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This month’s Forum featured panelists from across the CCTS partner network who share a special area of research expertise—all have served on an NIH study section since the rollout of that institution’s rigor, reproducibility, and transparency requirements (aka “R2T”), which took effect earlier this year. 

In less than an hour, and while enjoying stellar refreshments, attendees received numerous tips to help ensure their next grant successfully tackles NIH’s R2T requirements. Although more than one panelist acknowledged the enforcement of the requirements is still a bit hazy, with one stating “we are all learning as we go,” they stressed that applicants who make an evident effort to address R2T—including the authentication attachment—will make a better impression on reviewers than those who don’t. 

Other helpful thoughts and suggestions included:

• Incorporate a plan for regular authentication of key biological/chemical resources, with regularity defined in keeping with the study’s goals.
• Authentication of commercial resources needs to be more than noting where a resource was purchased; antibodies in particular get special attention from the NIH due to variability within certain commercial lots leading to differing results in the past.
• Budget issues are not an acceptable reason for skipping consideration of relevant biological variables, such as sex; a scientific rationale is required.
• Investigators are not required to power a study to detect sex differences, but need to include them to observe variations in response and so produce more generalizable results.
• Be explicit and use NIH language when addressing scientific premise. Delineate how the proposed work will fill a gap or extend what is known. 
• NIH focus on rigorous design is nothing new, just a re-emphasis of what has always been important. 

The CCTS wishes to thank its outstanding panelists for sharing their time and insights:

• Bruce Bunnell, PhD, director, Center for Gene Therapy, Tulane
• Christopher Easley, PhD, associate professor, Chemistry & Biochemistry, Auburn
• Mark Gillespie, PhD, chair, Pharmacology, University of South Alabama
• Emily Levitan, ScD, associate professor, Epidemiology, UAB
• Hua Lu, MD, PhD, chair, Biochemistry, Tulane
• Vishnu Suppiramaniam, PhD, DVM, assistant dean, Research and Graduate Programs, Auburn
• Jianhua Zhang, PhD, associate professor, Division of Molecular & Cellular Pathology, UAB

Still have questions about R2T and how to address it in your grant? We have the answers, contact CCTS Research Commons (via This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 205-934-7442). 

For those who were unable to attend the Sept. Forum, a video of the panel discussion will soon join our other online NIH Rigor and Reproducibility resources, including a suite of R2T videos and samples of authentication appendices in our Grant Library.

The CCTS annual pilot program is officially open and accepting applications from full-time investigators with a faculty appointment at one of the 11 CCTS partner institutions. “Our goal is to fund new interdisciplinary clinical and translational projects that are consistent with the CCTS mission and show promise for growing into mature research programs,” said CCTS Research Commons Executive Administrator Dr. Jennifer Croker. 

The CCTS Hub commits half of the $60,000 direct cost award, with the applicant expected to identify at least one non-CCTS cosponsor. Awards are limited to 12 months, with a start date of April 1, 2017. The first step of the two-phase application process is to submit a Letter of Intent (LOI) by 5pm CT on October 17, 2016. Prospective applicants must request an LOI form from CCTS Research Commons (via This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or calling 205-934-7442). 

So what are the ingredients for a successful CCTS pilot proposal? 

• Research can be at any stage along the translational spectrum, from the biological basis of health and disease to interventions that aim to improve the health of individuals and the public. 
• Research addressing scientific questions of particular importance to the health of Deep South communities, including health disparities and health challenges across the lifespan; community-based participatory research; medical device development; and innovative approaches to promote participant recruitment to clinical studies, will be given a higher priority. 
• Collaboration is another key factor. “Special consideration will be given to projects that bring together investigators from two or more partner institutions,” Croker explained. She noted the goal is to support team science and innovative discovery across the CCTS partner network.

An updated pilot program web page highlights additional eligibility criteria, key dates, funding guidelines, and study design consideration. It also provides links to the complete RFA and a flyer promoting the program. Please help us spread the word of this unique opportunity by sharing the flyer with any potentially interested colleagues.

More than 50 eager investigators attended the CCTS Professional Skills Development Series (PSDS) seminar in August, presented by Dr. David B. Allison, UAB associate dean for science and director, Nutrition and Obesity Research Center. The crowd packed the PCAMS library, requiring an overflow room to accommodate everyone.

The high interest was a testament to the grant expertise of the speaker and CCTS as well as the competitive nature of federal funding. Attendees left armed with both practical and “not so practical” tips, such as:

• Talk to the program officer early on 
• Request reference letters early 
• Do not present information that reviewers are not required to assess 
• If you include preliminary data in your proposal, “be sure it’s rock solid”
• Make points easy to understand and interesting (“if you haven’t got the reviewer in the first 5 minutes, the game is over”)
• Read it out loud
• Obtain feedback on full drafts from non-scientists as well as peers
• Collaborate with others in your field (“it’s not what you don’t know, it’s who you know”)
• Contact CCTS for a project panel

Dr. Allison also busted several myths, noting “an R21 is not a mini-RO1,” “creativity is a decision and takes courage,” and the unlikely odds that one will get a grant on the 1^st (or 5^th or 10^th) try. Tips on how to respond to rejection of a grant application were visibly reassuring to numerous attendees, drawing laughs of recognition when he described the “sordid aftermath” of a grant rejection as described by Underwood in 1957. “This is a tough game,” he reminded the group. “But know you’re in good company if you get rejected!”

He stressed it is important to take reviewer comments seriously, know the difference between a hopeless and plausible project, and prepare to resubmit in the next cycle. He ended by exhorting the crowd to remember a quote by Louis Pasteur—“My strength lies solely in my tenacity.” 

This seminar video is now available on the CCTS YouTube channel. In the meantime, mark your calendar for our next PSDS on Wednesday, Sept. 14, when Dr. Thomas Huddle, professor, UAB Department of Medicine, will present on “The Ethics of Research Design: Assessing Risk and Benefit.”

A contingent of University of Alabama (UA) researchers recently paid a visit to the CCTS, spending the better part of Thursday, August 25, meeting with CCTS faculty and staff, sharing research interests, touring HUB facilities, and discussing opportunities for deeper collaboration. UA is one of the 11 CCTS partner institutions.

The day began with face-to-face meetings between the UA researchers and leadership of several key CCTS domains, including the Training Academy, Informatics, Biostatistics-Epidemiology-Research Design (BERD), and Research Commons. The UA contingent, including Drs. Kristi Crowe-White, Kristine Graettinger, Yonghyun Kim, Janis O’Donnell, Laura Reed, Edward Sazonov, and Jason Parton, then took turns describing their programs of research over lunch. Opportunities for joint endeavors, from possible HO-1 homologues in Drosophilia to wearable mobile devices that can track food intake or blood pressure, were also identified.

The UA visitors then broke into groups based on their disciplines and areas of interest to tour specific facilities at the HUB. These included the Clinical Research and Bionutrition units, Departments of Biology and Engineering, and labs focused on population genetics and neurodegenerative diseases. One group also met with experts involved with the AimTech and i-Corps-based training initiatives.

UA Site Lead Dr. John Higginbotham, associate dean for research and health policy and director of the Institute for Rural Health Research, was also on hand for the visit. After returning to UA, he reported, “the energy and enthusiasm of the CCTS is infectious, and it did ‘jump’ to my colleagues here at UA.”

The CCTS looks forward to continuing to “infect” partner institutions with the vision of what clinical and translational team science can achieve to move the needle on our shared mission. To schedule a visit with us, contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., executive administrator, CCTS Research Commons.