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Showcase Affirms Maturity of Community-Engaged Research at UAMS

Kate Stewart, M.D., M.P.H., was smiling as she gestured toward the room packed with community engagement-themed research posters at the Sept. 25

Kate Stewart, M.D., M.P.H., led attendees through survey questions about community-engaged research that they answered on their smartphones, providing instant results.

UAMS Showcase of Medical Discoveries.

“Community-engaged research has grown a lot in the 22 years I have been here,” said Stewart, who leads the UAMS Translational Research Institute’s Community Engagement Program. “We would not have been able to do this 22 years ago, so it’s very exciting to me.”

In fact, there were more poster applicants than organizers had room to display.

Shuk-mei Ho, Ph.D., UAMS vice chancellor for research, approached Stewart about having the community-engaged theme for the Showcase.

“Community-based research is going to be in all of our research going forward,” Ho told attendees at the Showcase.

Involving the community as partners is already helping researchers generate exciting new hypotheses and questions to address health, she said.

“Researchers are receiving grants because they are able to understand the community in such a deep manner,” Ho said. “Community-engaged research also

Showcase sponsor Shuk-mei Ho, Ph.D., (left) vice chancellor for research, chats with Pebbles Fagan, Ph.D.

ties in really well with our efforts to address rural health issues and disparities in health care using digital health technologies such as smart phones, interactive live video, wearable devices and personal computers.”

She also noted that UAMS researchers have been extremely successful in winning Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) grants, established under the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to advance community-based/engagement research.

Among the poster presenters, Keneshia Bryant-Moore, Ph.D., A.P.R.N., FNP-BC, associate professor in the UAMS College of Public Health, has been the recipient of numerous PCORI grants. Her research has focused on developing a network of faith leaders across Arkansas to address depression and other health disparities for African Americans.

The poster she was presenting with her colleague, Tiffany Haynes, Ph.D., assistant professor in the College of Public Health, speaks to their efforts to increase the number of faith-based partners by

Pearman Parker, Ph.D., M.P.H., presents her poster on the role of health literacy with chemotherapy knowledge in women with breast cancer. Parker is a recent TRI KL2 Award recipient.

training them to become partners and co-investigators on research.

The poster was accepted for presentation at a recent PCORI conference and was well received, Bryant-Moore said.

“We were approached by a number of people from across the United States that were interested in the program,” she said, adding that she plans to apply for a PCORI award that will allow her team to disseminate tool kits and trainings on the program beyond Arkansas.

Stewart, a professor in the College of Public Health, noted that community-engaged research is critical to addressing fear and distrust of research due to past unethical treatment of research participants, especially minorities.

She was presenting a poster that showed her team’s work leading the UAMS Community Scientist Academy, a Translational Research Institute program.

“It’s really taken off,” she said of the academy, which invites the public to learn about the process of

Kisa Vaughn, M.P.A., presents her poster to Reza Hakkak, Ph.D., on the Passion Project, which showed how additional health resources can improve health in African-American women with substance use disorder.

research at UAMS. “We’re giving them a 30,000-foot level introduction to the process, and the reason for the process. A lot of times for people in the community, research needs to be demystified, so we also give them an opportunity to meet and interact with our researchers.”

TRI’s Jenkins Installed as SOCRA President

Amy Jo Jenkins, M.S., CCRP, CCRA, CCRC, TRI Executive Director, was installed as president of the Society of Clinical Research Associates (SOCRA) during a Sept. 27 ceremony in San Antonio, Texas.

Jenkins led the establishment of the Arkansas chapter of SOCRA and is a past chair. SOCRA chapters offer no-cost clinical research continuing education to enhance research quality, to protect research participants, and to improve the health of the global community.

This year’s SOCRA Annual Conference welcomed about 1,200 attendees. The three-day conference offered the latest information and tools, best practices and training to help its members stay up to date and compliant in their clinical research practice. The program featured over 100 academic sessions, a peer-driven poster session, and an exhibit program.

Mtonya Hunter-Lewis, Beatrice Boateng and Pam Christie

TRI had three scientific posters accepted for presentation at the conference. The posters and their presenters are:

Beatrice Boateng, Ph.D., TRI director of evaluation and associate professor, College of Medicine Department of Pediatrics; “Sensitive Research Study Records: Do they Belong in the Patient Medical Record? – A Preliminary Study”

Pam Christie, B.A., CRS, TRI senior project manager, research recruitment, stakeholder engagement, “Stakeholder Engagement Makes a Difference: Improving the Site Selection Processes for Clinical Trials”

Mtonya Hunter-Lewis, MBA, CPC, CCRP, TRI associate director, regulatory support, “Utility of a Web-based Research Protocol Development Tool: One Institution’s Experience”

Researchers Discover Services and Opportunities at First UAMS Research Expo

The UAMS Research Expo was a new experience for Yuet-Kin “Ricky” Leung, Ph.D., and one that will help get his research on solid footing as a new faculty member.

