Congratulations to Angela Molloy, RN, BSN, CCRC, Clinical Research Project Manager, UC Neurology and Rehab Medicine, for her recent graduation of The Community Leaders Institute (CLI). The CCTST’s Acute Care Research Council (ACRC) thanks Angie for representing the council and inspiring the creation of an adult research participant advisory council (RPAC) at UC Health, planned for 2019.

The CLI is an eight-session leadership development training program offered by CCTST’s Community Engagement Program to help community partners and Academic Health Center (AHC) colleagues gain skills in program evaluation, clinical research, and network with other community agencies/practices. To learn more about the CLI, click here.

The April CCTST Grand Rounds, held on April 19, 2019, featured speaker Charles Hokayem, PhD, Administrator for the Kentucky Research Data Center and Economist in the Center for Enterprise Dissemination at the U.S. Census Bureau. Dr. Hokayem presented: “Research Possibilities in the Kentucky Research Data Center”.

Learning Objectives:

• Gain an overview of the Federal Statistical Research Data Centers

• Learn about the health, demographic, and business data available in the Kentucky Research Data Center

• Learn about the process of writing a proposal to access data

Target Audience: Physicians, healthcare practitioners, researchers, community health advocates

Click here to watch the presentation.

Click here to learn more about the Kentucky Research Data Center.

The KL2 Research Scholars Mentored Career Development Award is offered to highly qualified junior faculty pursuing careers in clinical and translational research. The KL2 program provides mentorship, career development opportunities, and financial support for salary and research-related expenses for up to two consecutive years. During the award period, Scholars are expected to pursue their own K23 (or similar individual career development awards) or R01 grants. Also involved in the Program are CT2 Scholars, which have the same goals and requirements as the KL2 but have a different funding structure.

All 8 of the current KL2 and CT2 Scholars are doing exceptional work across the Academic Health Center. Below are a few recent Scholar highlights:

Scholar Highlight:

Aristide Merola, MD, PhD, Neurology and Rehabilitation Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Cincinnati, has been an appointed KL2 Scholar since 2017. Dr. Merola was recently involved in conducting a systematic review and meta-analysis to determine if the results of subthalamic deep brain stimulation (DBS) surgery vary among different forms of Parkinson’s disease. DBS is a therapy used to improve motor functions in patients with Parkinson’s disease. The project, titled, “Association of Subthalamic Deep Brain Stimulation With Motor, Functional, and Pharmacologic Outcomes in Patients With Monogenic Parkinson Disease”, involved 518 patients from 17 published studies. The analysis found that the DBS treatment yielded similar results in motor function changes, but the dopaminergic doses, activities of daily living, motor complications, and cognitive function outcomes varied in patients with different gene mutations (LRRK2, GBA, or PRKN). The analysis was published in JAMA Network in February 2019; click here for more details.

Dr. Merola was also invited to present at the National German Meeting of Parkinson’s Disease in March 2019, where he spoke on, “Efficient Directional DBS Programming: Translating Directional DBS best programming practices in Clinical Studies to the Clinic with the InformityTM interface”.

ACTS Meeting:

The Association for Clinical and Translational Science (ACTS) hosts a national meeting each year in Washington D.C. with the mission of bringing together all of the disciplines involved in clinical and translational research, for the shared benefits of networking and education. Four CCTST KL2/CT2 Scholars presented at the 2019 meeting in March:

• Moises Huaman, MD, MSc, poster presentation: Mycobacterium bovis Bacille-Calmette-Guérin infection aggravates atherosclerosis

• Stephanie Merhar, MD, MS, poster presentation: Reduced structural and functional connectivity in infants with prenatal opioid exposure

• Timothy Phoenix, PhD, poster presentation: Brainstem In Utero Electroporation Models of Pediatric Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma

• Elizabeth Kramer, MD, PhD, platform and poster presentation: TGFbeta, Early Cytokine Dysregulation, and Airway Smooth Muscle Dysfunction in Cystic Fibrosis

A postdoctoral position is available in the Neurotrauma Laboratory of Drs. Laura Ngwenya and Jennifer McGuire. Duties will include the experimental design, execution, and analysis of research projects focused on traumatic brain injury. Previous experience working with animal models of brain injury is preferred. For more information, click here - Post Doc Fellow UC Neurotrauma. Interested candidates may email Dr. Laura Ngwenya directly.

