Category: news

Georgia CTSA announces up to $230,000 in pilot grant opportunities over two categories:

1. Pilot Translational & Clinical Studies (PTCS) – $200,000 (as many as five awards of up to $40,000 each in total direct costs) to develop and support innovative approaches to advance translational science through targeted funding. For more information, click here.
2. Biostatistics, Epidemiology & Research Design (BERD) – $30,000 (as many as two awards of up to $15,000 each in total direct costs) to promote novel biostatistical and epidemiological  methods for clinical & translational research. For more information, click here.

Georgia CTSA Mission – The institutions of the Georgia CTSA leverage their complementary strengths to accelerate clinical & translational education, research, and community engagement to impact health in Georgia and beyond.

Eligibility – Faculty from Emory University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Morehouse School of Medicine, and University of Georgia may submit proposals aligned with the two RFP categories.  All pilot project recipients will be eligible for the Georgia CTSA Award of Distinction in Team Science – “To further promote collaboration, the Georgia CTSA Executive Oversight Council will award an annual Award of Distinction in Team Science during their annual meeting to Georgia CTSA investigators who, through their multi-institutional, multi-disciplinary collaborations, have made a profound impact in CTR.”

The Clinical and Translational Research Unit (CTRU) has just announced an opportunity for FY18 funding (up to $40,000) to support pilot studies based in the CTRU. Proposals are due by August 21st, 2017. For more details, please review the seed grant announcement.

Emory and UGA join Augusta University and DHHS’ Office for Human Research Protection to host a Research Community Forum called “Navigating a River of Change: Bringing Research Up to Par.” The event takes place in Augusta, GA, July 18-19, 2017. The workshop will feature interactive presentations by OHRP staff on a range of topics related to the HHS regulations, including discussion of the revised Common Rule. The conference will include break-out sessions covering a variety of research topics such as central IRBs and related issues, genetics research, online consent, and reporting concerns. Connect with human research professionals from across the country and learn about the regulations directly from OHRP staff—don’t miss out!

Register at: http://www.augusta.edu/research/dhhs/– you may choose one- or two-day options.

Request for Applications for Seed Grant Funding

The Atlantic Pediatric Device Consortium (APDC) is pleased to announce its 7^th annual Pediatric Device Innovation Competition.  This seed grant competition is an opportunity for the scientific and business community including entrepreneurs, clinicians, scientists, businesses, academic researchers and medical and engineering graduate and undergraduate students, to develop and commercialize a pediatric medical device. Proposals are due July 31, 2017. Visit http://atlanticpediatricdeviceconsortium.org/innovation-competition for more information.

Registration is now open for the 2017 Academic & Industry Intersection Conference May 10, 2017 in Atlanta, GA. The one-day conference will be exploring the theme “From Sensors to Big Data: Personalized & Population Health in the Digital Age.” Registration is $20 for UGA faculty, staff and students; visit http://www.actsi.org/discovery/academic-and-industry-intersection-conference/2017.html for more information or to register.

UGA Columns has published an article on the CTRU preceding the upcoming open house. Read the full story here: http://columns.uga.edu/news/article/clinical-and-translational-research-unit-to-mark-one-year-anniversary/.

Please join us for the one-year anniversary celebration and open house at the Clinical and Translational Research Unit (CTRU), Friday, January 27 from 3-5pm. UGA investigators and trainees are invited to learn more about clinical and translational research pilot grants, CTRU services available to investigators, opportunities for expanding your research and collaboration through the CTRU, as well as clinical and translational science experience and education for trainees. The CTRU is located at 109 Bowstrom Rd. on the UGA Health Sciences Campus.

Six CTRU seed grants were recently awarded to investigator teams to start new clinical and translational research studies at the unit. The CTRU is excited to welcome these new investigator teams and their studies:

Jamie A. Cooper, PhD (Foods and Nutrition) and Ronald Pegg, PhD (Food Science and Technology).  Title: Antioxidant Responses to Exercise and Tart Cherry Consumption.

Brian Miller MD, PhD (Augusta University Dept. of Psychiatry), Rich Meagher, PhD (Genetics), Shelley Nuss, MD (AU/UGA Medical  Partnership). Title:  Inflammation and the Epigenome in Schizophrenia.

Jonathan Murrow, MD (AU/UGA Medical  Partnership), Melissa Hallow, PhD (Epidemiology and Engineering), Lynetta Jobe, DVM, PhD (AU/UGA Medical  Partnership), Kent Nilsson, MD (AU/UGA Medical  Partnership), Catherine Marti, MD, MSc (Piedmont Athens Regional).  Title: Evaluation of the effects of SGLT2 inhibition on cardiac hemodynamics and volume status in diabetic patients with preserved ejection fraction heart failure.

Assaf Oshri, PhD, Margaret Caughy, ScD, Emilie Smith, PhD (Human Development and Family Science), Cynthia Suveg, PhD (Psychology). Title: Early life stress, parenting and risky decision-making: A multilevel mechanism.

Cynthia Suveg, PhD and Ronald Blount, PhD (Psychology).  Title: Self-Regulation as a Predictor of Transition Readiness in College Students With and Without Medical Conditions.

Henry Young, PhD (Clinical and Administrative Pharmacy), Lokesh Guglani, MD (Emory University), Maria Len-Rios, PhD (Grady), Kyle Johnsen, PhD (Engineering), Stephen Rathbun, PhD (Biostatistics). Title: Improving chronic respiratory illness medication use by enhancing pediatric care communication.

We would like to thank all who applied for the seed grant awards this year. The quantity and quality of the applications far surpassed our expectations, and we are grateful for the continued interest in the CTRU.

AU/UGA Medical Partnership student Adolphia Lauture recently completed her summer experiential training in clinical and translational research at the CTRU, working with Dr. Jennifer Gay on a study that evaluates whether short bouts of vigorous exercise throughout the day can lower blood glucose in individuals at risk of diabetes.

Lauture, who is now a second year medical student, described the CTRU as a center that “allows students, faculty and community doctors the opportunity to add to medical research and advance health care for all.” Looking back on her summer experience, she said, “Witnessing the caliber of research that was being performed was very inspiring. Because of the CTRU, I was a part of medical research that can have a major impact on how we educate those with prediabetes to prevent diabetes.” Lauture received experience and education on many aspects of clinical research, including recruiting, consenting, following study protocols, and recording and evaluating data. She will present her poster at the Annual Medical Student Research Symposium on Monday, September 28^th.

The Clinical and Translational Research Unit (CTRU) has just announced an opportunity for FY17 funding (up to $50,000) to support pilot studies based in the CTRU. Proposals are due by September 9th, 2016. For more details, please review the seed grant announcement.