Back row (L to R): Pam Dillion (VCU), Madeline Gibson (UAB), Margaret Schneider (UCI), April Bagaporo (UCI), Hardeep Ranu (Harvard), Renee McCoy (MCW). Front row (L to R): Nia Indelicato (UAMS), Tanya Matthews (OSU), Aileen Dinkjian (USC), and Adam Davidson (UW).
As one of the nine founding Hubs in the CTSA External Reviewer Exchange Consortium (CEREC), the CCTS recently attended the first F2F meeting of CEREC members. The overarching goal was to share lessons learned about the administration and management of pilot programs so that all CTSAs might improve their pilot review processes, up to and including replicating CEREC. CCTS Pilot Program Manager Madeline J. Gibson, MPH, traveled to Los Angeles, CA, to represent CCTS at the meeting, which took place January 31-February 1, 2019, and was supported by an NCATS administrative supplement.
What Is CEREC?
CEREC was established in 2017 to provide an outlet for obtaining external reviews for CTSA-funded pilot research and so minimize the likelihood of bias and conflicts of interest. CEREC also offers a larger pool of expertise from which to draw precisely matched reviews for scientific lines of inquiry that may not be well represented within the institution receiving the proposal.
CEREC comprises nine CTSA Hubs: Harvard Catalyst; Medical College of Wisconsin; Ohio State University; University of Alabama at Birmingham; University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences; University of California - Irvine; University of Southern California; University of Washington; and Virginia Commonwealth University.
How Does CEREC Work?
When a new round of pilot proposals require review, each participating CTSA identifies and solicits reviewers within their pool of investigators. Investigators who agree to review are then connected to the requesting site for instructions and next steps. Each institution utilizes CEREC a bit differently, from the number of reviews requested per pilot proposal to the logistics of the external review process itself. This flexibility is undoubtedly part of the success of the program. CEREC members stay in touch with emails and monthly teleconferences.
CEREC Impact
To date, CEREC has provided 354 reviews for 277 pilot proposals. The CCTS Partner Network has had 49 pilot proposals reviewed by investigators at the other CEREC institutions and has also provided 49 reciprocal reviews. CEREC reviews have become a critical element in the comprehensive internal, external, and community-based review process employed by the CCTS to identify and support the best science across the Partner Network.
CEREC also enables the rapid dissemination of innovative approaches to all phases of CTSA pilot program management, from application to close out. Novel techniques shared at the meeting included using a REDCap system to receive and review pilot applications and using SmartSheet, a cloud-based project management tool, to track pilot projects throughout the award year.
Other ideas addressed how to identify internal and community pilot reviewers, how to expeditiously comply with NCATS prior approval guidelines, and meaningful ways to thank pilot reviewers for their invaluable contributions. CEREC members also discussed potential metrics, beyond those required by NCATS’s Common Metrics initiative, by which to gauge pilot success.
Next Steps
CEREC members also finalized their Manual of Procedures (MOP) at the meeting. CTSA administrators who are interested in receiving a copy or standing up a new CEREC group should contact Dr. Margaret Schneider at
Editor’s Note: Many thanks to Madeline Gibson for her contributions (reporting, editing, and photo) to this news brief.