CCTS Director Dr. Robert Kimberly provided an “on ramp” to the CCTS at the Dept. of Obstetrics and Gynecology Grand Rounds.CCTS Director Dr. Robert Kimberly recently presented at the Dept. of Obstetrics & Gynecology Grand Rounds. After reviewing the CCTS mission and components, he touched on the myriad ways CCTS brings value to the clinical and translational research enterprise at UAB and beyond.
“Our job is to accelerate the flow of discovery into delivery of health care; train our workforce across all disciplines; engage with our communities; and improve the clinical and translational research process from discovery to delivery, keeping our focus on the ultimate goal of improving human health,” he said.
Below we spotlight some of our most impactful CCTS capacities, learning opportunities, and collaborative platforms. We encourage our readers to share this information with colleagues who might benefit from joining CCTS—hot links to these and other CCTS activities are also available in our Welcome letter.
Science Support
The CCTS works with investigators at any stage of a project, from nascent idea to publication of findings, to ensure the highest level of extramural success.
Project Panels
Our panel recipients enjoy a much higher chance of receiving a fundable grant score—our average is more than three times the NIH baseline funding rate.
Informatics Gateway
A special venue for project development with an emphasis on bio- and/or clinical informatics expertise in which investigators bring innovative ideas for discussion to explore opportunities and novel research directions that can be enabled through scholarly partnership and collaboration (in contrast to connecting investigators to service providers).
BERD Consults
Our biostatistics, epidemiology, and research design (BERD) experts work closely with any investigator in need of support, especially during the critical design and implementation stages of a research project. Drop by for one of our weekly clinics or request a one-on-one consult.
Grant Library
We work with investigators across our Partner Network to offer this compendium of award-winning grant writing samples. Our NIH samples showcase best practice at the meeting the latest federal rigor, reproducibility, and transparency requirements.
Funding
Through our annual Partner Network Multidisciplinary Pilot program, we seek to fund new interdisciplinary clinical and translational projects. Other avenues of support include our voucher program and unique mini-sabbatical opportunity.
Explore our Research Commons domain for more ways CCTS can help you sharpen your science.
Research Collaboration
The CCTS seeks to catalyze collaborative efforts in research, taking a team science approach whenever possible to synergize efforts and speed the pace of discovery and its translation into improved health care.
SHRINE Consortium
CCTS has joined with other CTSA Hubs to federate data from each institution, creating a region-wide resource that enables more powerful comparative effectiveness research, clinical trial feasibility analysis, and recruitment by researchers with i2b2 expertise.
Southeast Health Alliance for Research (SHARe)
This 12-member consortium builds on the strengths of our CCTS Partner Network to provide a transformed multisite trials platform featuring faster time-to-activation, better coordination, and a robust recruitment pool.
Explore our Partnerships domain to find other collaborative platforms available through CCTS.
Professional Development
The CCTS promotes the continuous development of a diverse, multidisciplinary research workforce. We offer trainings and educational programs suitable for wherever you are on the career arc, including learning activities tailored for K and T scholars.
Clinical and Translational Science Training Program (CTSTP)
Boost your career with this free six-month certificate program in the latest clinical and translational research competencies. Currently accepting applications--submit by 5pm on Wed. Nov. 22, 2017.
Case Studies in Mentoring
Whether you are a mentor or a mentee, this eight-week seminar series will help you more successfully navigate the challenges in professional relationships.
Accessing Clinical Data for Research with i2b2
Join our hands-on training with i2b2 to explore using UAB's electronic health record data for your research data needs. You can use i2b2 to determine study feasibility, explore hypotheses for clinical studies, identify potential participants and even win money! Check out the i2b2 contest.
Explore our Training Academy domain and Clinical Translational training page for more learning opportunities.
Clinical Research Support
The CCTS offers state-of-the-art settings for adult and pediatric research as well as a number of clinical research supports, including biospecimen handling and storage, clinically trained research staff, and bionutrition. We facilitate the research process by tailoring our supports to meet the individual needs of each investigator we assist.
Clinical Research Support Program (CRSP)
In addition to keeping clinical researchers and their teams current on the latest regulatory requirements, CRSP offers assistance with feasibility, recruitment, implementation, budget building, monitoring, and data management.
Explore our Clinical Translation domain to learn more.
Innovation
The CCTS supports innovation through many pathways, including the NSF-inspired I-Corps initiative, education through gamification, and the development of new drugs and devices.
Kaizen
Kaizen is a gamification platform the CCTS uses to develop trainings in core competencies. The most popular of these is our Rigor Reproducibility & Transparency (R2T) Kaizen game. Open to players across the CCTS Partner Network, R2T addresses the NIH requirement for all F, K, and T fellows to receive formal training in this area and can be used by institutional training programs (e.g., T32, K12) to fulfill this education expectation in a fun and innovative way.
Academic Drug Discovery and Device Development Program (AD4)
Through the AD4, CCTS offers investigators access to multidisciplinary project development teams that provide expertise tailored to a study's aims, including medicinal chemistry, high-throughput assay development, engineering, clinical application, and commercialization.
Explore our Special Modules domain to learn more about our latest innovative projects.
Community Engagement
Through its community engagement component, One Great Community, CCTS helps investigators leverage neighborhood and community relationships to build mutually respectful and beneficial programs underpinning service to our patients and populations.
Community Engagement Institute
The CEI is an annual learning and networking event that draws both researchers and community leaders to share best practices at the nexus of health, environmental renewal, and civil inclusion and empowerment. Our 4th annual event took place in October (for more, see “4th Annual CEI Advances Regional Health Equity Dialogue.”)
Regional Consortium
Drawing on the experience of the OGC, CCTS has organized a regional community engagement consortium, with active participation by several CCTS Partners. The overarching goal is to leverage institutional experiences to strengthen substantive community engagement across the Deep South, including developing and disseminating best practices in support of community engagement in different environments.