Arkansas clinicians, researchers, and postdoctoral students are invited to attend a free course teaching the fundamentals of biomedical commercialization April 3 – May 1, 2020.

The fastPACE course is designed for the busy biomedical academician with an early-stage project. It blends in-person and online education to help faculty, researchers and clinicians learn the

basics of biomedical commercialization and prepare a successful business case for funding and developing partnerships.

The deadline for registering is March 15. Applications may be submitted at: https://bioventures.uams.edu/fastpace/.

The course is offered by BioVentures and the UAMS Translational Research Institute. It was  developed by FastForward Medical Innovations at the University of Michigan.

As a project-based course, participants must enroll with at least one other team member but may enroll their entire team of collaborators, including students. The course features an expert interdisciplinary team from academia and industry. Project teams are divided into educational tracks and assigned a teaching team member to maximize their mentorship opportunities.

More than 70 project teams have graduated from fastPACE and used their experience to secure additional funding, find collaborators, submit publications and conduct additional research.

UAMS’ Marie Burdine, Ph.D., a graduate of the course, said it taught her the process for commercializing her research team’s idea.

“We didn’t know the channels to take, what the patent process was like or if this was even a good idea,” Burdine said. “We learned how to do market research and got great feedback on how to target more people to generate more revenue.”

“During our first two fastPACE courses, participants learned how to develop a successful business case to secure funding and attract collaborators,” said Nancy Gray, Ph.D., BioVentures director. “They also were able to determine the commercial viability of their innovation and use the course to expand their network of innovation partners. We’re looking forward to building on that success again in 2020.”

For more information, email Nancy Gray at nmgray@uams.edu or submit an application at https://bioventures.uams.edu/fastpace/.

Erin Mannen, Ph.D., has been a faculty member for just two years, and yet she is mentoring medical students, residents, postdoctoral fellows, a PhD student and a

summer engineering intern.

“I’m mentoring a lot of different folks,” she said. “And as a new faculty, I feel like I need a lot of mentoring for myself.”

That led Mannen to join more than 30 UAMS faculty members from all five colleges for the TRI-sponsored Mentoring Matters training workshop in January.

It was time well spent, she said.

“The takeaway for me was that mentoring is a lot about just building relationships, and even though I’m a young faculty, I still have a lot to offer as a mentor to these different folks at different levels in their own schooling or career,” she said.

Tom Chung, Ph.D., said the course would be helpful to any mentor, regardless of experience.

“It’s a good way for mentors to review their own habits, so to speak,” he said. “It’s a good refreshment opportunity.”

Most of the participants were junior faculty with 1-5 years of mentoring experience, according to a report based on feedback from the participants.

Comments provided anonymously by participants included:

“The workshop was great and full of lots of great discussions. Please continue to give others this opportunity.”

“The most valuable take to me is the personal experience and knowledge shared by the senior faculty.”

Praise for Erick Messias, M.D., Ph.D., one of the mentor trainers: “His insight, experience and ability to deliver knowledge is amazing. It was a pleasure to listen and learn from him.”

The knowledge gained from the workshop also led participants to raise their self-assessed mentoring competency scores based on five mentoring skills: maintaining effective communication; aligning expectations; assessing understanding; fostering independence; and promoting professional development.

View the gallery of photos from this event.

In the latest TRIbune newsletter, the UAMS Translational Research Institute (TRI) is excited to report about new possibilities for your research. In partnership with the Arkansas Children’s Research Institute (ACRI), TRI is offering free consultations for researchers who may be interested in expanding their studies to other research institutions. The opportunity is being made available through the Trial Innovation Network, which serves academic medical centers like UAMS that are supported by the national Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) Program.
The TRIbune also highlights our new Community Partners Educated as Arkansas Research Leaders (CPEARL) program, our Study of the Month featuring Sanjeeva Onteddu, M.D., and our recent, successful Mentoring Matters Workshop.

Read The TRIbune.

Are you a researcher with a study idea or an active study? Could it expand beyond UAMS to other institutions? TRI leaders are offering researchers Listening Sessions to help determine whether their studies could expand to multiple sites.

TRI is well positioned to help facilitate multisite studies through the national network of Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) institutions.

Session times begin in February and will be led by TRI Director Laura James, M.D., and Associate Director John Arthur, M.D., Ph.D.

To schedule your session, contact Amy Jo Jenkins, AJJenkins@uams.edu.

View flyer.

The UAMS Translational Research Institute (TRI) this month kicked off its Community Partners Educated as Arkansas Research Leaders (CPEARL) class. The inaugural class includes 12 devoted community leaders.

