If new biomedical discoveries are like gold, to borrow the metaphor used by UAMS’ Meredith Zozus, Ph.D., the prospecting days are fast coming to an end. But fear not; the November/December TRIbune newsletter features exciting new and forthcoming biomedical informatics strategies to help ensure that UAMS researchers continue to find “gold.” This issue also includes a story about a TRI-supported study led by Kristie Hadden, Ph.D., that may be unique nationally showing how her UAMS intervention is “moving the needle” through the adoption of a plain-language template. Pearl McElfish, Ph.D., MBA, is our TRI & Me feature, and we include your TRI-supported publications.

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The UAMS Translational Research Institute honored UAMS’ many Arkansas community partners Nov. 18 with its fourth annual Community Partner Celebration.

During the event at the Centre at University Park in Little Rock, Naomi Cottoms, executive director of Tri County Rural Health Network (Tri County), accepted the first Chancellor’s Community Research Partner Award on behalf of her organization.

Tri County has been a partner of the UAMS Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health since 2001. That year the college began a long-term partnership with Tri County, which established the Community Connector Program, and they have jointly presented and published findings on the cost savings generated by this community health worker program.

UAMS Chancellor Dan Rahn, M.D., the keynote speaker, applauded the work of the community partners. He also focused on the important changes in the way research is conducted with communities typically underrepresented in research.

When deciding what research is going to be conducted, he said, community partners must be involved. Not only should they be involved in deciding whether the research makes a difference in people’s lives, they should help decide whether it makes a difference in their lives according to what matters to the community.

“In picking research questions, we’ve typically begun by considering the importance of the science, and what we learned is that may not really be what matters to the people whose interests we’re here to serve,” Rahn said.

He said he hopes UAMS’ relationships with communities have matured to where they feel empowered to tell researchers the problems they want to tackle.“I thank you for being engaged with us,” he said. “I really want to challenge all of us to get this to the level where you are not just helping us with projects we decided to do, but that you’re actually bringing questions to the table that you need answers to because it’s your community, it’s your lives, and then we respond to that.”

“I thank you for being engaged with us,” he said. “I really want to challenge all of us to get this to the level where you are not just helping us with projects we decided to do, but that you’re actually bringing questions to the table that you need answers to because it’s your community, it’s your lives, and then we respond to that.”

Rahn selected Tri County for the Chancellor’s Community Research Partner Award after the list of nominees was narrowed to two by reviewers at universities outside Arkansas.

Tri County has served as the formal community partner on a grant from the National Institutes of Health National Institute for Minority Health and Health Disparities to study the role of community health workers in engaging minority community members and organizations in research.

Mary Olson, D.Min., of Tri County served as the community co-investigator and Cottoms served as chair of the community advisory board. Tri County was also the community partner on a Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) award, and Cottoms has chaired the TRI Community Advisory Board for the past three years.

The College of Public Health is collaborating on a research project with Tri County called Patients Advancing Their Health (PATH) in the Delta, which involves integrating Community Health Workers into primary care practices to help them serve the needs of their most costly and medically complex patients.

“These projects represent just some of the partnerships between Tri County and the college, and they demonstrate the critical role this organization has played at UAMS,” said Kate Stewart, M.D., M.P.H., who leads the Translational Research Institute’s Community Engagement program. “They have demonstrated the value of community engagement for students who visit the Delta to learn about their work, for researchers who partner with them in the community, and for the members of the community who have benefited from their willingness to work with UAMS.”

Five community groups were recognized as Outstanding Community Partners. They are:

• Health Impact Assessment Coalition. This coalition is examining how Arkansas’ landlord-tenant laws and the state’s lack of an implied warranty of habitability affects health through the availability of safe, affordable and healthy housing in central Little Rock. The assessment, funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts, focuses on how formerly incarcerated people are impacted by these policies. Several UAMS staff are members of the Coalition Steering Committee.
• Immerse Arkansas. This organization prepares former foster youth for adulthood. Working with UAMS, students interviewed youth who received services from Immerse Arkansas, then wrote narratives for inclusion in an awareness campaign.
• Jefferson County Emotional Wellness Taskforce. This taskforce has worked with several UAMS researchers to develop grants that focus on improving mental health outcomes among community members and improving mental health literacy within rural African-American communities. The taskforce has also collaborated with UAMS researchers to develop grants that focus on improving mental health outcomes of those who are incarcerated.
• Jericho Way. A day resource center for the homeless in Little Rock, Jericho Way has partnered with the Emergency Department Community Health Worker program at UAMS. In this program, patients in the Emergency Department receive one-on-one services from a community health worker who works with them to manage their health and social needs.Transgender Equality Network. This network serves and advocates for the transgender community and has worked to educate the public about transgender issues. It has partnered with the College of Public Health and the Arkansas Transgender Equality Coalition on a national
• Transgender Equality Network. This network serves and advocates for the transgender community and has worked to educate the public about transgender issues. It has partnered with the College of Public Health and the Arkansas Transgender Equality Coalition on a national Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute community engagement award called Transform Health Arkansas.Other nominees for the Chancellor’s Community Research Partner Award are:

Other nominees for the Chancellor’s Community Research Partner Award are:

Arkansas Community Organizations. This community-based membership organization does community organizing around issues that are important to its members, mostly low-to-moderate income communities in Central Arkansas and Jefferson County. UAMS College of Public Health faculty, staff and students have partnered with Arkansas Community Organizations in completing service learning community research projects for the previous five years through

Arkansas Community Organizations. This community-based membership organization does community organizing around issues that are important to its members, mostly low-to-moderate income communities in Central Arkansas and Jefferson County. UAMS College of Public Health faculty, staff and students have partnered with Arkansas Community Organizations in completing service learning community research projects for the previous five years through a masters- and doctoral- level course on racial and ethnic health disparities.

Arkansas Prevention Research Center Community Advisory Board. The “Dos and Don’ts of Community Engagement” workshop for researchers was developed and implemented by the Arkansas Prevention Research Center’s Community Advisory Board in partnership with faculty and staff from the College of Public Health. The early results of the workshop show that it can help build and sustain community-academic partnerships.

Arkansas Transgender Equality Coalition (ArTEC). This state-wide organization works to advance equality, justice and inclusivity for transgender Arkansans. The College of Public Health is partnering with ArTEC on a national Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute community engagement award called Transform Health Arkansas. ArTEC is leading this project to engage transgender Arkansans in identifying their most pressing health and health care issues they want to see studied.
Shiloh Baptist Church. The Rev. Johnny Smith and Shiloh Baptist Church in Pine Bluff have partnered with researchers at the UAMS colleges of Medicine and Public Health for more than six years. Smith has served as a community principal investigator on several projects in the Delta.

Shiloh Baptist Church. The Rev. Johnny Smith and Shiloh Baptist Church in Pine Bluff have partnered with researchers at the UAMS colleges of Medicine and Public Health for more than six years. Smith has served as a community principal investigator on several projects in the Delta.

View all of our celebration photos!

The Translational Research Institute (TRI) has issued its 2017 Pilot Award Program request for applications (RFA). 

This RFA seeks proposals for translational biomedical informatics approaches that examine rural health and health care issues. The awards are $50,000 maximum and have a one-year time limit. 

Note that TRI has restructured its Pilot Program to align with the priorities established by the NIH National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS). The intent is to develop novel technologies and methodologies, to test the feasibility of novel approaches, and to stimulate inter-disciplinary collaborations that test generalizable solutions to translational research problems.

In addition to biomedical informatics, future focus areas of TRI pilot awards will include: health concerns and challenges of rural and underrepresented populations; implementation science to incorporate new research findings into the health care system; and community/stakeholder-partnered research. The biannual RFA will rotate among the four emphasis areas. 

Key dates:

• Letter of Intent Due – Dec. 9, 2016
• Full applications invited – Dec. 19, 2016
• Full applications due – March 10, 2017
• Awardees announced – April 3, 2017

Latest project start/IRB approval date – June 1, 2017 

On Sept. 16, 2016, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) released its Policy on Good Clinical Practice (GCP) Training for NIH Awardees Involved in NIH-Funded Clinical Trials.  This policy applies to NIH-funded investigators and site staff who are responsible for the conduct, management and oversight of NIH-funded clinical trials. 

An NIH Clinical Trial is defined as research studies in which one or more human subjects are prospectively assigned to one or more interventions to evaluate the effects of those interventions on health-related biomedical or behavioral outcomes.  An intervention is defined as a manipulation of the subject or subject’s environment for the purpose of modifying one or more health-related biomedical or behavioral processes and/or endpoints.

Faculty who participate in industry-sponsored trials have already completed this training through industry-led GCP training conducted at site initiative visits. This information should be documented in study binders maintained by study staff.  

The Policy on GCP Training is effective Jan. 1, 2017.  

If you are currently conducting an NIH-funded clinical trial, you will need to complete your training prior to the first of the year.  There are two ways to do this:

1. Complete GCP training using the CITI program.
2. Send record/certificate of current GCP training (i.e., from industry-sponsored trial participation) to Catrice Banks-Johnson. 