Nancy Gray, Ph.D., (right, front) president of BioVentures LLC, helped visitors to her booth understand the services BioVentures provides to UAMS researchers.

“I’ve never seen this kind of expo before, and it’s very helpful for me,” said Leung, an associate professor in the College of Medicine Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology. “I had no clue before how many units or service groups were available to help me.”

Leung, along with about 150 other UAMS faculty and research staff, stopped by the Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute to check out the 30-plus research services represented at the Sept. 10 Research Expo.

This year’s Expo marked an expansion of the Translational Research Institute (TRI) Open Houses held the past two years. TRI and the UAMS Office of Research Compliance co-sponsored the event, inviting all UAMS-wide research service providers as well as its partners, Arkansas Children’s Research Institute (ACRI) and the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System.

The Expo is a fun, relaxed way for researchers to talk directly to the research service providers all in one place. This year’s event also included ice cream, hors d’oeuvres and door prizes drawn by Stephanie Gardner, Ed.D., UAMS provost and chief strategy officer.

After making the rounds at the Expo, researchers enjoyed ice cream. (l-r) Kirk Smith, Phillip Farmer, Michael Rutherford and Debra Napoli.

Gardner also welcomed attendees, noting that the Expo helps researchers find critical resources that will help them get their studies off the ground more quickly and produce high quality findings.

Nidhi Kapoor, M.D., assistant professor in the College of Medicine Department of Neurology, is already familiar with many of TRI’s research services, she said, but the event made her aware of additional research amenities. “Every time I go to one of these meetings, whether it’s the Research Expo or the faculty resource fair last month, I tend to learn something new. I meet more people, and I learn about new resources and more help that’s available to busy clinicians like me.”

New this time for her, Kapoor said, was TRI’s Implementation Science Scholars program, which is accepting applications through Sept. 20. “I am considering submitting an application,” she said.

The first UAMS Research Expo drew about 150 attendees.

She also gleaned other valuable information, such as protocol building services with the Institutional Review Board, and how the Office of Research & Sponsored Programs can help with her with future grant applications.

Jami Jones, research program director at the Center for Childhood Obesity Prevention, was finding some promising new connections for her center’s researchers based at ACRI.

“I’ve been visiting booths looking for ways that our researchers can utilize the various services offered through UAMS,” Jones said. “I think that both ACRI and UAMS offer great support for research and it was exciting to learn about new resources and opportunities for collaboration. It was very interesting to learn about the data warehouse (Arkansas Clinical Data Repository – AR-CDR); I didn’t know about it, and I think we can utilize that.”

She also discovered exciting possibilities in her visit with the Institute for Digital Health & Innovation booth. She said researchers at ACRI are

Nidhi Kapoor, M.D., with Jolanta Marszalek, M.D., learned of new programs that could help her research. — Nidhi Kapoor, M.D., with Jolanta Marszalek, M.D., said she learned of new programs that could help her research.

interested in using mobile applications in their studies but app developers are lacking. The institute, she learned, is working on finding app developers. “I’m very excited about that,” Jones said.

Chenghui Li, Ph.D., an associate professor in the College of Pharmacy Department of Pharmaceutical Evaluation and Policy i, said having all the services in one place helped her clarify what each p rogram does.

“I just didn’t realize how many different services were part of the research enterprise; I knew some of them,” Li said, who is new to UAMS.

Li found assistance from TRI’s Clinical Trials Innovation Unit.

“I actually have a specific project that I needed information for, and they were very helpful,” she said. “They also provided individuals’ names for further contact. Gary D. Lewis, M.D., a new assistant professor in the College of Medicine Department of Radiation Oncology, enjoyed the whole Expo experience.

“I thought it was great as a new faculty member to learn and meet all these people who I’m going to be working with, and to figure out what resources are available,” Lewis said. “Since I am new here, I just wanted to try to make sense of all the resources that are available.”

While he is still plotting his research path, he sees promise in TRI’s ARresearch participant registry, its Community Engagement program and the resources available at the Institute for Digital Health & Innovation.

