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  1. University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
  2. Translational Research Institute
  3. Author: dsrobinson
  4. Page 3

dsrobinson

TRI Aids Testing of ‘Big Advance’ in Spinal Cord Stimulation; First Arkansas Participant Now Pain Free

Cornelia Ann Smith of Calico Rock, Ark., here with two of her grandchildren, is pain free thanks to her participation in a UAMS study of an advance in spinal cord stimulation devices.
Cornelia Ann Smith of Calico Rock, Ark., here with two of her grandchildren, is pain free thanks to her participation in a UAMS study of an advance in spinal cord stimulation devices.

Cornelia Ann Smith’s severe chronic back pain disappeared almost as soon as the experimental spinal cord stimulator was activated in a procedure at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS).

Watch a short video about Cornelia Ann Smith’s  experience in the device study led by UAMS neurosurgeon Erika Petersen, M.D. (left).

“I realized the device was helping me immediately,” the Calico Rock, Ark., resident said. Then, back home, it really began to sink in.

“I was sitting on the couch, and I thought, ‘This is amazing.’”

For six years prior to the implant, she struggled to take care of her home and her husband, who has Parkinson’s disease, and she could not enjoy her many hobbies.

“It felt like a bonfire in my back, and there was nothing anyone could do about it,” she said.

When she learned that UAMS was testing the spinal cord stimulator in a clinical trial, she contacted UAMS and was referred to neurosurgeon Erika Petersen, M.D., who is leading the device study.

“We talked about what her goals should be,” said Petersen, a national leader in spinal cord stimulation for chronic pain. “She wanted to be able to garden and go fishing and play with her grandchildren.”

Smith had many questions about the surgical implant procedure.

“After speaking with Dr. Petersen and hearing why she was confident in the device and her confidence in the procedure, I was all for it — 100%,” she said.

Prior generations of spinal cord stimulation devices include a small remote control that the patient uses to adjust the level of electronic stimulation if their pain spikes.

In January 2021, Smith became the first Arkansan to benefit from the latest technology. The so-called closed-loop experimental device does not require manual adjustment of the electronic stimulation; the system monitors the patient’s pain and adjusts the stimulation as needed.

The device was developed by Saluda Medical of Artarmon, New South Wales, Australia, and is being tested in the ECAP (evoked compound action potential) study.

“I would say this is a pretty big advance,” said Petersen, a professor in the College of Medicine Department of Neurosurgery. “This is the difference between constantly having to maintain the device and interact with it to being able to forget it and let it be in the background. That means people are able to stop thinking about where they are with their chronic pain control and just think about what they want to do during their day.”

Petersen said other study participants have reported pain decreases of more than half and up to 100%, like Smith.

“We are seeing some great results so far, and it’s significant that their pain relief is being sustained over time,” Petersen said.

UAMS is one of 13 research sites in the United States participating in the study.

“I’ve been really excited to be in the field of neuromodulation for the past decade because we have had an explosion in these sorts of technologies starting from about 2015, with more and more innovations coming,” Petersen said. “With every innovation we have an opportunity to help more people who have chronic nerve damage related problems.”

UAMS is still recruiting participants for the study. Those interested in participating must be referred through the UAMS Pain Clinic, which assesses patients to determine if they are eligible.

The study is supported by the UAMS Translational Research Institute, where research nurse coordinator Lisa Richardson, RN, works closely with the study participants.

“Being a part of this research study has been a pleasant experience,” Smith said. “It’s been eye-opening. Lisa checks on me often and she gave me her phone number so I can call her any time I need to.”

In a follow-up visit to UAMS on Oct. 28, 2021, Smith reported that she remains pain free.

“It has changed my life,” she said.

Watch a video here about Smith’s experience in the clinical trial.

Filed Under: Front, News, Newsroom

Video Recordings Now Available: TRI Research Regulatory Conference – Virtual Research in a Complicated World

If you missed TRI’s annual Research Regulatory Conference – Virtual Research in a Complicated World, video recordings are now available. Below are YouTube links for each part of the agenda.

