eRoundup for 06/26/09

Articles in the Wall Street Journal, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and the Atlanta Business Chronicle feature the phase III study of progesterone for traumatic brain injury. Grady will serve as the lead center, led by Emory faculty researchers along with those from the Morehouse School of Medicine. To learn more... 

The GA Tech/Emory Department of Biomedical Engineering is looking for projects, ideas, problems, and opportunities from any member of the medical/research community for Senior Design Project I and II (BMED 4600 & 4601). The Senior Design Project course uses biomedical engineering and development, FDA regulations and ISO standards, business and management processes, and clinical projects to complete submitted projects and create products. The students start with a problem statement and during the course of an academic year GA Tech's director of design instruction, Franklin Bost, MBA, IDSA, guides the students through the process. Industry advisors and non-profits from around the U.S. suggest global health, medical device, basic science, and clinical projects. The course is two semesters, with project teams beginning each fall, spring, and summer. Students work in teams of four on clinical or research relevant projects with medical, clinical, or PhD project advisors. The course produces BME industry-ready engineers, complete with work skills and technical, business, and clinical literacy. Bost invites anyone with a project idea to contact him. Note: if you would like to be an advisor but have several ideas (or no specific ideas), a team can meet with you to formulate a project idea through clinical observation and idea discussion. Please click here for more information about the courses and here for an idea submission form. Send all forms and questions to L. Franklin Bost, MBA, IDSA. 

The CTSA Strategic Goal Committee Four is pleased to announce the completion of the Best Practices in Community Engagement summary: click to view. The report provides meeting proceedings from the CTSA Community Engagement KFC 2007-2008 regional and national workshops and conferences summarizing community engagement best practices and is now available for use and dissemination. 

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.

The workshop will take place at the Natcher Conference Center (45 Center Drive, Bethesda, MD), Bldg. 45, Main Auditorium. The purpose of this workshop is to discuss the state of existing NIH-funded research core facilities, identify common problems encountered during their operation and use, and to discuss solutions to maximize their use and efficiency. During session discussions, workshop participants will review examples of current use and will discuss ways to improve access, administrative management, training, utilization, and quality assurance at core facilities. Click here for more information. 

The conference will take place at the Natcher Conference Center (45 Center Drive, Bethesda, MD), Bldg. 45, Main Auditorium from 7:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. on July 16. Co-sponsored by NCRR and the NIH Office of Rare Diseases Research, this conference will provide a forum to discuss lessons learned from the Rare Diseases Clinical Research Network, highlight successful collaborations to improve rare diseases research, highlight the involvement and essential role of patient advocacy groups to facilitate research and accrual of patients, and discuss the role of best practices across research consortia and research networks for translation of basic discoveries into clinical practice in rare diseases. Click here for more information. 

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.