UAMS Offering Research Leadership Training to Community-Based Organizations

Community-based organizations are invited to apply for a new research leadership training program at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) that includes seed funding for community projects.

Applications are due by Oct. 14, 2019, for the Community Partners Educated as Arkansas Research Leaders (CPEARL) Program, supported by the UAMS Translational Research Institute.

Up to six community-based organizations will be selected, with two or three leaders or emerging leaders per organization invited to participate. Up to $2,500 in seed funding will be provided to each organization to tackle a health-related community project.

The one-year program will begin Jan. 15, 2020, with a six-week intensive training offered by the Translational Research Institute in partnership with the Arkansas Department of Health.

“UAMS research can play a bigger role in improving health, especially if we can engage communities most burdened by poor health in influencing our research,” said Kate Stewart, M.D., M.P.H., director of the research institute’s Community Engagement Program. “We will use this new program to build capacity of community leaders and empower them with the knowledge to partner in research addressing our state’s health disparities.”

Experts in community-based research, clinical and public health practice and community engagement will provide interactive learning sessions during the six-week intensive training. Each team will have a UAMS researcher assigned to mentor them throughout the year and the opportunity for one-on-one consultations with a community mentor. The program is free and all trainings will be held in Little Rock.

Interested community-based organizations may contact

Funding for the project is supported by the Translational Research Institute, Clinical and Translational Science Award UL1 TR003107, through the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences at the National Institutes of Health.

For more information, visit the CPEARL Program Page.

Applications may be submitted to triceteam@uams.edu.

Questions? Contact RBHale@uams.edu.

TRI Names Five Pilot Awardees

Five UAMS faculty have received pilot awards in research targeting the health challenges of rural and underrepresented populations.

The one-year awards of up to $50,000 each were made possible through the UAMS Office of Vice Chancellor for Research and are being administered by the TRI.

Below are the awardees and their research project titles:

Sara Landes, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Psychiatry/Health Services Research, “Evaluating Rural Community Pharmacists’ Perceptions of Integrating Mental Health Services to Reach Underserved Populations”

Pearl McElfish Ph.D., MBA, Assistant Professor, Office of Community Health and Research, “DSMES+SHES to reduce health disparities among rural, minority participants.”

Robert Pesek, M.D., Associate Professor ,Pediatrics, Allergy/Immunology; “Comparison between Telemedicine and In-Home Asthma Assessments for Identification and Reduction of Asthma Triggers”

Theresa Prewitt , Dr.P.H., Associate Professor, COPH, Health Policy and Management, “Examining National Diabetes Prevention Program Implementation in a Rural Federally Qualified Health Center Network”

Leanne Whiteside-Mansell, Ed.D., Professor, Department of Family and Preventive Medicine / Research and Evaluation Division, “Adverse Childhood Experiences of Rural and Underserved Arkansans: Identification of Risk and Links to Outcomes”

TRI Seeking Applications for Implementation Science Scholars Program

The Translational Research Institute (TRI) is seeking applications for UAMS’ first Implementation Science Scholars Program, with awards available for up to five UAMS clinical faculty.

Read the Request for Applications.

Supported by TRI and its Clinical and Translational Science Award, the program will fund faculty interested in learning more about how to implement new practice guidelines and/or other implementation or de-implementation approaches that will improve medical care.

Geoffrey Curran, Ph.D., director of the UAMS Center for Implementation Research, is leading the scholars program.

Using the principles of implementation science, Curran and colleagues will guide faculty through 10 didactic sessions per year and provide oversight and mentoring for experiential implementation science projects. The two-year program will provide 20% salary support and prepare faculty to publish the results of their implementation science projects. Scholars who want to pursue research grants to expand on their accomplishments would receive assistance from the UAMS Center for Implementation Research.

The program is open to all UAMS faculty, including at Arkansas Children’s Hospital. Those interested are encouraged to attend Thursday’s information session at ACH. An information session was held Monday on the UAMS campus.

Contact: Cindy Mosley, CLMosley@uams.edu

Friday: Information Session on Grants Supporting Diversity and Re-Entry of Underrepresented Groups in Research

Information session this Friday, Aug. 23, 10 – 11 a.m.

Rahn Building, G226

The UAMS Translational Research Institute (TRI) is inviting Letters of Interest from individuals in groups underrepresented in biomedical and behavioral research who could benefit from a new program aimed at increasing diversity in the field.