Keynote speaker Erin Rothwell, Ph.D., from the University of Utah, presented, “Promoting Informed Decision Making for Consent in Virtual Research,” to kick off the conference. https://youtu.be/0hGEd1QM-2I

Keynote speaker Chris Lindsell, Ph.D., from Vanderbilt University, “ACTIV-6, TREAT-NOW and Other Stories: Lessons Learned from Running Decentralized Platform Trials during a Pandemic.”  https://youtu.be/uOJZKHIppC8

Q&A Panel: Common Compliance Issues with Remote Research

Moderator: Edith Paal, M.S.Journ., MPH, director, UAMS Institutional Review Board

Panelists:

  • Aline Andrews, Ph.D., RD, co-interim director, Arkansas Children’s Nutrition Center; professor, Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, UAMS
  • Jamie Baldner, B.S., CCDM, research informatics director, Department of Biomedical Informatics, College of Medicine, UAMS
  • Hari Eswaran, Ph.D., professor and director of Research, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, College of Medicine, and Institute for Digital Health and Innovation, UAMS
  • Darri Scalzo, research compliance officer, Office of Research Compliance, UAMS
    https://youtu.be/sztEOYtg-W8

Chris Long, Ph.D., presented “Ethical Considerations Regarding Returning Results to Research Participants.”
https://youtu.be/PbRiPKlnrrU

Joseph Sanford, M.D., and Kevin Sexton, M.D., presented “Digital Health Resources in Remote Research.”
https://youtu.be/mrDp99bQwjQ


View many other video presentations in TRI’s Video/Knowledge Library.

Filed Under: Front, News, Newsroom

The TRIbune Is Here!

The October TRIbune features the new Clinical Informatics Fellowship Program. The fellows are (l-r) junior fellow Salem AlGhamdi, M.B.B.S. (emergency medicine); senior Daniel Liu, M.D. (pediatrics); senior Lori Wong, M.D. (preventive medicine); and transfer senior Jacob Wooldridge, M.D. (pathology). Pictured separately is junior fellow Obeid Shafi, M.D. (pediatrics).
Obeid Shafi, M.D.

In this month’s TRIbune, we highlight the exciting addition of the Clinical Informatics Fellowship Program, a TRI-supported collaboration between UAMS and Arkansas Children’s. This important and unique program is among the first nationally accredited in the U.S., and is attracting talented doctors with informatics expertise.

This issue also includes important implementation science news, an announcement of our Team Science Voucher Awardees, and our TRI Study of the Month features Sumant Inamdar, M.D.  

Read The TRIbune.

Filed Under: Front, News, Newsroom

TRI Study of the Month

Sumant Inamdar, M.D., (right) with Danielle Evans, Ph.D., TRI research program manager.

UAMS Site Principal Investigator: Sumant Inamdar, M.D., Assistant Professor, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Internal Medicine, UAMS College of Medicine.

Summary: The SpHincterotomy for Acute Recurrent Pancreatitis (SHARP Trial) is testing the effectiveness of Endscopic Retrograde CholangioPancreatography with sphincterotomy, a common procedure for the condition. it is an NCATS Trial Innovation Network (TIN) facilitated study.

 Significance: Pancreatitis can cause severe pain. A sphincterotomy opens a blocked duct in the pancreas to allow fluids to drain, which researchers hypothesize provides long-term relief to the acute pain associated with the condition.

TRI Services: Budget development, Medicare coverage analysis, regulatory and research nurse coordinator services.

Sponsor: NIH National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases

Filed Under: Front, News, Newsroom

UAMS Part of CTSA Research Network Supporting Translational Science Across the Criminal Justice Continuum

Researchers at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), the University of Kansas Medical Center (KUMC), and the University of Kentucky (UK) are teaming up to develop a Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) research network to support translational science across the criminal justice continuum.

Nick Zaller, Ph.D.

