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Accelerate
Monthly Newsletter
Vol. 3, Issue 8; August 2008
Published by the Academic Health Center Office of Clinical Research
Accelerate, published monthly, provides information on a wide range of resources available to clinical and translational researchers at the University of Minnesota. To send comments or questions about the publication, or to subscribe or unsubscribe, write to ahcocr@umn.edu.
In This Issue
News
Events
Feature: Upper Midwest Consortium
Update on the U’s NIH Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) application: The University’s CTSA application outlines the establishment of the Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (CTSI). To facilitate research that transforms the health of our communities, the CTSI will leverage existing strengths across the University and communities and build capacity to accommodate needs and fill gaps. Its guiding principles focus on bi-directional collaboration with community partners and community networks.
The CTSI will support the full spectrum of clinical and translational science. Its flexible infrastructure will be supported by the Clinical Translational Research Platform, a service-oriented, user-friendly single portal of entry for community and University users to resources and expertise necessary to support clinical and translational research.
The approach of the University’s CTSA application is to:
- Identify and solve community health problems via bidirectional engagement and clinical translational science.
- Train interdisciplinary workforces in institutional and community-based settings to implement clinical translational science solutions to health problems.
- Create the infrastructure to facilitate interdisciplinary interactions that speed clinical and translational research.
- Advance transparent communications about clinical translational science and reward clinical translational science accomplishments.
Submission deadline is October 21, 2008. For more information, go to: www.ahc.umn.edu/ctsa
New Policy for Clinical Research Principal Investigators, Effective Sept. 1
All clinical research projects requesting services from University of Minnesota Physicians and/or Fairview will be required to conform to the Clinical Research Budgeting and Billing policy (www.ahc.umn.edu/ocr/crbb/policy). PIs or delegated staff must use the new database, Time and Study Collection System (TASCS), to delineate the services, drugs, devices, tests, and procedures rendered for clinical research. In addition, the PI (or designee) will also identify who is responsible for paying for each service, drug, device, test, or procedure. PIs or their staff will need to be trained to use the TASCS system, prior to its effective date of September 1. The training schedule and registration are available at www.ahc.umn.edu/ocr/crbb/tascstraining/.
Questions about this policy can be sent to Assistant Vice President for Research Mark Paller at palle001@umn.edu. Questions about the training program or procedure can be sent to Debra Dykhuis, Office of Clinical Research, at dykhu001@umn.edu.
Distinguished Visiting Scholar Series
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
12:00 -1:30 p.m., Mayo Memorial Auditorium
“Unhealthy healthcare: misleading propaganda about drugs and mammography screening”
The Office of Clinical Research is sponsoring a Distinguished Visiting Scholar Series lecture and discussion with Dr. Peter Gøtzsche, director of the Nordic Cochrane Center in Copenhagen, Denmark. For more information about the Distinguished Visiting Scholar Series, visit our web site.
5th Annual Women's Health Research conference
Monday, September 22, 2008, McNamara Alumni Center
Keynote Address: "Environmental Influences on Reproductive Health"
David Savitz, Ph.D., Mount Sinai University
Online registration information is available on the Web site.
For questions call 612-626-1125 or email wmhealth@umn.edu.
Write Winning Grants seminar
September 24, Holiday Inn Metrodome, Minneapolis
Sponsored by the Office of Clinical Research and Central Administration
“Write Winning Grants” is a popular day-long seminar open to those AHC faculty and research staff currently involved in clinical and translational research. The seminar addresses both practical and conceptual aspects that are important to the proposal-writing process. The program content is appropriate for senior graduate students, post-doctoral research fellows, and junior faculty members. Space is limited to 100 AHC participants and will fill very quickly.
Register now at www.ahc.umn.edu/ocr/events/writewinninggrants/registration
Note: Non-AHC faculty members may register separately through Central Administration; registration for non-AHC faculty members will be available in early September at www.academic.umn.edu/system.
