eRoundup for 10/16/09

The members of the Georgia Health Literacy Consortium (formerly the Emory Health Literacy Working Group) are developing a website to highlight health literacy activities and programs throughout the state. Please take a few minutes to fill out this survey so that the activities you are aware of can be included. If you have any questions, call Kara Jacobson at 678-478-5362.

Dr. Carlos del Rio, professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the Emory University School of Medicine was quoted on ABC News in the story Is the media worsening vaccination rates? aired on October 8.

Dr. Viola Vaccarino, professor of medicine (cardiology), and director of the Emory Program in Cardiovascular Outcomes Research and Epidemiology was quoted on Insciences Organization in Depression boosts heart disease risk by affecting stress-induced blood flow on October 15.

Dr. Michelle Kegler, ACTSI Community Engagement & Research Program (CERP) co-director and associate professor of behavioral sciences and health education at Emory's Rollins School of Public Health (RSPH) was quoted on the Georgia Education Blog in the article Emory prevention research center awarded $6.2 million CDC Grant on October 14.

Group Health Research Institute  and its partners-the University of Washington, Institute of Translational Health Sciences, Duke Translational Medicine Institute, and Wayne State University-have developed a new website to help researchers create and sustain successful multisite research collaborations. The project team created the site, www.researchtoolkit.org, to enhance the efficiency of research from start to finish, including developing research networks, launching and managing projects, and sharing study results or other products such as data sets, tools, and training resources. Read More...

Dr. Barbara J. Stoll, pediatrician and neonatal researcher at Emory University and Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, has been name one of 65 top national health scientists by the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Stoll serves as an ACTSI co-PI and director of the Clinical & Translational Research Program for Pediatrics (CTRPP). Read more...

ACTSI pilot grant awardee Anthony W.S. Chan, DVM, PhD serves as the PI on a study which developed the first transgenic monkey with Huntington's Disease (HD)."In the past, researchers have used transgenic mouse models to study the disease. These models do not completely parallel the brain changes and behavioral features observed in humans with HD, thus making the development of a transgenic nonhuman primate model critical to currently treating and ultimately preventing the disease," said Dr. Chan. This development is expected to lead to greater understanding of the underlying biology of HD and to the development of potential therapies. The researchers, who are continuing to monitor and assess the transgenic monkeys, believe their progress bodes well for developing transgenic nonhuman primate models of other neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's. Collaborators include Emory University, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, and the Department of Human Genetics at the Emory School of Medicine. Huntington's Disease (HD) is a genetic, neurodegenerative disorder that causes uncontrolled movements, loss of mental processing capabilities, and emotional disturbances. Read More...

The NIH Bench-to-Bedside program, originally established in 1999 to integrate the work of basic and clinical intramural scientists and since 2006 open to partnerships between intramural and extramural programs, is soliciting proposals for the next cycle of funding. Once again, CTSA, Alliance for Independent Academic Medical Centers (AIAMC), and NIH investigators will be able to initiate applications jointly for Bench-to-Bedside research projects. Up to $135K per year for two years is available to support these intramural/extramural partnerships in clinical research. Most awardees involve projects bringing patients to the intramural program at the NIH Clinical Center. To identify an intramural collaborator, extramural investigators can consult the NIH's database of all current intramural research. For the 2010 awards, a letter of intent must be submitted by October 22. Additional information is available on the Bench-to-Bedside program website. 

A new ARRA-funded opportunity aimed at supporting the development, expansion, or reconfiguration of infrastructures needed to facilitate collaboration between academic health centers and community-based organizations for health science research is now available. In this community research infrastructure program, NIH establishes the role of Community Research Associate (CRA), who will be a community representative and serve as a primary liaison facilitating communication and collaboration between the academic health center and the local community. Applicants must identify at least one CRA. Full announcement 

NIH funding to support the development, expansion, or reconfiguration of infrastructures needed to facilitate collaboration between academic health centers and community-based organizations for health science research. In this community research infrastructure program, NIH establishes the role of Community Research Associate (CRA), who will be a community representative and serve as a primary liaison facilitating communication and collaboration between the academic health center and the local community.  Applicants must identify at least one CRA. The NIH Funding Opportunity Announcement, Recovery Act Limited Competition: Building Sustainable Community-Linked Infrastructure to Enable Health Science Research (RC4), RFA-OD-09-010 has just been published in the NIH Guide. Click here for the full announcement. Letters of Intent are due November 12; the application deadline is December 11; and the earliest anticipated start date is July 2010. This initiative is funded under the Recovery Act. 