Criminal justice settings provide an opportunity to engage difficult-to-reach populations who have significant underlying health conditions, including a high burden of chronic and infectious diseases and behavioral health disorders. However, few public health interventions are specifically tailored to be delivered within criminal justice settings or with individuals involved in the criminal justice system, and only a fraction of NIH grants focus on criminal justice related health research.

“I’m very excited that UAMS will be participating in this unique collaboration to address the pressing public health challenges among people involved in the criminal justice system,” said Nick Zaller, PhD, Professor of Health Behavior and Health Education at UAMS. “By establishing a network of CTSA institutions to support this work, we will be able to develop a national model for research to improve the lives of those most impacted by incarceration in the United States.”

This project will leverage the existing clinical and translational research infrastructure at the three partnering institutions through their respective Clinical and Translation Science Award (CTSA)-funded units. The researchers expect the proposed network to have a profound impact on the future direction of research involving this underserved population.

“I am thrilled that this project brings together new friends and collaborators to really make a mark in the field of criminal legal system research and public health,” said Megha Ramaswamy, PhD, MPH, Professor of Population Health at KUMC. “We hope to work on research that benefits the 13 million Americans who pass through jails every year. Doing so through the CTSA infrastructure should only boost our reach in this effort.”

The network will also be used to develop new investigators and support established ones in the development and implementation of research on the health of criminal justice-involved individuals across CTSA institutions through facilitation of multidisciplinary research collaborations.

“I am really excited to be a part of this project because justice-involved individuals are often among the highest risk for health and behavioral health issues, yet evidence-based interventions often neglect this population” said Michele Staton, PhD, Professor in the Department of Behavioral Science at the University of Kentucky. “I also love the idea of being a part of the development of a CTSA research network supporting both translational science across the criminal justice continuum and resources for other investigators to initiate or advance their own criminal justice research.”

The project is being funded by the Consortium of Rural States (CORES) Research Collaborative Inter-Institutional Pilot Project Award program, which gives funding priority to projects addressing issues of disparities either because of rurality or underrepresented and disadvantaged groups.

“There are a number of unique challenges to conducting research with justice-involved individuals and/or working in justice settings,” Staton said. “This grant provides a tremendous opportunity to build capacity for translational research, as well as expand critical health and behavioral health interventions to some of the most vulnerable individuals.”

The Inter-Institutional Pilot Project Awards promote collaboration across the CTSA consortium by funding innovative, translational research projects that involve three or more of the institutions that make up the CORES Research Collaborative: University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center; University of Kansas Medical Center; University of Kentucky; University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences; University of Iowa; and the University of Utah Health. The CORES program is funded as part of the CTSA through the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health.

“Individuals in the criminal justice system comprise a seriously underappreciated and under-represented population that has significant and unique medical challenges. Moreover, these issues are understudied, in large part due to the difficulty in accessing potential participants and from the historical abuse of prisoners in research,” said William M. Brooks, PhD, Associate Director of Frontiers and Director of the Frontiers Pilot Awards Program. “This CORES-funded grant will help build vital infrastructure to carry out research to better understand the problems, test solutions, and ideally lead to reduced social and financial costs to the community at large. Involving three states, Arkansas, Kansas and Kentucky, will better represent the diversity of incarcerated populations and result in more generalizable outcomes.”

Additionally, the Journal of Clinical and Translational Science (JCTS), an open access journal whose mission is to provide a forum for disseminating advances in clinical and translational science, has offered the study team a special issue, focusing on the theme “Health and Social Drivers in the Criminal Justice System.” Submissions are due in March 2022.

“We are really excited the Journal of Clinical and Translational Science will dedicate this special issue to our project and research in the criminal justice system,” Ramaswamy said. “Disseminating research results is key to the success and sustainability of any project, but especially one like this one as we build this nationwide network.”

Filed Under: Front, News, Newsroom

TRI Announces Five Implementation Science Scholars

Agarwal

The UAMS Translational Research Institute (TRI) and UAMS Center for Implementation Research (CIR) have selected five clinical faculty as the 2022 Implementation Science Scholars.

