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From the Director
ResearchMatch
Regional Consortia:
Strength in numbers
Other CTSA Regional
Consortiums
Changes in NIH Grant
Applications
The Last Page....
Volume 2, Issue 7 November 2009
INSIDE THIS ISSUE I
Clinical and Translational Science Institute University of Florida Gainesville, FL 352.273.8700
This is crunch time for the CTSI. February 11-12 are the dates of our first annual
Research Symposium and Retreat. That's also when our federally-funded CTSA
program (awarded only this July!) will undergo its first formal, on-site scrutiny
by the National Center for Research Resources, the NIH Center that funds and over-
sees all CTSAs. As CTSI leadership, including Program, Core and Clinical Research
Unit directors, scramble to assemble data regarding traditional metrics of research
and training productivity, it's also important for us to reflect on how the Institute can
improve the infrastructure for conducting high-quality clinical and translational science
across all disciplines represented at UF. At the same time, we must also recognize the
impact of our growing participation in the national CTSA Consortium, now numbering
46 institutions and eventually growing to 60 by 2011. Therefore, we need to provide
infrastructure not only for intra-institutional research, but also for inter-institutional
collaborative clinical and translational investigations.
The first year of our CTSA ends in March 2010; thus, our first "year" ends after only
eight months! So as we look forward to our second year of CTSA funding, how can
the CTSI better deploy its resources for you, our clients? As a first cut, there are three
broad areas:
* Protocol development. The CTSI is working hard to improve the efficiency and
effectiveness of the development, review and implementation of clinical research
protocols, including clinical trials. We are engaged in detailed conversations with
Health Science Center leadership about these issues and about how the Institute can
provide the infrastructure to facilitate the conduct of essentially all human research
conducted at UF. Such infrastructure would include support for study design,
biostatistics, informatics, document preparation for IRB and FDA submissions, billing
procedures and uniform pricing for clinical trials, among others. We'd all like this to be
accomplished yesterday, but we definitely have our sights on having most or all of this
infrastructure in place and functional in 2010.
* Core technologies. The CTSI has undertaken the development of several new
Technology Cores that are designed to support all clinical and translational science,
be it in the laboratory, the research clinic or the community. These Cores include
Metabolomics, Biobehavior, Biorepository, Comprehensive Drug Development,
Human Genotyping and Imaging all currently in various stages of development.
Therefore, one of our goals in year 2 of the CTSA will be to "build out" these Cores so
they are sufficiently resource to appropriately serve your needs.
* Targeted funding of high-quality research. We received nearly 50 responses to our
latest RFA for funding Pilot and Collaborative Projects. This number is substantially
Volume 2, Issue 7 November 2009
greater than any of our previous RFA announcements and probably reflects, in part, the reworking of unsuccessful
applications for American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding. Undoubtedly, many of the applications we have
received are of extremely high quality. However, with currently available funds, we won't be able to make nearly as
many awards as we would like. Therefore, the CTSI will be looking in year 2 to enhance our ability to provide greater
support for meritorious research proposals, both through our traditional twice-a-year RFA mechanism and by increasing
support for investigators who need help in generating preliminary data for responding to time-sensitive RFAs from the
NIH, private foundations, etc., that focus on targeted research opportunities. In this regard, an increasing number of NIH
RFAs and related funding opportunities emphasize utilizing the institution's own CTSA infrastructure and developing
collaborations among CTSA institutions.
Finally, back to metrics and annual reports: One of the most important and easiest ways CTSI investigators and
trainees can help is to ensure that all publications use the following statement in citing the CTSA award:
This work was supported in part by NIH grant 1UL1RR029890 (Clinical and Translational Science Award).
We'll be adding this reminder to all future newsletters and communications from the CTSI.
Happy Reading!
Peter W. Stacpoole, PhD, MD
Director, Clinical and Translational Science Institute
Associate Dean for Clinical Research and Training
UF Joins National Recruitment Registry ..
The University of Florida has joined with Vanderbilt University and 50 other CTSA
institutions to provide a national volunteer registry for recruitment for clinical stud-
ies at participating institutions throughout the United States. ResearchMatch.org is
a Web-based registry for volunteers who are willing to participate in relevant studies
conducted by clinical and translational investigators in order to advance the health
and well-being of the nation. This electronic volunteer recruitment registry is de-
signed to allow individuals from anywhere in the country an opportunity to securely researchmatch
self-register and express an interest in being prospectively considered for participa-
tion in research studies, including clinical trials.