They are, back row: Meredith Flowers (Leaping Beyond), Demetrius Kelly (Better Community Development, Inc.), Willie Wade (Difference Makers of Hot Springs); front row: Manny Sepulveda (Arkansas Hispanic Health Coalition), Kanesha Barnes-Adams (AR Prostate Cancer Foundation), Jessica Suitor-Burnham (Our House), Esther Dixon (Difference Makers of Hot Springs), Holly Taylor (Better Community Development, Inc.)

*Not pictured: Our House team members: Maureen Martin, Ruthie Hokans, Claire Barton; AR Prostate Cancer Foundation team member Cara Clements.

The 6-week course CPEARL program targets leaders and emerging leaders within community-based organizations (CBOs) located in Arkansas. The program is designed to enhance research partnership and program development competencies within CBOs. The CBOs will receive up to $2,500 in seed funding to implement a real-world project. Academic, practice, and community experts will provide interactive didactic learning sessions during the 6-week intensive. Each team will also have a UAMS researcher assigned to mentor them throughout the year and the opportunity for one-on-one community consultations.

The public is invited to attend a free, one-day Community Scientist Academy workshop Jan. 16 at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS).

The workshop will be held 8 a.m.-5 p.m. and is for anyone interested in health research and even shaping the research UAMS conducts. Attendees will get an overview of UAMS research in a relaxed environment and will become prepared as a potential partner with UAMS on its community-related projects.

To learn more and sign up, contact Nicki Spencer, ndspencer@uams.edu, 501-526-6626.

Academy participants will interact with UAMS researchers and community members involved in research in small roundtable discussions and other interactive sessions. They will learn:

• How researchers decide what health issues to study.
• The research process.
• The benefits of individual and community organizations’ involvement in research.

UAMS conducts clinical research and community-based studies across Arkansas, including its hospital in Little Rock and regional clinics. UAMS faculty also conduct research at Arkansas Children’s Research Institute and the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System.

The Community Scientist Academy is sponsored by the UAMS Translational Research Institute, which is supported by the National Institutes of Health’s National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) Clinical and Translational Sciences Award Program, grant UL1TR003107.

Laura James, M.D., director of the UAMS Translational Research Institute (TRI), has been named to the national Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) Program Steering Committee.

The CTSA Program is administered by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) at the National Institutes of Health. TRI received a five-year, $24.2 million CTSA in July and is one of more than 60 CTSA-supported institutions nationally.

James will serve for three years, and as one of 20 Steering Committee members she will enable information and idea sharing among her peers in the CTSA Program and NCATS leadership to advance clinical and translational science.

Translational research is the process of taking findings and discoveries (new medicines, health interventions, etc.) and “translating” or applying them to real-world practices that improve health.

James has been director of TRI since 2014 and is UAMS associate vice chancellor for clinical and translational research. She has a 25-year history of translational research in clinical pharmacology and toxicology at UAMS and Arkansas Children’s Hospital. As a clinician-scientist and founder of the startup company Acetaminophen Toxicity Diagnostics LLC, she is leading development of a rapid diagnostic test for acetaminophen liver injury. In 2014 she was named inaugural fellow of the Arkansas Research Alliance (ARA).

The Translational Research Institute (TRI) has awarded three pilot research grants to UAMS faculty for studies of special populations in Arkansas.

Special populations include children, older adults, minority groups, underserved communities, and rural populations.

The grants of up to $50,000 are for one-year projects, and the researchers’ findings will be used to leverage larger grants from the National Institutes of Health or other federal funding agencies to expand on their work. The awardees were selected by a review committee that included UAMS faculty, faculty reviewers from an outside institution, and local community reviewers.

Below are the College of Medicine researchers and their project titles, including links to their videos explaining their pilot proposals:

Henry K. Wong, M.D., Ph.D., professor, Department of Dermatology; “Targeting the CTCL (Cutaneous T Cell Lymphoma) Microenvironment for Growth Control.” CTCL is a cancer of the immune cells that grow in the skin. It affects men and African-Americans more than other populations. African-American men are also affected at an earlier age and have a higher mortality rate.

Melissa Zielinski, Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Psychiatry; “Incarcerated Pregnant Women in Arkansas: Increasing Research Capacity and Piloting Lactation and Doula Support Services.” As part of the study, childbirth support will be provided for up to 24 incarcerated women.

Kristin Zorn, M.D., associate professor, director of the Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Division of Genetics; “Assessing Statewide Variation in Hereditary Cancer Care Utilization in Arkansas.” The study will use the Arkansas All-Payer Claims Database, which has de-identified patient care records from Medicaid, Medicare, private insurers and state employees. The data will help researchers better understand gaps in care. The findings will be taken back to the affected communities where the public will be invited to guide future research efforts.