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).

The UAMS Translational Research Institute (TRI) is excited to release its 2021 Annual Report, a celebration of translational research achievements at UAMS and our partner institutions.

As you read this report, we hope the message is clear: Translational research is thriving here!

The arrival of COVID-19 put research in the spotlight, and UAMS research faculty and staff responded valiantly. Thanks to our Clinical and Translational Science Award and institutional support, TRI has played both leading and supporting roles.

This report also covers the many ways TRI is working to help UAMS-affiliated researchers, and it includes some great success stories!  View it here.

The UAMS Translational Research Institute (TRI ) recently announced its 2021 Team Science Voucher Program recipients for 2021. The voucher program aims to increase the quantity, quality and effectiveness of cross-disciplinary research at UAMS. Awards of up to $20,000 went to five UAMS teams.

The vouchers will help the teams generate key data and increase their projects’ translational potential. TRI will also provide resources and mentoring as needed to facilitate the teams’ implementation of team science.

The principal investigators, team members and project titles are:

Akilah Jefferson, M.D., Assistant Professor, College of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics; “Association of Quality Metrics and Adverse Outcomes for Children with Asthma”

Team members: Clare Brown, Ph.D., MPH, Arina Eyimina, M.A., Anthony Goudie, Ph.D., Tamara Perry, M.D., Mandana Rezaeiahari, Ph.D., and Mick Tilford, Ph.D.

Erika Petersen, M.D., Professor, College of Medicine, Department of Neurosurgery; “Gamified Quantification of Normal and Pathological Movement Using 2D and Virtual Reality Interfaces and Haptic Sensing for Therapeutic Efficacy and Disease Progression in Movement Disorders”

Team members: Tuhin Virmani, M.D., Ph.D., Joseph Sanford, M.D.

Analiz Rodriguez, M.D., Ph.D., Assistant Professor, College of Medicine, Department of Neurosurgery; “Immunotherapy for Melanoma Brain Metastases”

Team member: Alan Tackett, Ph.D. 

Rachel Slotcavage, M.D., Assistant Professor, College of Medicine, Department of Surgery; “Evaluation of Neurocognitive Dysfunction in Primary Hyperparathyroidism”

Team member: Neil M. Masangkay, M.D.

Christopher Walter, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, College of Health Professions; “Physical Therapy Team Science to Address Movement Deficits in the Marshallese Community” Team members: Don Willis, Ph.D., and Holly Felix, Ph.D.

The UAMS Translational Research Institute (TRI) recently announced three recipients of pilot research grants that will support projects benefiting rural populations. 

The awardees, who will receive up to $50,000 each for their one-year projects, are:

David Church, Ph.D., Instructor, College of Medicine, Department of Geriatrics; “A Novel Method of Identifying Anabolic Resistance: Oral Amino Acid Tolerance Test (OATT)”

Rohit Dhall, M.D., Professor, College of Medicine, Department of Neurology; “Developing a Digital Resource Library for Arkansans with Parkinson Disease”

Manisha Singh, M.D., Associate Professor, College of Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine; “Pragmatic Approach to Chronic Kidney Disease Education in the Delta”

The UAMS Translational Research Institute (TRI) recently named two UAMS faculty as Data Scholars for 2021. The TRI Data Scholars Program supports UAMS faculty in learning and applying the principles and methods of data analytics and data sciences to inform clinical practice and policy. Scholars will pursue formal course work in addition to receiving mentoring during their science-focused research project.

The scholars and their project titles are:

Melanie MacNicol, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, College of Medicine, Department of Neurobiology and Developmental Sciences; “A Multidisciplinary Approach to Identify the Role and Regulation of Pituitary Function in Mediating Appropriate Responses to Metabolic Signals”

Michail Mavros, M.D., Assistant Professor, College of Medicine, Department of Surgical Oncology; “Extended Venous Thromboembolism Prophylaxis in Cancer Patients Undergoing Abdominal Surgery: Clinical Outcomes and Barriers to Implementation”

TRI data scholars receive 20% salary support, reimbursement for tuition and fees up to $5,000 per year, and mentoring support.

In this issue of The TRIbune, we look back at the significant collaborative effort to conduct a statewide antibody test for SARS-CoV-2. The study began with a phone call to Josh Kennedy, M.D., from the Arkansas Department of Health and quickly evolved into a major project.

Results of the seroprevalence study were published this week in the public database medRxiv (med archive).

We also name our newest Health Sciences Innovation and Entrepreneurship (HSIE) Postdoctoral Training Program scholars as well as the 2021 TRI Career Development Scholars Program recipients. 

Our TRI Study of the Month features Johnathan Goree, M.D.

Read The TRIbune.

LITTLE ROCK — Beverly Johnson-Wells, MLS, recently returned to her hometown of Helena-West Helena to serve as associate director of research for the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Rural Research Network (RRN) and UAMS Regional Programs.

Johnson-Wells will play a key part in expanding research into rural areas of Arkansas. Her role includes making community connections and developing procedures to help researchers conduct their studies in rural communities. She will also help implement new studies and monitor ongoing research at the eight Regional Campuses overseen by UAMS Regional Programs.

Johnson-Wells joined UAMS from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, where she held research administration and management positions in clinical research and community outreach.

Johnson-Wells received her Bachelor of Business Administration in management at Northwood University in Cedar Hill, Texas, and a Master of Liberal Studies degree in environmental sustainability and global studies at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. She is now in the final year of a doctoral program in organizational leadership at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology. 