Using the principles of implementation science, faculty at CIR 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).

Bansal

Based at UAMS, Arkansas Children’s and Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System, the scholars and their project titles are:

Amit Agarwal, M.B.B.S., M.D. Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Medical Director Chronic Ventilator Program, Division of Pediatric Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine, Arkansas Children’s Hospital/UAMS College of Medicine
Implementation of Standardized Tracheostomy Care Method by Multidisciplinary Team Model (MDT) and Incorporating High-Fidelity Simulation to Train Caregivers of Children Requiring Long-Term Mechanical Ventilation

Maples

Shipra Bansal, M.D., Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes, UAMS and Arkansas Children’s Hospital
Implementing Standardized Bone Health Care Guidelines in Children with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy

Holly D. Maples, Pharm.D., Associate Professor, Department of Pharmacy Practice, UAMS College of Pharmacy; Director, Antimicrobial Stewardship, Arkansas Children’s Hospital
Reducing the Variations in Diagnosis and Treatment of Pediatric UTI’s in Arkansas

Maraka

Spyridoula Maraka, M.D., M.S., Assistant Professor, Program Director of Endocrinology Fellowship, Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, UAMS College of Medicine; Staff Endocrinologist, Central Arkansas Veterans Health Care System
Implementation of Combined Strategies to Minimize Levothyroxine Overuse

Raghavan

Deepa Raghavan, M.D., FCCP, Assistant Professor, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care, UAMS College of Medicine; Medical Director, VA Medical ICU; Staff Pulmonologist, CAVHS
Bridging Gaps in COPD Care 

Filed Under: Front, News, Newsroom

The TRIbune is Here!

This month’s TRIbune newsletter highlights former KL2 Research Career Development scholar Taren Swindle, Ph.D., and TRI’s preparations for the next cohort of KL2s. Information sessions are being held in advance of the 2022 Request for Applications, which will be released in November.  

We also announce our rural-research themed TRI pilot awardees and our Study of the Month, which highlights a TRI-supported study. This month we feature Michael Wilson, M.D., Ph.D., who is the site principal investigator for the METH-OD clinical trial.

This month’s issue also includes 11 publications that cite TRI for its support.

Read The TRIbune.

Filed Under: Front, News, Newsroom

UAMS Researchers Rise to ‘91-Day Writing Challenge’

(L-R) TRI's Leah Timmons, MPA, College of Medicine Dean Susan Smyth, M.D., Ph.D., TRI Director Laura James, M.D., and TRI's Paul Duguid, MPH, presented the 91-Day Writing Challenge Awards during the Sept. 1 celebration.
(L-R) TRI’s Leah Timmons, MPA, assists College of Medicine Dean Susan Smyth, M.D., Ph.D., and TRI Director Laura James, M.D., as TRI’s Paul Duguid, MPH, uses Facetime to include researchers in Northwest Arkansas during the presentation of the 91-Day Writing Challenge Awards.

The first summer writing challenge sponsored by the Translational Research Institute (TRI) revealed that UAMS researchers enjoy a friendly competition.

Don Willis, Ph.D., had the highest number of manuscript submissions.

TRI celebrated the end of its inaugural 91-Day Writing Challenge on Sept. 1.

“We had 173 submissions, almost two per day, which is pretty phenomenal,” said TRI Director Laura James, M.D., who led the outdoor event for the seven winning writers.

Eligible Writing Challenge participants included all researchers who have used TRI’s services or resources to aid their projects.

James, assisted by College of Medicine Dean Susan Smyth, M.D., Ph.D., announced the winning writers as the temperature was climbing toward 100 degrees for the first time in three years. Fortunately, a Loblolly Ice Cream truck was just steps away and helped the 25 UAMS Little Rock attendees survive the heat.

Celebration attendees such as former TRI KL2 Scholar Keneshia Bryant-Moore, Ph.D., FNP-BC, RN, were treated to ice cream. TRI got the idea for the writing challenge from Bryant-Moore, who led past summer writing challenges with UAMS colleagues.

