and Translational Scientists Through the CTSA Program Training Grants
A member of the CTSA Program recently submitted this question through the CLIC Suggestion box: “How is NCATS supporting the next generation of the Clinical and Translational Science workforce?” One way the CTSA Program supports the next generation is through the National Service Research Award Training Grant (TL1) Program. Through this mechanism and under NCATS leadership, the CTSA Program has nearly tripled the support for predoctoral and postdoctoral fellows over the past 5 years. This will be further discussed by Dr. Michael Kurilla in the February TL1 Directors’ meeting. For more information see below.