The March CCTST Grand Rounds, held on March 15, 2019, featured speaker Cole Brokamp, PhD, Assistant Professor, Division of Biostatistics and Epidemiology at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. Dr. Brokamp presented: “Decentralized and Reproducible Geocoding and Characterization of Community and Environmental Exposures at Scale”.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand what geomarkers are and how they can be utilized in clinical and translational research

• Understand the privacy concerns and protected health information regulations surrounding the use of addresses and geocodes in research

• Understand the capability and availability of DeGAUSS, a free and open source software tool designed for HIPAA-compliant geomarker assessment within the Academic Health Center

Target Audience: Physicians, healthcare practitioners, researchers, community health advocates

Click here to watch the presentation.

NCATS is accepting pre-proposals to collaborate with the Center’s intramural scientists to advance promising compounds, drug candidates, and human cell-based models for pain, addiction, and overdose through pre-clinical development. The research collaborations are part of the NIH HEAL (Helping to End Addiction Long-term℠) Initiative.

The first pre-proposal deadline is March 18, with full proposals due on April 22. (Pre-proposals will be accepted on a rolling basis - second pre-proposal deadline is July 18, 2019)

• View the announcement to learn more.

• Learn more about NCATS Translational Research Collaboration Opportunities through NIH HEAL.

Content received from NCATS CTSA Program

Congratulations to ACRC partner, Stacey Ishman, MD, co-recipient of the College of Medicine’s “2019 Excellence in Mentoring Award”. This award is an honor presented for the third year by the UC COM’s Office of Student Affairs to recognize faculty who provide outstanding mentoring for medical students. Ishman is a professor in the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery and surgical director of the Upper Airway Center at Cincinnati Children’s. Her research is centered on outcomes in adults and children after treatment for obstructive sleep apnea. Nominations from medical students noted her dedication to providing research opportunities and career guidance.

The February CCTST Grand Rounds, held on February 15, 2019, featured speaker, Tiffani Johnson, MD, who presented: “Rated R: The Impact of Racism on Child Health”. This Grand Rounds presentation was part of the 2019 Health Equity Day. Dr. Johnson's presentation was one of the highest attended CCTST Grand Rounds, with more than 150 people in attendance.

Click here to watch the presentation.

As a program within the CCTST, the Center for Improvement Science (CIS) aims to develop collaboration initiatives. Connecting investigators to resources and collaborations is a need across the CCTST partner institutions and the community. To address this need, the CIS developed The Collaboration Network to overcome institutional and disciplinary barriers to connecting with colleagues with complementary interests.

The Collaboration Network (TCN) is a growing group of investigators, clinicians, and faculty that meet weekly to learn about each other, CCTST resources, and funding opportunities. The Thursday morning meetings take place in the Medical Sciences Building (MSB) on the UC Academic Health Center campus. WebEx is offered for those who are unable to participate in-person. Members of the group receive a weekly agenda and can choose to participate based on the topics and their availability. Guests and experts are frequently invited to participate in order to find collaborators or to provide information about a service or resource. On a monthly basis, the TCN highlights one of its members in the “Member Spotlight” session, in which a member presents their work, research, needs, and interests in collaboration. These sessions will be archived on the CIS website as a resource for TCN members and others.

The newest initiative of the TCN is a quarterly, topical session with invitees from across the university, other CCTST partner institutions and community organizations. The inaugural quarterly session took place on January 17, 2019. It had 82 participants (based upon login information for the program). The topic of the session was Aging. The following colleges, institutions, and organizations participated:

University of Cincinnati Colleges and Units: College of Allied Health Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, Blue Ash Campus, Clermont Campus, College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning, College of Education, Criminal Justice, Human Services, College of Engineering and Applied Science, College of Medicine, and College of Nursing.

Other Institutions and Organizations: Cincinnati Council on Aging, Episcopal Retirement Services (Marjorie P. Lee Residence), Live Well Collaborative, Maple Knoll Communities, Procter and Gamble, Tri-Health (Good Samaritan Hospital), UC Health (UC Medical Center-Evidence Practice Council), and the Cincinnati VA Medical Center.

