eRoundup for 01/09/09

Dr. E. Shyam P. Reddy was recently awarded a Prostate Idea Development grant by the Department of Defense (DOD) Prostate Cancer Research Program of the Office of the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs. This is a new grant for one of MSM's novel drugs against prostate cancer. The grant will start in June and run for three years. Previously, Dr. Reddy received another DOD grant on two novel drugs identified at MSM.

The Clinical Interaction Network (CIN) of the ACTSI is pleased to announce another new clinical interaction site, the Winship Cancer Institute Developmental Therapeutics Unit (DTU). The DTU focuses on the integration of translational science and patient care for those receiving novel antineoplastic agents specifically in phase I clinical trials that require close subject monitoring and blood sampling for pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic modeling. Donald Harvey, PharmD serves as the director of the DTU and will join the CIN program director leadership team. CIN support for the DTU expands nursing, phlebotomy and sample processing and storage services to ACTSI investigators. If you are a clinical investigator and would like to utilize the DTU through a CIN supported mechanism, please visit the ACTSI website http://www.actsi.org/areas/cin/protocol_submission/index.html, and follow the protocol submission instructions. If you have questions, please contact Dr. Harvey (404-778-4381 or rdharve@emory.edu) or Debora Clem, CIN Program Manager (404-712-1993 or dclem@emory.edu).

Mike Cassidy, president of the Georgia Research Alliance (GRA), referenced the ACTSI in his opinion piece published in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on December 12. Read op/ed.

You are invited to participate in a brief survey on the Atlanta Clinical and Translational Science Institute (ACTSI). ACTSI is a partnership between Emory University, Georgia Tech, and Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM) created to facilitate the translation of clinical science to community practice.  The ACTSI is intended to serve as a resource to scientists in the Atlanta community.

The survey will ask about your awareness of ACTSI and its resources and services for clinicians and researchers within the Atlanta community. This survey should take you no more than 15 minutes to complete. Your responses will only be reported in aggregate form. The results of the survey will help us decide what resources and services the ACTSI should offer and how best to communicate with the Atlanta research community. Please follow the link below or cut and paste it into your browser: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=pkCWzq9fAtkQM5OTFPaEbQ_3d_3d

EmTech Biotechnology Development, Inc. is inviting collaborative proposals from Emory University and Georgia Institute of Technology faculty for funding under the EmTech Bio Collaborative Seed Grant Program. The program funds Emory and Georgia Tech Collaborative research in biomedical science. Applications from Emory faculty should be routed through OSP and are due at EmTech by January 16. Visit here for full details. For additional information, please refer to the FAQs. The SPAF (OSP Routing Form) can be found here.

The Clinical Interaction Network (CIN) of the ACTSI is hosting an open house at the Emory Midtown (formerly Crawford Long) Clinical Interaction Network Site on January 23, from 12:30-4:00 p.m. at the Davis-Fischer Building, Suite 2309 (550 Peachtree St. NE). There will be protocol presentations, a history of the ACTSI -CIN, tour of the facility, and a reception.  We look forward to seeing you there. Please contact Joyce Oglesby (404-727-3538) or Carmen Blount (404-686-5877) for more information.

Through this program announcement with set aside (PAS), NIDA invites applicants to develop innovative drug abuse epidemiology or health services research in cooperation with academic centers supported through the CTSA consortium. Applicants are asked to propose innovative drug abuse research that builds upon the resources available at CTSA sites. A broad range of drug abuse epidemiology and prevention or treatment health services research areas will be supported under the auspices of this PAS, as described in the complete announcement.

The estimated amount of funds available for support of four to eight projects awarded as a result of this announcement is $2 million for fiscal year 2009 and $2 million for fiscal year 2010. The opening date for applications will be January 5, 2009. For additional information, please contact ACTSI senior center administrator Andrew West, 404.727.9296.

The KL2 – MCTRS Program (formerly K12 program) is part of the Research Education, Training and Career Development (RETCD) Program supported by the Atlanta Clinical and Translational Science Institute (ACTSI), NIH Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA).

Please see the program’s website, http://www.medicine.emory.edu/RETCD, for more details. Those interested in applying are urged to contact Cheryl Sroka at the ACTSI RETCD program office at 404-727-5096 or csroka@emory.edu .

Sponsored by the Georgia Research Alliance (GRA), Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the CDC Foundation, the roundtable will create a forum for CDC and Georgia scientists to share their interests and receive funding information. The collaboration roundtable will be held on February 2, from 9:00 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. in the CDC's Global Communication Center (Building 19, 1600 Clifton Rd NE). Advanced registration is required; the deadline is January 16. For more information and to register please visit www.gra.org/collaborationroundtable.

The University of Georgia College of Pharmacy and The U.S. Food and Drug Administration present Bioresearch Monitoring What You Want to Know but Were Afraid to Ask on February 5, from 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. at the University of Georgia Gwinnett Campus (2530 Sever Rd., Lawrenceville, GA). This is an opportunity to hear advice directly from FDA and other experts on how to approach pharmaceutical and medical device research from a regulatory standpoint. Laws and regulations related to clinical studies, sponsor-monitors, institutional review boards and CROs will be explained and discussed. Preparations needed for an FDA inspection will be fully described by a senior FDA investigator. Registration is $125 for early registration and $150 after January 23. A special offer is available, for every two paid registrations, get the third registration free. The fee covers all materials, continental breakfast, and lunch. Continuing Medical Education Credit hours will be awarded. Register online at www.rxugace.com.

NCRR and the CTSA consortium present Decision Making in T1 Translational Research on February 10-11, at the Natcher Conference Center in Bethesda, Maryland. Attend this event to identify common challenges encountered in T1 translational research, solutions to these problems, and best practices for moving projects forward. Featured speakers are leading investigators from some of the nation's top research institutions. This event is free and open to the public. Registration is required; the deadline is February 2. For more information and to register please click here.

The Emory University Research Committee in partnership with ACTSI's Pilot & Collaborative Translational & Clinical Studies (PiCoTraCS) program announces its call for clinical translational research proposals that will be reviewed by the Biological Sciences Subcommittee at the same time that it reviews other applications in this discipline. Instructions, applications, and criteria for all of these awards can be found at www.urc.emory.edu. The application deadline is Monday, February 16.