Keneshia Bryant-Moore, Ph.D., F.N.P., R.N., and Tiffany Haynes, Ph.D., began their research careers as KL2 scholars in 2011 and 2012, respectively. Today they are on solid footing as federally funded researchers.

Bryant-Moore, an associate professor in the Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health, is the principal investigator of a $110,000 Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) award. The funding complements her $1 million 2014 Health Resources and Services Administration grant supporting her effort to bring together Arkansas faith leaders, educators, researchers and health care providers for the annual Community-Campus Partnership Conference.

“The TRI KL2 scholars program launched my research engagement with the faith community which inspired the theme of this year’s conference,” Bryant said. She noted the assistance of Kate Stewart, M.D., M.P.H., and Camille Hart, M.P.H., from TRI’s Community Engagement program. Her collaborators also include Haynes and KL2 alum Brooke Montgomery, Ph.D.

“I am truly grateful for TRI’s support,” she said.

Haynes, an assistant professor in the College of Public Health, was recently awarded $2.1 million for a faith-based mental health intervention in the Delta. Haynes is co-principal investigator with Karen Yeary, Ph.D. Bryant-Moore is a co-investigator, and two other KL2 alums – Dennis Kuo, M.D., M.P.H., and Elvin Price, Pharm.D., Ph.D., are on the project’s steering committee. The five-year NIH grant will allow the team to test the intervention’s effectiveness as well as strategies for sustaining the intervention.

Haynes, a clinical psychologist, said the intervention is led by lay people, helping improve mental well-being through preventive approaches. Anyone experiencing depression or other mental illness will be guided to a mental health professional.

In addition to two years of KL2 support, Haynes said she was aided by TRI’s research forums.

“This intervention can improve the lives of many people, and it wouldn’t have been possible without the support of TRI,” Haynes said.

There are some exciting developments on UAMS’ community engagement front, and we focus on those in the May TRIbune. Our cover story is about TRI’s efforts leading up to UAMS’ first Community Scientist Academy; we’ve held two research information sessions that were well attended by the public, and we are planning more sessions this summer. We also highlight Sarah Facen, a member of TRI’s Community Advisory Board, with our TRI & Me feature. The Academy is the brainchild of Facen, who is a longtime community advocate with deep ties to her South End neighborhood in Little Rock. We also feature two recent successes of our KL2 alums, Keneshia Bryant-Moore, Ph.D., F.N.P., R.N., and Tiffany Haynes, Ph.D., as well as ARresearch.org and your TRI-supported publications.    

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On a recent evening, three UAMS researchers went table to table, taking 10 minutes each to explain their work to small groups of people.

Their audience was rapt. The 23 attendees with varied backgrounds had come to learn something about research at UAMS, including how non-scientists can play a role. Tamiko Johnson, of Benton, recalled afterward her fascination with the heart research conducted by Jean McSweeney, Ph.D.

“To learn that we are trying to do more for women with heart disease and that our symptoms are different than men is new to me,” Johnson said of McSweeney’s groundbreaking findings that identified unique heart attack symptoms in women. “I think it’s good to put that information out there so we as women know what to look for.”

Jeff Jenkins, a real estate agent from Sherwood, also enjoyed learning about the different types of research from McSweeney (community-based/survey), Laura Hutchins, M.D. (cancer/clinical) and Joseph Su, Ph.D. (community-based/survey).

“I liked the opportunity of learning directly from the doctors who spoke during the roundtable sessions,” Jenkins said.

The TRI-sponsored event was the first of multiple sessions being planned this spring and summer, including one held May 5, said Kate Stewart, M.D., M.P.H., who leads TRI’s community engagement program. In addition to informing the public about research, the sessions will help get the word out about UAMS’ first Community Scientist Academy being piloted this fall. The Academy will be a multi-week program for participants to develop a knowledge base and help engage the public in UAMS’ many research endeavors.

“We’re looking for people who want to learn even more about our research beyond these information sessions,” Stewart said. “The Academy will create a cadre of community members who can influence research by serving on steering committees, mentoring committees, review committees, research projects, and in other leadership capacities.”

Johnson and Jenkins said they are both interested in building on what they learned in April through the Community Scientist Academy.

“I work at Pulaski Technical College so I would like to learn anything that might help our students, my coworkers and the community as a whole,” said Johnson, a receptionist who has also worked as a medical assistant.

“The information session really opened my eyes to the importance of community involvement in research,” Jenkins said. “I think if more people could attend sessions like this one, UAMS would increase participation in not only the Community Scientist Academy, but also help provide candidates for future UAMS research projects.”

The Translational Research Institute (TRI), the Center for Health Literacy, and the IRB have collaborated to develop Plain-Language Consent Templates on a 5th to 6th grade reading level to improve participants’ comprehension of research procedures. 

Consent forms often have complex sentence structure and use vocabulary that make it difficult for the average adult to understand. Using a Plain-Language Consent can improve a participant’s ability to understand study procedures they are consenting for without compromising the content of the consent.

You can find these Plain-Language Consent Templates here.

This week KARK 4 aired an interview about UAMS/TRI’s ARresearch.org. Anna Huff (photo, left), discussed her participation in research and the benefits of her experience. Both Huff and Jean McSweeney, Ph.D., explained how joining the ARresearch.org registry of research volunteers benefits all Arkansans and noted the need for research participation from all Arkansas communities. By joining the registry, people may be contacted by UAMS about research that matches their health interest areas.

2016-05-10 – KARK 12PM – UAMS Research from UAMS Health on Vimeo.