The two-hour session included four short presentations from different locations: 1) Allied Health Sciences, 2) DAAP, 3) Nursing, and 4) Live Well Collaborative (including presentations by Live Well, P&G, and Council on Aging). The session also included a general discussion about potential collaborations and next steps. The CIS committed to gathering information on participants, creating a repository with the recording of the session, slide sets, and other resources. The CIS is creating a website that will organize these resources and those from future quarterly meetings. The CIS team is also organizing “next-step” meetings to help the group move forward on educational, research, and practice initiatives. The goal of these quarterly events is to create communication and collaboration networks to support broad-based initiatives, support faculty and investigators, and to support the missions of the organizational participants. The session and presentations can be viewed at: https://cctst.uc.edu/programs/cis/collaboration.

The CIS will be assessing the value and impact of TCN initiatives on the creation and effectiveness of social/professional networks, the development of collaborative projects, grants, and educational programs, and the overall productivity of individuals and organizations.

For more information about the TCN, contact Jack Kues or Laura Hildreth.

Congratulations to ACRC partner, Laura Ngwenya, MD, PhD, and the UC Neurosurgery Department for the success of the first UC Neurotrauma Symposium! The symposium was held on May 11 at the new UCGNI building. Speakers and attendees noted that the quality/importance of the talks and the overall impact of the syposium was great. Presentations will be posted soon.

The ACRC ‘Challenges & Risks in Acute Care Research’ seminar on April 1, 2019 was well-received, with over 45 researchers across the AHC and evaluations in the ‘very good’ to ‘excellent’ range. Thank you to our speakers and participants for the success of this learning and networking experience focused improving outcomes in the acute care setting.

Michele Russell-Einhorn, Chief Compliance Officer and Institution Official at Advarra presented at CCTST Grand Rounds on December 11, 2018. Her presentation, “How Changes to the Common Rule Affect Your Research,” is available. Click here to view a recording of the presentation.

The UC College of Medicine (UC COM) announced that the Collaborative for Research on Acute Neurological Injuries (CRANI) is the latest recipient of the annual UC COM Team Science Award.

The award letter received November 27, 2018 from Drs. Melanie Cushion and Jack Kues, states, "We commend you for your ability to successfully create and sustain this multi-disciplinary group. The Collaborative for Research on Acute Neurological Injuries, nominated by Dr. Kissela, was selected by a review panel of College of Medicine peer faculty.  As a recipient of this award your team will receive a honorarium of $3,000, recognition at the FY 2019 Research Recognition Awards Program (fall of 2019) and recognition in the College of Medicine FY 2019 Annual Research Report. Congratulations and good luck with your research!"

On Friday, November 16, 2018, the Collaborative for Research on Acute Neurological Injuries (CRANI) was pleased to host speaker Peter Margolis, MD, PhD, a pioneer in the Learning Health Systems approach to clinical care and research. Traditional concepts of research – from bench to phased trials to clinical care – are often inefficient and do not address existing practical clinical problems. Acute brain injuries in particular create unique challenges both for researchers and clinicians. Attendees learned about the development of Learning Health Systems, a networked model of outcomes-based research that allows for flexibility and efficiency in hypothesis testing in order to accelerate the pace of clinical and translational research insights.

The Research Participant Advisory Council (RPAC) and West End Community Research Advisory Board (WE C-RAB) have been busy providing feedback across the AHC for more than three years now to the research community across the AHC, touching on all aspects of research from the consenting documents and process, research design and recruitment materials and process, to effective community research methods. The following are brief updates about their work.

RPAC Update:

Now in its 3rd year of helping improve research at Children’s, the RPAC continues to provide invaluable feedback to the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center (CCHMC) research community. Some examples of their work, in partnership with others, include:

• Assisting in the creation of an e-Screener which has been launched institutional-wide, and has created a more efficient and “customer-friendly” recruitment process.

• Suggested improvements to the way in-patient and surgery research study recruitment is done, reviewing when and how to approach for research;

• Feedback about the Discover Together Biobank that reflected the participant perspective, including changing the name from Discovery Warehouse to what it is. As a next step, the RPAC will provide feedback on the accompanying website at their next meeting.