The RRN is supported by a partnership that includes the UAMS Translational Research Institute, Regional Programs, UAMS Office of Community Health and Research and UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute.

The Translational Research Institute is supported by a Clinical and Translational Science Award from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences at the National Institutes of Health.

LITTLE ROCK — UAMS researchers and their community partners across Arkansas are studying the causes behind COVID-19’s devastating impact on minorities and developing plans to help increase vaccination rates.

Supporting the one-year project is a $1.4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Community Engagement Alliance (CEAL) Against COVID-19 Disparities. UAMS was one of 11 teams selected as part of the national alliance.

Last year, Arkansas was identified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as a national hot spot for COVID-19 disparities among Marshallese and Hispanic populations. The disparities in percentage of cases, hospitalizations and deaths among these populations were so severe that CDC and NIH officials visited Northwest Arkansas to investigate.

Black/African American and rural communities across the state have been struck hard, too, said Pebbles Fagan, Ph.D., MPH, one of three principal investigators on the study.

“Aggressive steps are needed to protect Black/African American communities from COVID-19 because their life expectancy declined by nearly three years since 2019. This is alarming,” said Fagan, professor and director of the Center for the Study of Tobacco at the UAMS Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health. She is also director of Research for the Office of Health Initiatives and Disparities Research in the College of Medicine’s Department of Surgery and Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute.

Also co-leading the study are:

• Laura James, M.D., director of the UAMS Translational Research Institute, associate vice chancellor for Clinical and Translational Research, and a professor in the College of Medicine Department of Pediatrics
• Pearl McElfish, Ph.D., MBA, director of the UAMS Office of Community Health and Research and associate director of Community Outreach and Engagement at the UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute. She is the outgoing vice chancellor for the UAMS Northwest Regional Campus. She also leads the Special Populations Core for the Translational Research Institute.

The UAMS CEAL Team project is titled, “COVID-19 PREVENT (Partnership for Rapid Engagement to Enhance Vaccine uptake for Everyone: Neighbors Working Together) Project.”

Critical to the project’s success will be leveraging a network of UAMS community partners representing more than 150 health clinics, community groups and faith-based organizations, McElfish said.

“UAMS has built broad grassroots community partnerships, and we’ll use that to develop and deploy effective strategies to help people better understand the virus and vaccines,” she said. “We’ll also develop methods for improving both trust and access to vaccines.” 

“The entire CEAL team is very happy that we have longstanding relationships with many partners who are ready to ramp up existing efforts so that we can reduce COVID-19 related illnesses, disability and deaths,” Fagan said.

Researchers will use a survey of Arkansans to aid the development of their intervention strategies.

“We need to better understand and address the factors contributing to the disproportionate burden of COVID-19 in minority communities,” James said. “We expect the information we gather, as part of a broad collaboration with our community partners, will help produce strategies for minority and underserved communities to better cope with future pandemics.”

“We want to make sure that Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino and Marshallese, and rural residents have access to trustworthy information to inform their decision-making about getting a vaccine,” Fagan said. “We want to make sure they receive equitable health care treatment and have easy access to a vaccine today and five years from now.”

Other UAMS researchers involved in the project are:

• Keneshia Bryant-Moore, Ph.D., FNP-BC, associate professor, Department of Health Policy and Management, College of Public Health
• Carol E. Cornell, Ph.D., professor and chair, Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, College of Public Health
• Geoffrey Curran, Ph.D., professor, Department of Pharmacy Practice, College of Pharmacy; director, Center for Implementation Research
• Margarete Kulik, Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, College of Public Health
• T. Elaine Prewitt, Dr.P.H., associate professor, Department of Health Policy and Management, College of Public Health
• Sheldon Riklon, M.D., associate professor, Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, College of Medicine
• James Selig, Ph.D., associate professor, Department of Biostatistics, College of Medicine
• Kate Stewart, M.D., professor, Department of Health Policy and Management, College of Public Health; director, Office of Community-Based Public Health; director, Community Engagement, Translational Research Institute
• Mark Williams, Ph.D., professor and dean, College of Public Health

TRI’s Career Development Scholars Program has selected four early-career researchers to receive two years of funded support and mentored translational research training. 

The program, which selects scholars through a competitive application process, provides 75% salary support and up to $25,000 per year for research, tuition, travel and education.

The KL2 Career Development Scholars (funded by TRI’s Clinical and Translational Science Award) are:

Maryam Y. Garza, Ph.D., M.P.H., M.M.Ci., Instructor in the Department of Biomedical Informatics
Project Title: Innovative Solutions to Streamline Data Collection, Exchange, and Utilization in Translational Research

Tremaine Williams, Ed.D., Assistant Professor in the Department of Biomedical Informatics
Project Title: Quantifying Clinical Team Social Network Influences on Care of Medically Complex Patients Using an Electronic Medical Record (EMR)

Adam Wolfe, M.D., Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Radiation Oncology- Project Title: “Targeting Homologous Repair to Overcome Genotoxic Therapy Resistance in Pancreatic Cancer”

The Institutional Career Development Scholar (funded by the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute) is:

Yong-Chen “William” Lu, Ph.D., Assistant Professor in the Department of Pathology
Project Title: A pilot study of developing T cell-based cancer immunotherapies for African American and Hispanic populations