Clinical and Translational Science Institute University of Florida Gainesville, FL 352.273.8700
Volume 2, Issue 7 November 2009
REIOA CONhI[Si~ USORT!J IA STENT INU NUBR BY PAULA mu iuiuiSi;i
UF's power to speed health improvements to the
public got another boost.
In just the span of the past few months since UF received
the National Institutes of Health National Center for
Research Resources' Clinical and Translational Science
Award, the CTSI is already taking steps to partner with
other institutions in the Southeast in order to leverage their
joint strengths.
UF has teamed up with seven other CTSA-winning insti-
tutions in six states to establish the Southeast Regional
Consortium. In addition to UF, it includes the University of
Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock, the Medi-
cal University of South Carolina in Charleston the two
other institutions to also be awarded CTSAs in July the
University of Alabama at Birmingham, Emory University
and the Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, Vander-
bilt University and Meharry Medical College in Nashville,
the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Duke
University in Durham, NC. See Figure 1.
Such an extensive partnership with so many other pow-
erhouse institutions is unique for UF, at least on such a
comprehensive scale. Up to now, this has occurred investi-
gator to investigator in a very limited way, "but not in terms
of a broad programmatic basis," said UF CTSI Director Dr.
Peter Stacpoole, PhD, MD. "There's been relatively little
history of that."
Research Consortia
The Southeast Regional Consortium makes the sixth such
geographic collaboration formed that includes CTSA
institutions. The others are the West Coast Consortium,
the Midwest Consortium, the Chicago CTSA Consortium
for Community Engagement (C3), the East Coast Consor-
tium-NYCON Consortium, and the Upstate New York
Translational Research Network.
"The regional consortia were begun as a way to establish
geographic connectedness among CTSA organizations that
were in a particular region of the United States," Stacpoole
said. When Florida, the Medical University of South Caro-
lina and Arkansas received their awards in July, "it became
clear that we had a critical mass to address things."
The alliance is in its infancy, but members of the South-
east Consortium have held one conference call to discuss
areas that "we might wrap our collective heads around,"
Stacpoole said, and another is planned for this month.
Collaborators hope to identify areas of shared need region-
ally on which they can focus their combined expertise and
assets in order to improve the health of people in their own
areas, as well as those nationally.
"This allows us to pool resources, to collaborate, to deter-
mine complimentary resources that we can tap, and this
could also result in improved interdisciplinary training
across institutions," Stacpoole said. The consortia also
provide increased cooperation among academic institutions,
including those that may not have received CTSAs, and
their combined infrastructure also will allow them and their
investigators to respond to new funding initiatives from
both government and non-federal entities. But the bottom
line, and the goal of the CTSAs, is to have more impact in
communities and among people more quickly, he said.
Potential focus area
One potential area on which the Consortium is considering
flexing its collective muscle is research and training oppor-
tunities related to health disparities and under-represented
minorities.
"It is something we think is highly relevant to our region,
and one that I think we are particularly well poised to ad-
dress if we decide to go forward with this," Stacpoole said.
Clinical and Translational Science Institute University of Florida Gainesville, FL 352.273.8700
Volume 2, Issue 7 November 2009
REIOA CONhI[Si~ USORT!J IA STENT INU N iuiammiUMBERS ;i
This potential focus has been discussed only briefly at an
informal meeting Stacpoole and some of the other Con-
sortium's principle investigators had when they attended
the annual CTSA
meeting in Rock- Figure 1. Southeast Regional Consoi
meeting in Rock- -"H --
ville, Maryland, ......, '".
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in mid-October. ... "
However, the idea A ... .
is not a new one L- o .,
for several of the '
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ties. Alabia
Rewind to about
five years ago
when UF took
the lead in as-
sembling a group
of institutions
in the Southeast
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to respond to an NIH request and writing an application
for a regional translational research and training planning
grant emphasizing under-represented minorities. The group
included many of the current southeastern CTSA consortia
members. But after considerable time and effort pulling the
institutions together and developing the application, the for-
mer NIH administration decided not to review any of them
because they felt the institutions did not have the proper
infrastructure to take such a step.
"That was a heart-stopping moment," Stacpoole said.
"There was a collective cessation of heartbeats because a
lot of us had put quite a bit of effort into these things."
