The UAMS Translational Research Institute (TRI) and UAMS Center for Implementation Research (CIR) have selected five clinical faculty as 2023 Implementation Science Scholars. Using the principles of implementation science, CIR faculty will guide the scholars through 10 didactic sessions per year and provide oversight and mentoring for their experiential implementation science projects. The two-year program will provide 20% salary support (up to salary cap).

The scholars and their project titles are:

Stephen Foster, M.D., assistant professor, College of Medicine Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, UAMS Northeast Regional Campus

Project: Improving Outcomes for Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in the Primary Care Setting through Electronic Health Record Optimization

Chelsea Mathews, M.D., assistant professor, College of Medicine Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, UAMS and Arkansas Children’s Hospital

Project: Improving the Patient Experience through Journey Mapping at the Orthopaedic and Spine Hospital (under construction at UAMS)

Veronica M. Raney, M.D., assistant professor, College of Medicine Department of Psychiatry; interim director, Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry; medical director, Child Study Center, UAMS 

Project: Implementation of Specialized Mental Health Services to Address Gaps in Care for Transitional Age Youth (TAY)

Jarna Shah, M.D., assistant professor, College of Medicine Department of Anesthesia, Chronic Pain Division, UAMS

Project: Implementation of Nutrition Screening in Patients Undergoing Elective Joint Replacement Surgery

Shruti Tewar, MBBS, MPH, associate professor, College of Medicine Department of Pediatrics, Division of Developmental and Rehabilitative Medicine, UAMS

Project: Implementation of Guidelines for Medication Management of Complex ADHD in Children

UAMS-affiliated researchers who have received Translational Research Institute (TRI) support submitted 77 research manuscripts as part of the Summer 2022 Writing Challenge, TRI Director Laura James, M.D., announced at an Ice Cream Social celebration to recognize the contributing researchers.

Held jointly at UAMS campuses in Little Rock and Northwest Arkansas, the Thursday, Sept. 8 event featuring Loblolly Creamery ice cream included prizes in six categories and numerous door prizes.

“We are thrilled to have received so many manuscript submissions and nearly match our total of 85 a year ago,” James said. “This is a huge accomplishment, reflecting the dedication of our faculty to complete an important part of research, which is the dissemination of research findings. In particular, the enthusiasm of our junior faculty is noteworthy and reflects the energy and vibrancy of our early-stage researcher community.”

Below are the winners announced at Thursday’s event:

Jennifer Andersen, Ph.D.
Astounding Apprentice Award: Most Submitted Manuscripts (seven) for the Rank of Assistant Professor/Instructor
Prize: TRI will pay for a manuscript submission fee

Chenghui Li, Ph.D.
Wise Wordsmith Award: Most Submitted Manuscripts (four) for the Rank of Associate Professor
Prize: Free statistical consultation

David Ussery, Ph.D.
Sage Scribe Award: Most Submitted Manuscripts (four) for the Rank of Professor
Prize: TRI will submit a manuscript

Zulema Udaondo, Ph.D.
Best Representation of Informatics Supported Research
Prize: Wooden pen set

Melissa Zielinski, Ph.D.
Best Representation of Implementation Science
Prize: UAMS tumbler

Jennifer Andersen, Ph.D.
Most Reflective of Community Engagement and Partnerships
Prize: UAMS travel blanket

Umesh Wankhade, Ph.D., won a special door prize added this year, “A Delightful Dinner with the Director (James).”  

The 77 total submissions included:

• 14 submissions from Professors
• 16 submissions from Associate Professors
• 37 submissions from Assistant Professors
• 10 submissions from staff/others.

UAMS Investigators: Gohar Azhar, M.D., professor, Department of Geriatrics; director of Clinical Research, director of the Pat Walker Memory Clinic and Research Center, and co-director of the Cardiovascular Aging Program, UAMS

Jeanne Y. Wei, M.D., Ph.D., the Jackson T. Stephens Professor of Geriatrics; chair, Reynolds Department of Geriatrics, College of Medicine; executive director, Reynolds Institute on Aging, UAMS, and

Summary: The Pragmatic Evaluation of Events and Benefits of Lipid-Lowering in Older Adults (PREVENTABLE) trial is a multi-center study that will follow adults ages 75 and above without cardiovascular disease for five years as they receive either atorvastatin 40 mg or a placebo.

Significance: This large study aims to demonstrate the benefit of statins for reducing the primary composite of death, dementia and persistent disability and secondary composites including mild cognitive impairment and cardiovascular events.

TRI Services: Medicare coverage analysis, study budget development, regulatory management, biomedical informatics/clinical data extracts through the TRI-supported UAMS/Arkansas Clinical Data Repository (AR-CDR) and Epic support.

Sponsor/Clinical Coordinating Center: Duke University

Funding Agency: National Institute on Aging

Patients previously hospitalized with COVID-19 had a 45% higher risk of heart failure than other hospitalized patients, according to the first national study of its kind, which was co-authored by a University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) researcher.

Lead author Husam M. Salah, M.D., at UAMS said the findings reported in Nature Communications also revealed an even higher risk of heart failure for younger, white patients previously hospitalized with COVID-19, surprising the research team.