• Feedback as part of the “community consultation” for Exception From Informed Consent (EFIC) studies. They just had their first review and another one is on its way.

• Assisting additional researchers on specific research questions tied to their research studies.

• An on-going project with the ORCRA as an integral partner providing input on the coming Common Rule-mandated “Key Information” section of the informed consent form which has come with very little guidance on what this section should look like. The RPAC has helped identify what should be in the key information section and reviewed different consenting formats, with the goal of updating the CCHMC informed consent template. At their next meeting, the RPAC will participate in a set of focus groups including additional youth (11- 17 years old), to review and update the assent template as well.

WE C-RAB Update:

Serving as a resource to community researchers since June 2016, the WE C-RAB continues to provide invaluable feedback to researchers interested in improving how community research is done, as well as using Community-based Participatory Research (CBPR) practices to form partnerships with researchers who are matched with the West End’s health goals to improve the health of West End residents. Some examples of the projects and work include:

• Providing input for more than 10 researchers seeking feedback on either potential or existing community research that has relevance with the West End;

• In collaboration with research and community partners, held a Research Health Day this past spring that highlighted the WE C-RAB-identified health priorities, including basic first aid, stress reduction, asthma and health literacy;

• Feedback as part of the “community consultation” for Exception From Informed Consent (EFIC) studies. Just had their first review and next one is on its way;

• Partnership with researcher Melinda Butsch Kovacic, MPH, PhD, CAHS Associate Dean of Research, on WE Engage 4 Health a citizen science-based grant designed to engage citizens in health science and science research learning, including complex health and environmental questions relevant to the West End.

• Partnership with Tiffany Grant, PhD, Interim Assistant Director for Research and Informatics, UC Health Sciences Library on a grant focused on making the Seven Hills Neighborhood Houses, where WE C-RAB meets, a “Health Hub” in the neighborhood to improve health literacy. This includes having health information and blood pressure kiosks on-site, as well as holding cooking classes to reduce hypertension.  

RPAC and WE C-RAB are resources for ALL in the AHC research community.

If you would like to learn more about how the RPAC or WE C-RAB can help with your research study or project, visit our webpage or contact Julie Wijesooriya at julie.wijesooriya@cchmc.org or 513-517-1076.

The October CCTST Grand Rounds, held on October 19, 2018, featured speaker Susan Sprigg, Research Officer at Interact for Health, who presented “Community Surveys”.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the population health surveys for our region sponsored by Interact for Health

• Share selected results from each survey

• Describe how researchers can access and use these data

Click here to watch the presentation.

Acute Care Research Council (ACRC) partner Rich Ruddy, MD, was named Chief of Staff at Children's Liberty Campus. Dr. Ruddy has been the Medical Director at the Liberty Campus since 2015 and division director of Emergency Medicine prior to that. He holds the appointment as a Professor of Pediatrics in the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.

“The role change from medical director to being the Liberty Campus chief of staff, I anticipate, will expand my ability to fully partner internally and with our community to establish more integrated services that are convenient and deliver consistent evidence-based care. The connection of our northern strategy with our current expansion in Avondale with the Critical Care Tower is a great opportunity to anticipate the needs of all children who can have better outcomes through our best practices,” said Rich. Read more on CCHMC CenterLink.

The September CCTST Grand Rounds, held on September 21, 2018, featured speaker Eleni Rosalina Andrinopoulou, Department of Biostatistics at Erasmus Medical Center, who presented “Assessing Risk Indicators in Clinical Practice with Joint Models of Longitudinal and Time-to-Event Data”.

Click here to watch the presentation.

The July CCTST Grand Rounds, held on July 20, 2018, featured speaker Abel N. Kho, MD, Director, Center for Health Information Partnerships (CHiP), Northwestern University, who presented “Record Linkage Misadventures and what we’ve learned along the way”.

Learning Objectives:

1. Describe methods for linking by person, place and time

2. Understand available methods for privacy preserving record linkage

3. Outline considerations when selecting linkage methods for specific clinical research use cases

Click here to watch the presentation.