CTSA PROGRAM UPDATE

February 10, 2017

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE SMART IRB TEAM

MAJOR MILESTONE

As of February 2^nd, all 64 CTSA Program hubs have joined the Streamlined, Multisite, Accelerated Resources for Trials (SMART) IRB Reliance platform! Coming together as one nation to agree to rely on and cede review to each other’s Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) is a transformative milestone for the CTSA Program consortium.

NCATS would like to recognize the entire SMART IRB team for their efforts in making this goal a reality.

Questions?  Contact help@smartirb.org.

CTSA PROGRAM PI CALL

NEW SECTION!

In an effort to provide ample notice of the agenda topics for the CTSA Program PI call, NCATS will preview upcoming meeting topics in the CTSA Program Update.

TRIAL INNOVATION NETWORK PRESENTATION

The Trial Innovation Network is excited to announce that it will launch 21 Network Projects in February! Monica Shah and the RIC and TIC PIs will give an update on the progress of the Network and the key elements including the Central IRBs, the Standard Agreements, the Proposal Process, and Recruitment Approaches.

CTSA Program PIs are invited to participate on the February 22^nd CTSA Program PI Webinar for more information.

Questions?  Contact Samantha Jonson.

COMMON METRICS 

CONCLUSION OF COACHING CALLS

The Tufts University Common Metrics Implementation Team has concluded its last individual coaching session with Group 3, the final cohort of CTSA Program hubs who have undergone Results Based Accountability framework training, Common Metric operational guidelines training and Scorecard software platform training. This also concludes the Common Metrics Implementation training for all CTSA Program hubs.

NCATS would like to congratulate the Tufts implementation team for their countless hours and expertise in helping the CTSA Program hubs onboard to the Common Metrics Initiative.

WHAT’S NEXT?

The Accrual and Informatics Metric Development teams have begun meeting.  NCATS will provide periodic updates on the metric development process.

The Community Engagement and Collaboration Metric Development Teams will be assembled in the coming months because NCATS would like to initially focus efforts on the Accrual and Informatics Common Metrics.

CTSA Program PIs are reminded that monthly calls with their NCATS Program Directors should have begun this January.  It is expected that implementation of the Common Metrics at your CTSA Program hub are included in the monthly meeting agenda.

Questions?  Contact Samantha Jonson.

2017 RESEARCH PERFORMANCE PROGRESS REPORT (RPPR)

KL2 SCHOLAR CLARIFICATION

As a reminder, and consistent with other NIH K-awards, KL2 scholars are exempt from Inclusion Monitoring.  Inclusion Data Record (IDR) tables are not required in the KL2 RPPR and they cannot be inserted using the NIH RPPR website.

Questions? See the NCATS RPPR FAQs or email CTSARPPRQuestions@mail.nih.gov.

FUNDING OPPORTUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS

CTSA PROGRAM DATA TO HEALTH (CD2H) COORDINATING CENTER

NCATS will hold a Pre-Application Technical Assistance Webinar for RFA-TR-17-006 “CTSA Program Data to Health (CD2H) Coordinating Center (U24)”.

Speakers will provide pre-application technical assistance and convey important information to prospective grant applicants, including an in-depth discussion of the funding opportunity announcement and what to expect in the peer-review process. Participating in this webinar is encouraged but not required.

The webinar is Thursday, Feb. 23, 2017, and will begin at 12 p.m. EST; an interactive Q&A session will follow at 12:30 p.m. EST. See NIH Guide Notice NOT-TR-17-010 for complete webinar details.

Questions? Contact Erica Rosemond.

 MYALGIC ENCEPHALOMYELITIS/CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME (ME/CFS) NETWORK

The Trans-NIH Myalgic Encephalomyelitis / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) Working Group has recently issued two Requests for Applications (RFAs) for ME/CFS research.  As a partner on this effort, NCATS will facilitate coordination with and access to the CTSA Program and is interested in collaborative projects to innovate the methods and tools needed in ME/CFS research.  Applicants are encouraged to consider potential collaborations on clinical studies with the CTSA Program Trial Innovation Network.  You can view the funding opportunity announcements at the following links:

Data Management and Coordinating Center (DMCC) for the Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) Collaborative Research Centers (CRC) (U24)

Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) Collaborative Research Centers (CRCs) (U54)

An informational webinar for prospective applicants will be held on Monday, Feb. 13, 2017, 3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. ET.

Questions? See the U24 and U54 RFAs for more information.

TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES

THE HAROLD AMOS MEDICAL FACULTY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM OF THE ROBERT WOOD JOHNSON FOUNDATION

The Harold Amos Medical Faculty Development Program (AMFDP) of The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), formerly known as the Minority Medical Faculty Development Program, was created to increase the number of faculty from historically disadvantaged backgrounds who can achieve senior rank in academic medicine, dentistry, or nursing and who will encourage and foster the development of succeeding classes of such physicians, dentists, and nurse-scientists.

The AMFDP supports basic/biomedical, clinical, dental, nursing, and health services/epidemiology research.  Four-year postdoctoral research awards are offered to historically disadvantaged physicians, dentists, and nurses who are committed to developing careers in academic medicine and to serving as role models for students and faculty of similar background.

Applicants are invited to register with RWJF at https://my.rwjf.org to start the process.

Questions?  See the Harold Amos Medical Development Program website.

 2017 SANDPIT WORKSHOP: KNOWLEDGE INTEGRATION ACROSS HEALTH DOMAINS, PROFESSIONS, AND NATIONS TO ADVANCE CANCER PREVENTION

The National Cancer Institute invites interested applicants to participate in a “Sandpit” workshop (i.e., ideas lab) that will bring together a broad, multidisciplinary group of participants to collaborate on innovative ideas for integrating knowledge across health behaviors, research fields, and national contexts in order to advance cancer control and prevention.

The intensive three-day residential workshop will take place April 24-26, 2017, in Potomac, Maryland, and will provide participants with an opportunity to:

• Network and form collaborations spanning different research areas, organizations, and nations.
• Work in multidisciplinary teams to generate innovative project ideas.
• Receive guidance on applying for seed funding from Cancer Research UK to test the feasibility of their ideas.

Early- and mid-career individuals interested in contributing their expertise and novel thinking to generate transformative ideas are especially encouraged to apply. Travel and lodging will be provided to workshop participants in accordance with NIH policy. Applications must be emailed to NCI-CRUK-Sandpit2017@mail.nih.gov by February 15, 2017, at 6 p.m. EST.

Questions? Refer to the Research Call Document.

 CTSA PROGRAM MEETING

 SUBMISSION DEADLINE: SEEKING GRAND OPPORTUNITIES IN TRANSLATIONAL SCIENCE

 SUBMIT YOUR SUGGESTIONS FOR GRAND OPPORTUNITIES in translational science by Monday, Feb. 20.  Check out the CTSA Program meeting webpage for more information.

Questions?  Contact Amit Chaudhari.

NIH NCATS: Improving Health Through Smarter Science

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