“We were seeing this increased trend in heart failure among patients previously hospitalized for COVID-19, but until our study, we did not have evidence to confirm the relationship to COVID-19,” said Salah, chief medical resident in the College of Medicine Department of Medicine. “Inflammation of the heart muscle and the coronary arteries as well as formation of small clots in the coronary arteries caused by COVID-19 may be major players in the association between COVID-19 and heart failure.”

Previously hospitalized COVID-19 patients under age 65 were at 53% greater risk of heart failure compared to a 38% increased risk in those 65 and older. Patients who were white (all ages) saw a 49% increased risk compared to a 36% risk in nonwhite or Hispanic patients.

“This really surprised us,” Salah said. “We don’t have an explanation. It might be that these patients had a more severe cardiac inflammatory response.”

The study analyzed de-identified data of 587,330 patients in the National COVID Cohort Collaborative (N3C) database, created by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and its National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, which also funds the UAMS Translational Research Institute.

The study of the heart failure association with previously hospitalized COVID-19 patients was the first using such a large-scale nationally representative population, according to the article.

“The N3C was one of the very few databases that had nationally representative de-identified COVID-19 related data,” Salah said.

The findings will be of value to doctors who treat previously hospitalized COVID-19 patients, he said.

“As a physician, it’s important to know the complications of COVID-19,” he said. “Knowing the association with heart failure will help guide the care for previously hospitalized COVID-19 patients.”

UAMS is among the early contributors of de-identified patient data to the N3C. It continues to aid the national effort with expertise and leadership by Fred Prior, Ph.D., chair and distinguished professor in the College of Medicine Department of Biomedical Informatics, and Ahmad Baghal, M.D., Ph.D., who directs the Arkansas Clinical Data Repository, a UAMS database of historical patient data.

Their efforts have been supported by the UAMS Translational Research Institute, led by Laura James, M.D., who co-chairs the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences Clinical and Translational Science Awards Program Steering Committee.

“The Nature Communications article is a great example of the translational research that is possible with the N3C,” said James, also UAMS associate vice chancellor for Clinical and Translational Research. “It is especially gratifying to see the N3C database contributing to such important work with a UAMS researcher as part of the team.”

Other study co-authors are from Duke University, University of Colorado Anschutz, Johns Hopkins University, University of North Carolina, North Carolina State University and Palantir Technologies.

In this month’s TRIbune newsletter, we’re highlighting the success of three TRI entrepreneurship trainees: Samir Jenkins, Ph.D., Amanda Stolarz, Ph.D., and Aaron Storey, Ph.D. Stolarz participated in a 2016 TRI-supported training, and Jenkins and Storey were part of the 2019 inaugural class of TRI Health Science Innovation and Entrepreneurship (HSIE) Program. All are advancing translational research using their TRI supported training and NIH small business funding. 

Our TRI Study of the Month features UAMS’ Gohar Azhar, M.D., and Jeanne Y. Wei, M.D., Ph.D., and their work on a multi-center study of lipid lowering in older adults.

We also highlight the six UAMS researchers who are part of two research projects that received TRI Team Science Voucher Awards.

Read The TRIbune.

UAMS’ Erhan Ararat, M.D., and Laura Gressler, Ph.D., have been named TRI Data Scholars for 2022.

Ararat is an assistant professor in the College of Medicine Department of Pediatrics.

Project title: “Evaluation of Metformin for the Symptoms and treatment of Asthma on a Pediatric Population.”

Gressler is an assistant professor in the College of Pharmacy Division of Pharmaceutical Evaluation and Policy.

Project title: “Leveraging Natural Language Processing Methodologies for the Refinement of Signal Detection Algorithms in Electronic Health Records.”

As part of the one-year program, data scholars receive close mentoring from UAMS faculty in conducting a data-oriented research project. They also receive 20% salary support and reimbursement for tuition and fees up to $5,000 to support coursework in data science or data analytics.

This month’s TRIbune newsletter highlights the successful use of a TRI Pilot Award to secure an NIH grant by Se-Ran Jun, Ph.D., in the Department of Biomedical Informatics. Jun’s translational  research could play a significant role in the treatment of antibiotic-resistant infections.

We also include the announcement of our nine new KL2 Scholars and the recipient of our inaugural Team Science Champion Award, Tuhin Virmani, M.D., Ph.D., who will use the funds to investigate the potential for remote assessment of people with Parkinson’s disease.

Our TRI Study of the Month features Krishna Nalleballe, M.D., and his clinical trial of a new thrombolytic agent.  Read The TRIbune

TRI is proud to release its 2022 Annual Report, a magazine-style showcase of translational research achievements at UAMS and our partner institutions.

This report highlights researchers’ innovative efforts to address the health issues of Arkansans. TRI has played both leading and supporting roles in these endeavors, thanks to our NIH/National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences Clinical and Translational Science Award as well as institutional support. 

The report also covers the many ways TRI is working to help UAMS-affiliated researchers reach their goals, and it includes some great success stories.  View it here.