In this edition:

Feature

Special News

Did You Know?

GCRCs Nurse Recognized as a 2022 Sustainability Innovator

Congratulations to Georgia CTSA Clinical Research Centers (GCRCs) nurse, Sam Smith. Sam has been recognized as a 2022 Sustainability Innovator by Emory’s Office of Sustainability Initiatives. We thank Sam for her leadership in reducing plastic waste from the GCRC at Emory University Hospital by redistributing unused supplies and equipment and finding an existing local program for recycling plastic film waste.

Funding (* New Opportunities)

NIH Funding Opportunities Specific to COVID-19

This page contains a listing of active and expired funding opportunities specific to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).

GA Cystic Fibrosis P30 Core Center Pilot Grant Program – LOI Due April 29

Major advances in the management of pulmonary manifestations of cystic fibrosis (CF) have led to a needed redirection toward non-pulmonary comorbidities that significantly impair quality of life and reduce long-term survival. Eligible investigators are invited to submit a Letter-of-Intent that will be reviewed by the P30 Program Steering Committee. Investigators who submit the highest quality LOIs will be invited to submit a full proposal.

Emergency Awards: RADx -UP - Social, Ethical, and Behavioral Implications (SEBI) Research on Disparities in COVID-19 Testing among Underserved and Vulnerable Populations (U01 Clinical Trial Optional) – Due May 2

The goal of this RADx -UP FOA is to conduct social, ethical, and behavioral implications search to understand and reduce barriers to COVID-19 testing, as well as COVID-19 disparities that arise from barriers to testing among underserved and vulnerable populations.

Emergency Award: RADx-UP Community-Engaged Research on Rapid SARS-CoV-2 Testing among Underserved and Vulnerable Populations (U01 Clinical Trial Optional) – Due May 2

The goals of this FOA are to implement and rigorously evaluate SARS-CoV-2 rapid testing strategies in communities experiencing COVID-19 health disparities. These two-year Rapid Testing Research Projects will evaluate (1) rapid testing interventions to prevent and control COVID-19 transmission among underserved and vulnerable populations and (2) partnership-driven research to implement and evaluate rapid testing and reduce COVID-19 disparities.

Bridges to the Doctorate Research Training Program (T32) – Internal Due June 15

FOA provides support to eligible, domestic institutions to develop and implement effective, evidence-informed approaches to biomedical training and mentoring that will keep pace with the rapid evolution of the research enterprise. NIGMS expects that the proposed research training programs will incorporate didactic, research, mentoring, and career development elements to prepare trainees for careers that will have a significant impact on the health-related research needs of the nation.

Education

Spring 2022 Soft Lithography for Microfluidics – April 28, 29

The Institute for Electronics and Nanotechnology (IEN) at Georgia Tech will offer a short course on “Soft Lithography for Microfluidics.” This course module is designed for individuals interested in hands-on training in the fabrication of microfluidic devices using the soft lithography technique. Due to the nature of the lab portion of the course, registration has a maximum of 15 participants.

Certificate Program in Translational Research (CPTR) – Apply by April 29

The Certificate Program in Translational Research (CPTR) is a formal 16-credit Emory Laney Graduate School program for trainees who seek to conduct research at the interface between basic and translational science and clinical medicine. The CPTR enhances and transforms translational research training for predoctoral PhD students, postdoctoral fellows (PhD or MD) and junior faculty at Emory University, Morehouse School of Medicine, Georgia Institute of Technology, and the University of Georgia.

Frontiers in Environmental Science and Health (FrESH) – Due May 1

FrESH will host an eight-day training on the Morehouse School of Medicine campus on June 5-12, 2022. Twenty faculty members will be selected to attend in-person lectures, trainee-guided problem-based learning, small discussions, and innovative laboratory courses in Environmental Health Science Research.

Research Resources

TEAMS Call for Mentors

Calling all mentors! Are you from Emory, MSM, UGA & Georgia Tech? The Georgia CTSA TEAMS (Translational Education and Mentoring in Science) Program provides faculty, postdocs, and clinical fellows from our member institutions the opportunity to develop professional skills in the areas of translational and clinical research, with special emphasis on multidisciplinary teams. This innovative, cohort-based model takes a three-pillared approach to mentoring and includes learning communities, 1:1 mentoring, as well as training, and resources.

N3C’s New Public Health Browser Makes COVID-19 Snapshot Data

The National Center for Data to Health’s National COVID Cohort Collaborative (N3C) Data Enclave houses the largest repository of COVID-19 data in the United States, with more than 4.5 million COVID+ patients. N3C recently launched the Public Health Browser, which provides snapshots of high-value health data for policymakers, investigators, and entrepreneurs to facilitate further research questions for better health outcomes.

Georgia CTSA Match

Looking to connect with experts in your field? Join the new Georgia CTSA Match! The platform encourages meaningful networking and collaboration by pairing researchers based on similar interests. These matches will help you to build networking opportunities acting as a catalyst to spur your research forward. Discover more and Join Now!

Georgia CTSA Ethical Dilemma of the Week

Data Representation: An Instance of Data Manipulation (PDF)

Innovation & Translation

GLUE Lecture - The Secret Sauce: Ingredients for Biomedical Startup Success - April 19

Join us via Zoom at 1:00 PM! Come learn from Dr. Lee Herron's extensive experience with the Georgia Research Alliance and from work with successful biomedical startups from Georgia's elite research institutions.

NIH Technology Accelerator Challenge for Maternal Health – Due April 22

The National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Biomedical Engineering is launching the NIH Technology Accelerator Challenge for Maternal Health. Up to $1 million in cash prizes to spur and reward the development of low-cost, point-of-care molecular, cellular, and/or metabolic sensing and diagnostic technologies to guide rapid clinical decision-making, improve patient outcomes, and ultimately prevent maternal morbidity and mortality.