The Emory Center for Injury Control has created a multidisciplinary Faculty Seed Grant Program to facilitate and promote innovative, preliminary, and interdisciplinary research activities to yield future high-impact injury prevention research. The four categories of grants (One-year Pilot Grants, Grant Application Awards, Community-based, Capacity-building and Translation Research Grants, and Cooperative Grant) are designed to provide incentives and support for researchers to work collaboratively with interdisciplinary teams and community members on projects that can lead to larger grant proposals related to violence and unintentional injury prevention or that support the preparation of a larger grant proposal. The seed grants range in amounts but all reflect total costs (covering both direct and indirect costs, where applicable) for projects lasting one year or less. Application

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 ACTSI cordially invites you or your representative to attend a Community Engagement & Research Program (CERP) research-community workshop on asthma on Wednesday, October 21, at Emory University Rollins School of Public Health at 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. in the Rita Anne Rollins Room, 8th floor. This workshop's goal is to discuss upcoming grant opportunities in asthma. You will meet with researchers and community based organization representatives who are interested in collaborating on grant opportunities. The format of the workshop will consist of a general overview and purpose followed by various breakout work sessions (90-100 minutes) based on research interest. Please feel free to forward this information to other colleagues who may be interested. Read more... 

Emory's Office for Clinical Research presents Research Matters @ Grady on Thursday, October 22, from 11:30 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. in the Grady Faculty Office Building, room 101. This event features Cassandra Crane, Grady Health Systems Health Outcomes Center, Grady Research Oversight Committee (ROC) coordinator; Joan Wilson, Grady Health Systems, Clinical Care and Outreach Program, grants manager; and Harriet Howlett-Smith, RN, Emory School of Medicine, Department of Emergency Medicine, supervisor, clinical research nurse. They will discuss Grady ROC Process and Latest Updates, Grady Health Systems and Research: The Importance and Benefit, and Exception of Informed Consent and the Beginnings of the Protect II Trial. Click here to register.

This Georgia Bio breakfast meeting on Friday, October 23, provides a great opportunity to learn from local experts about strategies for accessing early stage venture capital. The special program will focus on the current state of Venture Capital (VC) investment nationally and in Georgia. Howard Palefsky, Managing Director of Montreux Equity Partners, will give an overview of the national VC investment climate in life sciences and medical devices. Mr. Palefsky has 37 years of experience as an entrepreneur, manager, and investor in the medical device and pharmaceutical industries. Following Mr. Palefsky's presentation, he will participate on a panel exploring venture capital investment trends locally with Kathy Harris of Noro-Moseley, Gerard van Hamel Platerink of Accuitive Medical Ventures, and Bill Dracos of PricewaterhouseCoopers. The panel will be moderated by AerovectRx CEO Tom Callaway, who also is a managing director in Georgia Venture Partners. Registration and breakfast begins at 7:30 a.m. and the program begins at 8:00 a.m. The event will be held at GTRI (250 14th Street NW Atlanta, GA 30318) - click here for directions. Parking is free and adjacent to the building. For Georgia Bio members the cost is $20; non-members are $35; students are $10. Please register online at www.gabio.org or call 404-221-0617.

The Executive Vice President for Health Affairs at Emory presents the Future Makers Lecture Series featuring Darrell G. Kirch, MD president and CEO of the Association of American Medical Colleges. The lecture will be held on Thursday, October 29, in the Woodruff Health Science Center Administration Building at 5:00 p.m. Please save the date. RSVP requested to evphafeedback@emory.edu. Read more... 

The conference is designed to help you better meet the threat of a swine flu pandemic as well as to meet your planning requirements - on time, under budget, and with a minimum of disruption to your operations. ISFC 09 presentations, panel discussions, 15 concurrent breakout sessions and 60+ speakers will be presented in Toronto, Canada. For more information, please click here.

The new curriculum in the Emory University School of Medicine now includes a Discovery Phase that requires all third year students who have completed medical school through their clinical rotations, to engage in an approved, mentored research project for at least five continuous months beginning in the spring of 2010. There is no salary commitment on the part of mentors or projects to have these talented individuals join your team.  Click here for more information.

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.

The Emory Midtown (formerly Crawford Long) site is a hospital-based ACTSI Clinical Interaction Site that provides comprehensive support for clinical investigation with various core resources and facilities. ACTSI provides support, equipment, consultation, nursing and lab services, and the infrastructure necessary for Emory, MSM, and Georgia Tech faculty to conduct clinical research at Emory Midtown. For more information please click here. To learn how to submit a protocol click here.