eRoundup for 06/19/09

Dr. Barbra Stoll, pediatrics chair at Emory University's School of Medicine and ACTSI Co-PI was quoted by the Associated Press on June 17, for the article False test results seen in maternal screening. The article also ran in the New York Times and Denver Post. 

Carolyn Meltzer, radiology chair at Emory and ACTSI's Translational Technologies & Resource program director, and Raymond Dingledine, Emory's executive associate dean for research and chair of pharmacology, will lead a multidisciplinary team of 27 faculty to devise the Emory SOM's five-year research strategic plan 2009-2010.  

This is a reminder if you have not yet completed the CTSA Pharmaceutical Assets Portal Project Survey. If you are interested in learning whether investigational compounds (i.e., those that have been previously tested in humans) are available for your research please participate in the survey at www.ctsapharmaportal.org. Your participation is important in establishing the Pharma Assets Portal and may result in the development of new research partnerships and access to important clinical grade compounds for your research. Please take a moment to complete the survey.  

The Georgia Tech/Emory Collaboration (GTEC) for Regenerative Medicine and the Atlanta Clinical & Translational Science Institute (ACTSI) have partnered to establish an inter-institutional grant program for regenerative medicine. This call for planning grants is aimed at groups requesting year two funding and new groups intending to pursue a multidisciplinary project in the area of regenerative medicine that has the potential for multi-investigator extramural funding in a three‐year time horizon. The goals of this RFA are to: 1) foster research that will unearth ideas and/or themes that will be the foundation of team‐based or center proposals; 2) develop collaborative teams around which larger proposals can be formed; and 3) produce preliminary data that will support the proposals and establish a track record for the team. Teams consisting of members from more than one institution are strongly encouraged. Awards will range in size up to $100,000 in direct costs for the first year with the possibility of similar level of support for the second and third years. All proposals are due via email to Meg McDevitt by 5:00 p.m. on June 29. Funding is expected to commence starting August 1.Technical questions should be directed to the co‐chairs: Ravi Bellamkonda, GTEC (404‐385‐5038), Robert N. Taylor, ACTSI (404‐727‐9106), and W. Robert Taylor, GTEC (404‐727‐8921). For more information please click here. 

In an effort to foster interdisciplinary collaborations and promote technology training and awareness, the Translational Technologies and Resources (TTR) program of the ACTSI is pleased to co-sponsor biomedical symposia and other educational events related to translational technologies in research. Limited funds ($5,000-$10,000 per event) are available through the TTR program for co-sponsorship of educational events that align with TTR and ACTSI goals. To apply for funds to support your upcoming biomedical symposium or educational event, please complete an application.  Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. For more information about this educational partnering opportunity, please Deb Smith.

NCI has over the last two years centralized within the SBIR Development Center (SDC) management of all its small business activities, presently comprising 300 active SBIR/STTR grants and 60 active SBIR contracts and supported by an annual budget of $108 million in fiscal year 2009. In order to increase the rate of commercialization of cancer products and services through the NCI SBIR/STTR programs, the SDC is building public-private partnerships by offering NCI Phase IIB Bridge grant awards that require matching funds from third-party investors, by sponsoring investor forums and annual grantee conferences to connect awardees with venture capital and angel investors (financial partners), and by connecting awardees with strategic (scientific) partners in big pharma and in non-profit charitable foundations.

The SDC is offering regulatory consultation services to its grantees on a limited basis (requires an application). In addition, they are trying to achieve a better balance of business development criteria versus technical review criteria in SBIR/STTR peer review at NCI, are ramping up the use of the SBIR contract mechanism to better emphasize with the small business community's commercialization goals (30% of annual budget is the goal), are heavily marketing contract and Bridge grant funding opportunities, and management initiatives to state biotechnology associations/centers, to the small business community in the cancer space, and to the media. Dr. Evans will highlight these NCI SDC topics in a twenty-minute presentation, followed by 10 minutes of discussion, during which he invites interactive discussion of the application of these initiatives to the CTSA program.

This two-day event will bring together stakeholders from government agencies, academic institutions, health care organizations, and technology companies to review the state of telehealth science and technology; identify gaps in knowledge that can be addressed through targeted research and evaluation initiatives; and explore ways to leverage evolving information and communication technologies to advance the field. The event will be held at the Main Auditorium of the Natcher Conference Center, (Building 45, NIH campus) Bethesda, MD. A workshop on the second day will yield specific recommendations to stimulate development, implementation, and evaluation of telehealth applications for clinical care, clinical and translational research, and health education and training. The ultimate goals are to broaden participation in research and improve health outcomes in medically underserved communities. For more information, please click here.

The 27th Annual Symposium on Nonhuman Primate Models for AIDS, hosted by the New England Primate Research Center, will be held at the Hyatt Harborside Hotel in Boston from October 28 until 31.  This annual conference is the leading forum for the exchange of the latest developments in AIDS research using nonhuman primates.  The website is now open and accepting abstracts as well as meeting registration - http://nhp2009.hms.harvard.edu/.

Current medical students at Emory University School of Medicine, Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM), and other health professional trainees pursuing doctoral degrees in public health, biomedical engineering, nursing and other fields at Emory, MSM and GA Tech can apply for short-term (3 month) stipends ($5,190 of salary support) funded by the Research Education, Training and Career Development (RETCD) program of the ACTSI. This mechanism will support medical and graduate students who are interested in a short course program focused on clinical and/or translational research under the mentorship of a successful, federally funded faculty mentor. Application for the short-term training program includes several components that should be submitted electronically by emailing TL1Applications@erooms.emory.edu. For more information please visit www.atlantactsi.org/areas/retcd/documents/TL1_three-month_program-9-30-08_FINAL.pdf.