Georgia Tech BME Capstone Design Fall 2022 – Due July 15

What's the answer to your "I wish I had..." or, "What if we could...?" when it comes to your ideas for enhancing patient care through novel medical device technology? What if you could partner alongside and advise a Georgia Tech Biomedical Engineering (BME) team to investigate and design a patentable solution for that idea in just 16 weeks? BME Capstone is seeking project proposals for the Fall 2022 semester. Capstone teams work over 500 hours per project to ideate, design, and prototype real solutions that address unmet clinical needs.

Community

Grant Writing Academy Training for Community-Based Organization - April 28, 29

Do you wish to develop or sharpen your grant writing skills? Here is an opportunity for you! Join us for a free interactive virtual training in the grant writing process. Topics include: What you should know about federal grant opportunities, finding data to support your ideas, writing effective goals and objectives, methods, budgets, and an introduction to potential academic partners.

RADx COVID-19 Research Testing

Emory, Georgia Tech, and Children's are working with NIH’s Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx) program to evaluate and bring more tests to market. Participants will receive a $50 gift card and free PCR COVID test. RADx is currently seeking symptomatic participants who may have COVID-19. Samples will be collected at 59 Executive Park South NE, Atlanta, by an experienced research coordinator or nurse, and you may receive a test kit with instructions to conduct a test on yourself or your child.

COVID-19 Variant Immunologic Landscape Trial COVAIL Trial (Phase II)

To address durability and effectiveness of CoVID-19 booster vaccinations in the context of variants of concern (e.g., Delta, Omicron, etc.), Morehouse School of Medicine has been selected as one of 26 sites to recruit/consent/enroll participants (for 4 week period, target 1500 trial participants across the U.S.) in Phase 2 randomized open-label, non-placebo controlled, multi-site, multi-stage clinical trial. If you are interested in this vaccine trial or know anyone who might be, please register. View flyer

GSK-Lullaby Study

This study is looking at different strengths of a potential new investigational vaccine (called the “study vaccine”) against chickenpox (varicella). The study will look at how safe the study vaccine is and will also determine whether it works to help prevent chickenpox in children. The study vaccine will be compared with an approved chickenpox vaccine, Varivax® (called the “reference vaccine”). Varivax® has been available for use in the USA since 1995. Please email us if interested.

Events

Atlanta Workshop for Single cell Omics – TODAY

AWSOM 2022 will be the first annual meeting hosted by the Atlanta Initiative for Single-Cell Omics and Analysis. This Workshop will both showcase our expertise and introduce four keynote speakers from across America. Two mini-symposia will highlight short talks in the areas of bioinformatics/single cell analytics, and in experimental applications of single cell technologies including scRNAseq, snATACseq, Multi-omics, and others, for biological, clinical, and translational research.

Healthcare Innovation Symposium: Beyond COVID – Lessons Learned – April 20

Join the Emory-Georgia Tech Healthcare Innovation Program and Georgia CTSA via Zoom on April 20 at 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM for the 37th Healthcare Innovation Symposium on ‘Beyond COVID – Lessons Learned’. The keynote speaker will be Mark McClellan, MD, PhD , Director of the Margolis Center for Health Policy at Duke University. This event is free and open to all faculty, staff and students.

Egleston Grand Rounds – April 20

Join us via Zoom at 8:00 AM to learn more about “Tissue-mediated Development of Adaptive Immunity in Humans” with Professor Donna Farber, Ph.D.

Use of Race in Research Town Hall – April 26

Join us via Zoom at 5:30 PM – 7:00 PM. This session will encourage participants to explore how is race utilized, reported, and interpreted in biomedical research. We will consider whether the use of race as a variable in clinical research is practical or problematic and how investigators can responsibly participate in health equity scholarship that leads to meaningful change?

CIAG Chalk Talk Seminar – April 29

Join us in person or via Zoom at 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM to learn more about “CIAG Faculty Chalk Talk” with Clinical Immunogeneticist Ashish Marwaha, MD, Ph.D.

Autism Treatment Symposium – April 29

The Autism Treatment Symposium is a one-day, virtual, symposium during which Marcus Autism Center faculty, staff, and other community professionals will disseminate their latest treatment research to their colleagues.

8th Annual Health Services Research Day – May 4

Join Georgia CTSA colleagues at Emory University SOM on May 4 for this symposium and networking opportunity where researchers across Georgia will learn about ongoing quality, effectiveness, and value-based research activities.

Pediatric Digestive Health Conference – May 14,15

Join us for a two-day conference in person or via Zoom! The purpose of the Pediatric Digestive Health Conference: Feeding, Allergy, Nutrition, and Swallowing Disorders and their psychological Impact is to bring together a multidisciplinary panel of experts to describe the current standard of care and present emerging state-of-the-art management approaches.

Atlanta VA Research Symposium – May 19

The Atlanta VA Research & Development Service Line will be hosting the first Annual Robert J. Pollet Memorial Symposium in person from 8:30 AM – 1:00 PM! Our event will feature a keynote lecture by an internationally recognized VA-funded, physician-scientist; presentations by several prominent Atlanta VA investigators; poster presentations by current investigators, students, and trainees; boxed lunches for registered attendees, and opportunities for discussion and collaboration.

Annual Southeastern Pediatric Research Conference – June 3

Join us in person at the Georgia Aquarium or virtually for the 11th annual conference. The conference will highlight the scope of pediatric research conducted across the US southeast, with emphasis on research from Emory, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Georgia Tech, and Morehouse School of Medicine. This year’s conference theme is "Development and Disease: Translating Insights from Genes and Environment to Transform Outcomes."