Don Willis, Ph.D., an assistant professor, had the highest number of manuscript submissions – 10 – with three primary authorships and seven co-authorships. He won the Astounding Apprentice Award: Most Publications for the Rank of Assistant Professor/Instructor.

Based at the UAMS Northwest Regional Campus, Willis said the competition was a good complement to a strong culture of manuscript writing at the Office of Community Health and Research at the UAMS Northwest Regional Campus.

In fact, four of the seven Writing Challenge winners are part of the Office of Community Health and Research, led by Pearl McElfish, Ph.D., MBA, the outgoing vice chancellor for UAMS Northwest, and director of the TRI Special Populations Core, and associate director of Community Outreach and Engagement at the UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute.

Nishank Jain, M.D., was among the seven awardees.

“I didn’t do this alone,” said Willis, who attended the ceremony remotely via Facebook with McElfish and others. “We have an incredible team that provides a lot of support for one another, which makes it possible to submit and publish at the rate we have.” 

Summer is a great time to write, he said, and this year was busier than ever with a flood of research data pouring in at the right time.  

“I enjoy writing in the summertime on my back porch and front porch,” he said.

As institutional awards, the Writing Challenge awards can be used in UAMS promotion and tenure applications, James announced at the celebration.

Other Writing Challenge winners are:

Zulema Udaondo Dominguez, Ph.D., and Se-Ran Jun, Ph.D., were among the celebration attendees.
  • Jennifer Vincenzo, Ph.D., PT, MPH, associate professor, UAMS Northwest Regional Campus, Office of Community Health and Research
    Wise Wordsmith Award: Most publications for the rank of associate professor for eight publications (two primary authorships and six co-authorships)
  • Nahed El-Hassan, M.D., professor, College of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics
    Sage Scribe Award (tie): Most publications for the rank of professor for five publications (three primary authorships and two co-authorships)
  • Holly Felix, Ph.D., MPA, professor, UAMS Northwest Regional Campus, Office of Community Health and Research
    Sage Scribe Award (tie): Most publications for the rank of professor for five publications (five co-authorships)
TRI KL2 scholar Yong-Chen Lu, Ph.D., was among the attendees.
  • Nishank Jain, M.D., assistant professor, College of Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine,
    Best Representation of Applied Data Sciences
  • Sara Landes, Ph.D., associate professor, College of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry; Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System
    Best Representation of Implementation Science
  • Jennifer Andersen, Ph.D., assistant professor, UAMS Northwest Regional Campus, Office of Community Health and Research
    Most Reflective of Community Engagement & Partnerships

The celebration also included prize drawings for all those who competed. Winners are:

Emily Hallgren, Ph.D., $25 gift certificate to UAMS Nutritional Services

Kristie Hadden, Ph.D., $25 gift certificate to UAMS Nutritional Services

Kate Stewart, M.D., MPH, $25 gift certificate to UAMS Nutritional Services

Pearl McElfish, Ph.D., MBA, TRI staff will facilitate submission of one manuscript of her choosing

Jennifer Vincenzo, Ph.D., Free statistical consultation for study planning purposes

Rosemary Nabaweesi, Dr.P.H., M.B.Ch.B., One manuscript submission fee to be funded by TRI

Filed Under: Front, News, Newsroom

The August TRIbune is Here!

In this issue of The TRIbune, we highlight the new “Going Digital” webinar series for researchers, which begins Sept. 17. This 3-part series is designed for all researchers, especially those who have questions about how to incorporate some of the latest technologies into their studies.

You’ll also read about TRI’s two new data scholars, Melanie MacNicol, Ph.D., and Michail Mavros, M.D. Our Study of the Month highlights a digital health research project led by Tuhin Virmani, M.D., Ph.D., and supported by the UAMS Rural Research Network. We also have the latest UAMS researchers’ journal publications citing TRI for its resources and support.  Read The TRIbune.