The program is funded by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) Program. It includes two components:

Research Supplements to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research (https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-18-906.html)
Research Supplements to Promote Re-Entry into Biomedical and Behavioral Research Careers (https://ncats.nih.gov/ctsa/funding/pa-2016-guidance).

The diversity supplement is designed for individuals from groups underrepresented in the biomedical sciences, including racial and ethnic minorities, persons with disabilities and individuals from economically and educationally disadvantaged backgrounds who have been inhibited in their ability to pursue a career in health-related research.

The re-entry supplement would benefit those whose research careers were interrupted for at least one year, but no more than eight years, for reasons such as child rearing, injury of the candidate or family member, pursuit of another career for financial reasons, and military service.

Read the details.

Five UAMS Researchers Receive Translational Research Training Awards

The UAMS Translational Research Institute has awarded five early-career UAMS researchers with KL2 Mentored Research Career Development Program Scholar Awards.

The program provides two years of instruction and mentored research training. Scholars receive 75% salary support and up to $25,000 per year for research, tuition, travel expenses and education materials.

The KL2 Scholars were chosen from 11 applicants, and six finalists were interviewed by an independent faculty review committee.

“All of the applications had significant strengths,” said W. Brooks Gentry, M.D., co-director of the institute’s KL2 program. “The awardees are a very strong group with broad representation across disciplines at UAMS.”

He noted that the scholars’ work includes two child health projects, one geriatric project, three clinical trials and one basic science study.

“All of their projects are translational,” Gentry said. Research that is translational seeks to produce more meaningful, applicable results that directly benefit human health. The goal of translational research is to move science discoveries more quickly and efficiently into everyday practice.

Below are the new scholars, their college, department and title of their KL2 project:

Tara Johnson, M.D.; College of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Neurology; “Implementation and Quantification of the General Movement Assessment for Early Detection of Neurodevelopmental Disabilities in Infants”
Stefanie Kennon-McGill, Ph.D.; College of Public Health, Department of Environmental and Occupational Health; “Fetal Exposure to Cannabinoids: Exposure, Methylation and Neurodevelopmental Effects”
Pearman Parker, Ph.D., M.P.H., RN; College of Nursing, Department of Nursing Science; “An exploration of the mental health needs of young women with breast cancer and implications for developing patient educational materials”
Isabelle Racine Miousse, Ph.D.; College of Medicine, Department of Biochemistry; “Decreasing Methionine Intake to Improve Survival in Patients with Metastatic Melanoma”
Jennifer Vincenzo, Ph.D., M.P.H., PT; College of Health Professions, Department of Physical Therapy; “Development of a Falls Prevention Self-Management Plan to Improve Older Adults Adherence to Prevention Strategies after Community-Based Falls Risk Screenings”

Vincenzo is the first KL2 Scholar from the UAMS Northwest Regional Campus and first from the College of Health Professions.

Including this group, a total of 26 UAMS researchers have received KL2 Scholar Awards since 2009. Those who have completed the program have raised more than $43 million in funding outside UAMS to support their research projects and help jump-start their careers.

The KL2 Program is supported by the Translational Research Institute’s Clinical and Translational Science Award, funded by the National Institutes of Health National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, grant UL1 TR003107. Funding support for this group of KL2 Scholars also came from the Arkansas Children’s Research Institute (Johnson), and the Arkansas Breast Cancer Research Program (Parker).

UAMS Translational Research Institute Launches Entrepreneurship Training Program with University of Arkansas, Fayetteville

A first-of-its-kind entrepreneurship training program at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) will teach its most promising young innovators how to move their health-science technologies into the marketplace.

The UAMS Translational Research Institute kicked off the program with the announcement of its first four postdoctoral trainees in the Health Science Innovation & Entrepreneurship (HSIE) Postdoctoral Scholars Program.

Entrepreneurship scholars: Melody Penning, Ph.D., Aaron Storey, Ph.D., Samir Jenkins, Ph.D., and Astha Malhotra, Ph.D.

The 15-credit graduate entrepreneurship training includes a significant new partnership with the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville.

The college will provide distance education courses to the UAMS scholars, who also will work with MBA student teams at the UA to develop commercialization plans for health-science technologies conceived at UAMS. The four selected in the competitive application process and their research interest areas are:

Samir Jenkins, Ph.D., nanomaterials and stem cell differentiation.
Astha Malhotra, Ph.D., 3-D printing and tissue regeneration.
Melody Penning, Ph.D., algorithms to predict adverse events in health care.
Aaron Storey, Ph.D., identification of bacteria in synovial fluid.