Despite the setback, he believes that realization by the NIH
led to recognition of broader needs. "I think that became
the incentive for developing the CTSAs, which was to
develop the intra-institutional infrastructure that then would
allow inter-institutional agreements and consortia to de-
velop," he said.
tium
Now the CTSA Southeast Consortium, potentially in con-
junction with some other non-CTSA institutions including
those that may have been part of the original group, will
consider whether
,
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to concentrate
on the matter
again. Stacpoole
distributed to his
Consortium col-
leagues copies of
the two-inch thick
binder containing
the original ap-
plication, and they
will discuss the
prospect of mov-
ing forward on it
during their next
conference call
later this month, as
well as other areas of possible concentration.
"It's that type of interaction that you can do more nimbly
and perhaps in a more focused theme in these regions than
you could on a national level," he said. That's particularly
true of this focus area because some of these issues are
highly related to geography and to the demographics of that
geography. "We have a high population of minorities and
they're traditionally under-represented in terms of access
to health care, etc., so probably as much or more than any
regional consortium, we are best poised to address that is-
sue.
If there is consensus on proceeding with it, the initiative
could focus on community-based research and possibly
clinical trials that provide rich training grounds for people
in a variety of walks of life, including physicians, nurses
and other health care professionals, epidemiologists,
statisticians, ethicists the gamut of anyone who might be
involved with issues related to health disparities.
Clinical and Translational Science Institute University of Florida Gainesville, FL 352.273.8700
e
,
Volume 2, Issue 7 November 2009
REIONAL6[SiV CONSORT!J IA:V1 STRNGT IUIN NUMBERS~i ; *~
The Consortium institutions all will continue to have their
various training and funding mechanisms as required by
their CTSAs, but focusing jointly on a specific area such
as this allows the expertise and foundations from all the
institutions to be married, providing trainees interested in
doing research in health disparities and under-represented
minorities a more fertile environment in which to undertake
their research. For example, someone in a CTSA train-
ing program at one Consortium institution might need to
receive focused training in a related area at another member
institution and vice versa.
"It's a complimentary relationship that really is a synergis-
tic process," Stacpoole said. "Trainees are often the bridges
to collaborative and interdisciplinary research, whether
you're within the same institution or between institutions."
National benefits
Combining the collective strengths of researchers, disci-
plines and institutions nationwide to leverage their com-
bined strengths in order to more quickly get health care
and medical improvements to the public is what the CTSI
concept is all about, and UF already is participating in two
of the ongoing national consortium-wide clinical trials. One
has to do with a randomized controlled trial of a drug to
treat pediatric and adult patients admitted to an intensive
care unit with influenza. The second involves a device used
to treat cardiac arrhythmias.
And despite their community-based focus, the lessons
learned from the work undertaken by these regional consor-
tia can also be applied nationally. In addition to the hands-
on participatory research that is done in communities,
more directed hypotheses could also be tested in traditional
research-intense academic settings. For example, biologi-
cal tissues and fluids could be obtained that would then be
studied in laboratories to gain insight into the mechanisms
underlying problems knowledge that would be valuable
much more broadly. These efforts are also meant to be
multi-disciplinary, and so could involve a broad spectrum
of activities and researchers that aren't necessarily aligned
with clinical science or laboratory science, such as social
scientists, educators, and economists.
But addressing needs that may be more pressing among
people closer to home is also key, including in areas on
which the Southeast Regional Consortium and other poten-
tial partners may concentrate their considerable strengths.
"There really are no boundaries here except the limits
of your own imagination and your ability to cooperate,"
Stacpoole said. "It's so early, I think the book is wide open
and the pages still need to be written."