Challenges and Tensions in International Research Collaborations
October 2-3, 2008, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
Sponsored by the U.S. Office of Research Integrity and the University of Minnesota
International research collaborations are expanding rapidly, but they involve certain challenges. Speakers will discuss problems stemming from cross-national differences in the organization and funding of science, cultural perspectives, the training of students and research personnel, and legal and policy systems. They will also propose ways to mitigate the effects of these challenges in collaborative research. Scientists who collaborate or intend to collaborate internationally, other scientific research personnel, postdoctoral fellows and graduate students, and others interested in international collaboration are encouraged to attend.
Visit the conference Web site for information on the conference program and registration.
Breakthrough series: Heart Failure
October 27-28, Continuing Education and Conference Center, St. Paul Campus
The Office of Clinical Research and the Lillehei Heart Institute have joined with LifeScience Alley to continue our educational partnership. The third event in the Breakthrough Series will focus on emerging technologies for the treatment of heart failure. Speakers include leading researchers from the University of Minnesota and industry. See next month’s Accelerate for registration details.
Feature: Building Inter-Institutional Collaborations for Clinical and Translational Education and Research
Clinical research scholars and leaders from across the region gathered at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester for the Upper Midwest Consortium (UMC) Annual Meeting June 16 and 17. The meeting, supported by NCRR, provided a unique opportunity for networking and exploring the potential for collaborative research and education.
Prasad Padala, MD, University of Nebraska (left) and Nancy Raymond, MD, Director of the Deborah E. Powell Center for Women's Health, University of Minnesota
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Participating institutions share a common interest in promoting clinical research collaboration, and are funded by NIH programs, including the Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA); K12 Multidisciplinary Clinical Research Career Development Program; K30 Clinical Research Curriculum Award; and Institutional Development Award (IDeA).
Upper Midwest Consortium institutions include: Mayo Clinic (CTSA, K12, K30); University of Chicago (CTSA); University of Iowa (CTSA, K12); University of Kansas (IDeA, K30); University of Minnesota (K12); University of Nebraska (IDeA, K12); University of North Dakota (IDeA); University of South Dakota (IDeA); University of Wisconsin (CTSA, K12, K30); Washington University (CTSA, K12); VA Hospital, Minneapolis, MN.
The University of Minnesota is home to a K12-funded program—the Career Advancement Program for Clinical Research Scholars (CAPS). The meeting allowed scholars from across institutions and disciplines to come together and discuss the challenges and opportunities encountered in today’s research environment. The theme of collaboration was addressed through keynote presentations, workshops, networking sessions, and tours of potential research collaboration sites at the Mayo Clinic.
Melissa Geller, M.D., assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology and CAPS scholar, reflects on the consortium. “Some of the most valuable aspects of the meeting, for me, were the scholar workshops and breakout sessions. I was able to establish a relationship with an investigator at Mayo, and make plans to begin collaborating on a project.” CAPS scholar Dan Mulrooney, M.D., M.S., shared a similar experience. “There is such clear value in developing this regional consortium. It allows us, at both an institutional and individual level, to access available resources and expertise.” Mulrooney, assistant professor of pediatric oncology, was able to meet investigators at the Mayo Clinic and University of Nebraska interested in collaboration in his area of research, cancer survivorship. “There is a great deal of potential for creating a research focus right here in the Midwest,” says Mulrooney.
Program leaders used the meeting as an opportunity to discuss plans for building a regional clinical and translational research consortium, and expanding the focus beyond education. A goal of the UMC is to identify common competencies and define common curriculum to assure regional strengths are reflected. Target projects include identifying specialized courses, conferences, seminars, and practicums that could be shared among institutions. A shared resources website is planned, as well as a separate course network to share educational opportunities in clinical and translational research. In other words, the UMC aims to create “homes without walls” to facilitate a collaborative, inter-institutional research experience. The 2009 UMC Annual Meeting will be hosted by the University of Iowa in Iowa City.
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