“The concept of translational research challenges us to more quickly move biomedical innovations and new technologies into everyday practice, and knowledge of the commercialization process is a critical factor to meet that challenge,” said Nancy Rusch, Ph.D., the program’s co-director, and professor and chair of the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology in the UAMS College of Medicine.

“I am thrilled to see this program take off and to have such an esteemed partner as Dr. Carol Reeves at the Walton College of Business, who is known nationally for developing entrepreneurs,” she said.

Carol Reeves, Ph.D., UA associate vice chancellor for entrepreneurship and innovation, said the program establishes an important new link for collaboration between the UA and UAMS.

“What the Translational Research Institute is doing with this program is a great complement to our MBA program and our graduate certificate in entrepreneurship. The UAMS scholars, biomedical discoveries and innovations are an exciting addition that strengthens both institutions.”

The collaborative relationship with Reeves’ program has its roots in the 2016 Entrepreneurship Boot Camp for UAMS graduate students. Reeves led instruction along with Rusch and Nancy Gray, Ph.D., president of BioVentures, and there have been many other collaborations since then.

The boot camp inspired Amanda Stolarz, Ph.D., a then UAMS graduate student, to join one of Reeves’ MBA teams that went on to win the 2017 Donald W. Reynolds Governor’s Cup competition along with the $25,000 top prize.

“Dr. Stolarz set a high bar for future UAMS entrepreneurs,” said Gray, who is part of the program’s leadership team. “We have a program in place now to provide the mentorship and coaching that will help aspiring UAMS entrepreneurs translate biomedical discoveries into new products, diagostics and medications to improve health outcomes. In parallel, and in partnership with the Arkansas’ business community, we plan to contribute to the growth of biotechnology-based jobs in the state.”

In addition to Rusch and Gray, the program’s leadership team includes other UAMS faculty with entrepreneurial backgrounds: Curtis Lowery, M.D., the program’s co-director and director of the new UAMS Institute for Digital Health & Innovation; Kevin Sexton, M.D., a surgeon and assistant professor in the College of Medicine, and Jay Gandy, Ph.D., chair of the program’s Internal Advisory Committee. Gandy also is professor and chair of the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health in the UAMS College of Public Health and incoming associate provost at the UAMS Northwest Regional Campus.

The project is supported by the Translational Research Institute, grant TL1 TR003109 funded by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH.

UAMS is the state’s only health sciences university, with colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Professions and Public Health; a graduate school; hospital; a main campus in Little Rock; a Northwest Arkansas regional campus in Fayetteville; a statewide network of regional campuses; and seven institutes: the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, Psychiatric Research Institute, Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging, Translational Research Institute and Institute for Digital Health & Innovation. It is the only adult Level 1 trauma center in the state. UAMS has 2,727 students, 870 medical residents and five dental residents. It is the state’s largest public employer with more than 10,000 employees, including 1,200 physicians who provide care to patients at UAMS, its regional campuses, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, the VA Medical Center and Baptist Health. Visit www.uams.edu or www.uamshealth.com. Find us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or Instagram.

NIH Awards Five-Year, $24.2 Million Grant to UAMS Translational Research Institute

The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Translational Research Institute announced July 3 it will receive five years of federal funding totaling $24.2 million to accelerate research that addresses Arkansas’ biggest health challenges.

University of Arkansas System President Donald R. Bobbitt, Ph.D., front left, and Jimmy Harris, front right, Little Rock field representative for U.S., Sen. John Boozman, applaud the announcement.

The Translational Research Institute helps researchers turn their ideas and findings into new medical treatments and other health interventions. Its focus is on rural Arkansas populations, where health and health care disparities persist. A major emphasis of the award is research partnerships with Arkansas communities to ensure that research supported by the institute aligns with the priorities and needs of Arkansans.

“This funding recognizes the outstanding research occurring right here in Arkansas,” said U.S. Senator John Boozman. “It will help UAMS researchers build on their successes and develop new therapies and medical procedures that will improve lives in Arkansas and beyond. I was pleased to support the efforts of UAMS to secure this funding, but this award truly is a testament to the body of work produced by UAMS. Arkansans can be proud of all UAMS has accomplished and its bright future that lies ahead.”

The new funding, called a Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA), comes from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). UAMS is one of more than 50 CTSA Program sites in the United States. The institute first received CTSA funding in 2009.