ResearchMatch.org
Clinical and Translational Science Institute University of Florida Gainesville, FL 352.273.8700
Volume 2, Issue 7 November 2009
The Southeast Regional Consortium, which includes UF, is the newest regional consortium and is in its earliest stages of
partnership and exploration. According to the CTSA's official Web site (ctsaweb.org), the other regional consortia and their
respective members include:
West Coast Consortium
* Oregon Health & Science University The Scripps Research Institute
* Stanford University University of California, Davis
* University of California, San Francisco University of Washington
Midwest Consortium
* Mayo Clinic College of Medicine University of Iowa
* University of Wisconsin Washington University in St. Louis
* University of South Dakota University of Nebraska-Lincoln *
* University of Kansas University of Minnesota *
Chicago CTSA Consortium for Community Engagement (C3)
* Northwestern University University of Chicago
* University of Illinois *
East Coast Consortium NYCON Consortium
* Albert Einstein College of Medicine Columbia University
* Rockefeller University University of Rochester
* Weill Cornell Medical College Yale University
* Mount Sinai School of Medicine New York University School of Medicine
Upstate New York Translational Research Network (UNYTRN)
* Albany College of Pharmacy Albany Medical College *
* Bassett Healthcare System in Cooperstown, NY * Binghamton University *
* Cornell University Division of Nutritional Sciences Guthrie Healthcare System in Sayre, PA *
* Ordway Research Institute Rensselaer Polytechinc Institute in Troy, NY *
* Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, NY SUNY Albany School of Public Health *
* University at Buffalo Upstate Medical University in Syracuse *
* University of Rochester
* Non-CTSA Institution
Clinical and Translational Science Institute University of Florida Gainesville, FL 352.273.8700
Volume 2, Issue 7 November 2009
Please take the time to learn about the upcoming
changes to the NIH grant application process.
Applications submitted for due dates on or after January 25,
2010, using incorrect forms or following old instructions
will result in applications being returned prior to review.
What's happening?
Due to changes resulting from the Enhancing Peer Review
initiative, applications for due dates on or after January 25,
2010, require:
* Restructured application forms
* New instructions including shorter page limits
These changes affect ALL applications (new, renewal,
resubmission, and revision).
* Applicants who are eligible for continuous submission
may continue to use current forms and instructions through
February 7, 2010, for R01, R21, and R34 AIDS applica-
tions that would otherwise have been due on January 7,
2010.
In December, you will need to download the new applica-
tion forms (applies to both electronic SF 424 [R&R] and
paper PHS 398). When the time comes, be sure to choose
the correct application package:
* SF 424 (R&R): ADOBE FORMS
* PHS 398: Revision date "June 2009"
Steps for Success
1. Read about requirement changes now to be able to begin
writing the Research Strategy section of the application.
2. In December, go back to the updated FOA or reissued
Parent Announcement and download the new application
package and instructions.
3. Read the new application instructions carefully.
4. For due dates on or after January 25, submit applica-
tions using the new application forms and instructions.
How to Get Informed!
To better understand the new requirements, the Enhancing
Peer Review Website has a page dedicated to the applica-
tion changes and has made available to you a number of
resources on the Training and Communications Resources
page including:
* A flyer
* A one-page update
* PowerPoint presentations describing the changes
Additional information is also available throughout the
website including:
* FAQs
* List of policy notices
* Timeline of changes
A video overview of the changes will be available in mid-
Novenber on the Enhancing Peer Review Web site under
Training and Communication Resources.
The Enhancing Peer Review Website will continue to be
updated with additional resources as they are developed.
To be notified when new application packages become
available, sign up on the Enhancing Peer Review LIST-
SERV or look out for an announcement in the NIH Guide
for Grants and Contracts.
Please note that in addition to the new page limits there are
significant changes to the Biosketch!
Clinical and Translational Science Institute University of Florida Gainesville, FL 352.273.8700
Volume 2, Issue 7 November 2009
THE L~~AS PA E. .
Employment
Did you know that there are multiple venues through which both internal and external jobs are posted?
For Job Seekers
https://jobs.ufl.edu University of Florida jobs postings.
http://www.union.ufl.edu/jobs/ Reitz Union student job listings.
http://www.sfa.ufl.edu/programs/workstudy Federal Work-Study Program.
http://www.sfa.ufl.edu/programs/ops.html Other Personnel Services jobs.
http://www.sfa.ufl.edu/programs/oce.html Off-Campus jobs.
http://www.sfa.ufl.edu/programs/vaworkstudy.html Veteran's Affairs Work-Study.
Subscribe to the CTSI Listserv
Ensure that you receive future editions of this Newsletter by subscribing to the CTSI-ANNOUNCE-L Listserv.
It's quick and easy to do and will allow you to also receive other CTSI announcements as they are distributed.
To subscribe, simply send an email to listserv@ lists.ufl.edu with the message:
SUBSCRIBE CTSI-ANNOUNCE-L your-first-name your-last-name
Publication Acknowledgement
For all publications, CTSI investigators and trainees should remember to acknowledge the CTSI thusly:
This work was supported in part by NIH grant 1UL1RR029890 (Clinical and Translational Science Award)
Clinical and Translational Science Institute University of Florida Gainesville, FL 352.265.273.8700
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