Georgia CTSA Leader Named to Georgia's Coronavirus Task Force

Georgia CTSA Clinical Research Centers (GCRCs) Core Laboratory Director Colleen Kraft, MD, MSc, has been named to Georgia Governor Brian Kemp's Coronavirus Task Force. The 18-member task force of health, airport, school and emergency preparedness officials has been asked to identify the best way to prevent the spread of the coronavirus in Georgia. Kraft will also be serving with fellow Emory infectious disease expert, Carlos del Rio, MD, on a NCAA coronavirus advisory panel “to guide its response to the outbreak of the coronavirus disease” given its upcoming basketball tournaments this month.

Colleen S. Kraft, MD, is an associate professor in the Department of Medicine Division of Infectious Diseases as well as an assistant professor in the Department of Pathology (primary appointment) at Emory University School of Medicine. Kraft was one of the physician leaders in the effort at Emory Hospital to receive and care for patients who had contracted Ebola virus disease in West Africa. Emory University Hospital has had a Serious Communicable Diseases unit since 2001, and Kraft has been a part of the semi-annual drills since 2010.

“In Dr. Kraft's role as the Core Laboratory Director of the Georgia CTSA Clinical Research Centers (GCRCs) at Emory, she has been instrumental in improving the processes and procedures of the Core Laboratory and contributes to the overall success of the GCRCs. As a Principal Investigator, Dr. Kraft receives continuous support from the GCRCs for several studies she has initiated," says Greg S. Martin, MD, MSc, Program Director, GCRCs.

Drs. Kraft and Martin are both graduates of Georgia CTSA's Master of Science in Clinical Research degree program. The program from the Laney Graduate School at Emory University provides didactic and mentored clinical and translational research training. The degree is designed for predoctoral trainees (medical students, PhD students, PharmD students), postdoctoral trainees (physician and PhD postdocs and PharmD residents), and junior faculty (MD, PhD, or PharmD) at Emory, Morehouse School of Medicine, Georgia Tech, and UGA College of Pharmacy who have a commitment to a career in clinical and/or translational research.

Georgia CTSA's multi-site Georgia CTSA Clinical Research Centers (GCRCs) is a multilayered, flexible, and geographically distributed network created to meet the needs of translational and clinical investigators from Emory University, MSM, UGA, Georgia Tech, and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (Children’s). The GCRCs offers dedicated space and a variety of resources ranging from core laboratory services to a bionutrition unit to support the research process at a subsidized cost. Clinical sites, including nursing services, are located at Emory University Hospital, Grady Memorial Hospital, UGA, MSM, Children’s, and Emory University Midtown.

The Georgia CTSA is a statewide partnership between Emory, MSM, Georgia Tech, and UGA and is one of over 50 in a national consortium striving to improve the way biomedical research is conducted across the country. The consortium, funded through the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) and the National Institutes of Health’s Clinical and Translational Science Awards, shares a common vision to translate laboratory discoveries into treatments for patients, engage communities in clinical research efforts, and train the next generation of clinical investigators.

Photo Credit: Kay Hinton