NOTE: GCP training expires after 3 years.

If you have ambitions of conducting an NIH-funded clinical trial, you are highly encouraged to complete the training now! 

If you are a researcher and have determined this does not apply to you, you are highly encouraged to complete the training now! GCP training is likely to be mandated within the next 6-12 months, as many institutions, journals and other funding sources are trending toward this requirement.

If you have any questions, please contact one of the following institutional offices:

Amy Jo Jenkins
Translational Research Institute
686-5939
AJJenkins@uams.edu

Jennifer Holland
IRB
526-7559
JRHolland@uams.edu

Darri Scalzo
Office of Research Compliance
686-8062
DLScalzo@uams.edu

Larry Cornett, PhD
Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research
686-5347
CornettLawrenceE@uams.edu

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The UAMS Profiles newsletter, Profiles Plug-In, Volume 2, introduces users to the updated version of the Profiles website. TRI has dramatically improved the look and feel of the site. You’ll also learn how faculty information in Profiles is being used by the UAMS Integrated Clinical Enterprise (ICE) to help create its quarterly scorecard report.  

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For a record fifth year in a row, the Arkansas chapter of the international Society of Clinical Research Associates (SOCRA) has been recognized for ensuring the highest quality research by providing the most continuing education hours of any chapter. The annual Chapter Chairperson Recognition Award was presented to Carrie Chiaro, M.P.H., C.C.R.P., from the UAMS Office of Research Compliance, who co-chairs the SOCRA chapter with Melisa Clark, M.S., C.C.R.P., from the UAMS Office of Research Regulatory Affairs.

SOCRA Executive Director Erich Lukas, MBA, said the Arkansas chapter is the only one of 63 volunteer chapters to win the award five consecutive years.

“The success of the Arkansas chapter is a testimony to the support from Arkansas’ research institutions, the dedication of the chapter’s leaders, and the commitment of the chapter’s program participants,” Lukas said.

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.

Also during the annual meeting in Montreal, Amy Jo Jenkins, M.S., C.C.R.P., C.C.R.A., C.C.R.C., from the UAMS Translational Research Institute, was elected to the SOCRA Board of Directors. Jenkins, a past chapter chairperson, said the chapter’s continued success is due to the participation, collaboration, and common goals of the state’s research professionals.

“UAMS’ support, particularly from the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, the Translational Research Institute, Office of Research Regulatory Affairs, and the Office of Research Compliance, has allowed the chapter to flourish over the last five years,” Jenkins said. “While the award is technically given to one person, we know that it is our whole membership and those that support us that contribute to our success.”

The Arkansas chapter provided 22 continuing education credit hours from June 1, 2015, to May 31, 2016.

“The continuing education we provide ultimately improves the quality of research in our state and enhances the experience and protection of our valued participants,” Jenkins said.

The chapter also provides an avenue for career growth and development, including training and resources for new research staff and the opportunity to earn an accredited professional certification (Certified Clinical Research Professional – CCRP) that is recognized internationally by the clinical research industry as evidence of advanced competency in the profession.

The continuing education hours offered by the Arkansas SOCRA chapter also help research staff at UAMS and other sites earn or maintain their Certified Research Specialist (CRS) certification. The CRS certification program, administered by the UAMS Office of Research Compliance, ensures an understanding of, and respect for, the principles of research integrity and the protection of those who participate in research. Although the certification is not required by all departments, UAMS research employees routinely complete the 26 hours of coursework and the comprehensive CRS proficiency exam.

The UAMS Profiles website received a significant upgrade Oct. 16 to improve user experience. Profiles, a faculty networking tool, can be accessed through the TRI webpageTRI.uams.edu, where you’ll find the UAMS Profiles link. If you have any questions, issues, or general feedback, please email the Profiles team at TRIservices@uams.edu.

The Translational Research Institute is seeking nominations from faculty and staff for its fourth annual UAMS Community Partner Celebration on Nov. 18. This celebration recognizes the outstanding community partners that have helped make our various endeavors possible, whether it involves research, education and training, or services.

Get the details and submit your community partner nominees here!

See our honorees from past years. Former honorees will be invited to attend the celebration.

NEW AWARD!!! We are happy to announce that this year we will also be awarding the inaugural Chancellor’s Community Research Partner Award. Nominate partners for the Chancellor’s Community Research Partner here!

The deadline for submissions to recognize community partners and submissions for the Chancellor’s Community Research Partner Award is Oct. 12. For more information contact Camille Hart at cnhart@uams.edu or 501-454-1467