“Competition for these awards is fierce, so having a CTSA means we’ve shown UAMS to be among the country’s leading research innovators,” said UAMS Chancellor Cam Patterson, M.D., MBA. “For Arkansans, this award is significant because it will translate to improved health and health care. The university also thanks Sen. Boozman for his important help in achieving this result.”

Patterson, left, and James finish unveiling a poster announcing the grant award.

The CTSA award includes a main grant and two training grants. Laura James, M.D., is the principal investigator on the primary Translational Research Institute grant, which totals $20.6 million, and provides research infrastructure and oversite for the entire CTSA program.

“A CTSA is among the most significant NIH awards an institution can receive,” said James, also institute director and UAMS associate vice chancellor for clinical and translational research. “We are thrilled over this award because it represents the collective effort of numerous faculty members working across diverse research programs. This award demonstrates the synergy and strengths of research talents at UAMS. In addition, the CTSA will harmonize our efforts as health care providers and researchers to improve the health outcomes of Arkansans through research innovations.”

“We are also very proud that this opportunity allows us to work closer with our partner institutions, Arkansas Children’s Hospital (ACH), Arkansas Children’s Research Institute (ACRI) and Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System (CAVHS), as well as the UAMS Northwest Regional Campus, to expand the impact of research throughout the state,” James said.

The institute is supporting novel research that addresses significant health issues in Arkansas, such as opioids and pain management, diabetes and obesity, mental health and rare diseases. It is also expanding opportunities for UAMS researchers to participate in multisite clinical trials, including cross-CTSA research opportunities.

“The Translational Research Institute has created a collaborative cross-campus and cross-CTSA environment that enables our researchers to thrive,” said Shuk-Mei Ho, Ph.D., UAMS vice chancellor for research. “The funding is important, and the prestige of being part of the CTSA Program helps us recruit the best researchers nationally.”

The two other grants that are part of the award include the Institutional Career Development Core grant totaling $2.3 million, led by Mary Aitken, M.D., and Brooks Gentry, M.D.; and the National Research Service Award Training Core, $1.3 million, led by Nancy Rusch, Ph.D., and Curtis Lowery, M.D.

“Supporting the development of our early stage translational researchers is critical to ensuring that UAMS and Arkansas have the capacity to meet health challenges of the future,” Aitken said. “The KL2 program has been an central part of the TRI’s efforts to identify and cultivate our research pool and launch the careers of our faculty, and plans for the next phase of TRI to further refine the program make it likely to have continued success.”

The new funding will enable important new and existing efforts to continue, including:

Providing the public with easier access to cutting-edge clinical trials.
Increasing the number of clinical trials offered at UAMS, ACH, and CAVHS.
Pilot grants for the best translational research ideas for improving health and health care.
Education and translational science training for early career researchers.
Entrepreneurship training to help researchers commercialize their ideas.
Implementation science training to identify and adopt the most successful approaches and the latest medical advances.
Supporting team-based collaborations at the local and national level.
Increasing partnerships with diverse communities to ensure the most meaningful clinical and translational research is conducted with rural populations.
Streamlining translational research processes and enhancing research quality with state-of-the-art informatics approaches and methods.
Adopting “plain language” communications to ensure research opportunities and findings are disseminated broadly to the public.

In preparation for the award, UAMS developed a number of new research approaches that will help expand research opportunities in the future, including:

ARresearch.org, a volunteer research participant registry and website, providing researchers a pool of nearly 6,000 potential research volunteers.
Expanding researcher access to de-identified patient data that can be used to understand disease patterns and that provide a framework to guide studies testing new research treatments or approaches.

Expansion of cross-institutional collaborations with multiple other CTSA programs across the U.S.
Expansion of study management tools and resources, to ensure that research is conducted according to the highest standards of quality and reproducibility.
Creation of a Community Scientist Academy, to provide in-depth training for the public on clinical research and to provide service and decision-making opportunities for the public.
Expansion of its Community Advisory Board, ensuring that its diverse, grassroots stakeholders have a voice in the institute’s efforts.
An efficient, cost-saving electronic service request system for researchers, which allows them to select from a menu of over 30 unique services and receive customized help with research-related tasks.

In addition to partnerships with ACH/ACRI and the CAVHS, the institute fosters research collaborations across all UAMS colleges – Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Professions and Public Health, as well as the UAMS Graduate School. The National Research Service Award Training Core, led by Rusch, involves a training partnership with the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.

The NCATS/NIH award is under Award Number U54TR001629.