Filed Under: Front, News, Newsroom

UAMS Releases Findings from Statewide COVID-19 Antibody Study

COVID-19 seroprevalence study collaborators have included: front row, l-r, Mark Williams, Ph.D., Joshua Kennedy, M.D., Laura James, M.D., and Katherine Caid, M.D.; middle row, Sandra McCullough, Justin Bean, Veronica Smith, Ben Amick, Ph.D., Moya Kouassi, Hoda Hagrass, M.D., Ph.D., Nathan Petty, Shana Owens, Victor Cardenas, M.D., Ph.D., and Jing Jin; back row: Ericka Olgaard, D.O., Karl Boehme, Ph.D., Craig Forrest, Ph.D., and Ryan Mann.

LITTLE ROCK — A statewide COVID-19 antibody study led by UAMS found that by the end of 2020, 7.4% of Arkansans had antibodies to the virus, but there were wide disparities among racial and ethnic groups. UAMS researchers released their findings this week to a public database, medRxiv (med archive).

The study included analysis of more than 7,500 blood samples from children and adults across the state. It was conducted in three waves from July to December 2020. The work was supported by $3.3 million in federal coronavirus aid that was then allocated by the Arkansas Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act Steering Committee created by Gov. Asa Hutchinson.

Unlike diagnostic tests, COVID-19 antibody testing looks back into the immune system’s history. A positive antibody test means the person was exposed to the virus and developed antibodies against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the disease known as COVID-19.

“An important finding of the study is the significant differences in COVID-19 antibody rates detected within specific racial and ethnic groups,” said Laura James, M.D., the study’s principal investigator and director of the UAMS Translational Research Institute. “Hispanic populations were almost 19 times more likely to have SARS-CoV-2 antibodies than whites, and Blacks were five times more likely to have antibodies as whites during the course of the study.”

These findings highlight the need to understand factors that impact SARS-CoV-2 infection in underrepresented minority populations, she added.

The UAMS team collected blood samples from children and adults. The first wave (July/August 2020), revealed low rates for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, averaging 2.6% in adults. However, by November/December, 7.4% of adult samples were positive.

Blood samples were collected from individuals seen at medical clinics for non-COVID reasons and who were not known to have had COVID-19 infection. The antibody positivity rates reflected cases of COVID-19 in the general population.

While the overall positivity rate in late December was relatively low, the findings are important because they indicate previously unrecognized COVID-19 infections, said UAMS’ Josh Kennedy, M.D., a pediatric allergist and immunologist who helped lead the study.

“Our findings underscore the need for everyone to get vaccinated as soon as they can,” Kennedy said. “Very few people in the state have immunity from a natural infection, so vaccination is key for getting Arkansas out the pandemic.”

The team found little difference in antibody rates between rural and urban residents, which surprised researchers who thought rural residents might be less exposed.

The antibody test was developed by UAMS’ Karl Boehme, Ph.D., Craig Forrest, Ph.D., and Kennedy. Boehme and Forrest are associate professors in the College of Medicine Department of Microbiology and Immunology.

The UAMS Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health helped identify study participants through their contact tracing call center. In addition, samples were obtained from UAMS Regional Program sites across Arkansas, the Arkansas Federation for Medical Care and the Arkansas Department of Health.

Faculty within the College of Public Health and College of Medicine participated in the epidemiologic and statistical evaluation of the data and included College of Public Health Dean Mark Williams, Ph.D., Benjamin Amick, Ph.D., and Wendy Nembhard, Ph.D., as well as Ruofei Du, Ph.D. and Jing Jin, MPH.

The study represents a major collaboration for UAMS, including the Translational Research Institute, Regional Programs, the Rural Research Network, the College of Public Health, the Department of Biostatistics in the College of Medicine, UAMS Northwest Regional Campus, Arkansas Children’s, the Arkansas Department of Health and Arkansas Foundation for Medical Care.

The Translational Research Institute is supported by grant TL1 TR003109 through the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Filed Under: Front, News, Newsroom

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