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CCTS Digest 12.4 .15 | www.uab.edu/ccts
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Partner Network:
While we invite you to take part in all of our programs, items featuring this icon may be of particular interest. Look for the symbol throughout the Digest. Have news you'd like to share? Send it to: ccts@uab.edu
Spotlight on: CCTS KL2 Awardee 
Dr. Courtney Peterson
Pennington Biomedical Research Center

Courtney Peterson, PhD, MSC, is assistant professor in the Pennington Biomedical Research Center's Skeletal Muscle Physiology Laboratory. She is one of four CCTS Mentored Career Development Program (KL2) awardees for 2016. Peterson said she learned about the award opportunity from her center's director, Dr. William Cefalu. Prior to applying for the K award, Peterson had participated in a CCTS Panel for an NIH-funded K award application.
 
"I had gotten very helpful feedback on that," she says. "I changed the scope of the application significantly, but this award is on very similar research."
 
Peterson's K award tackles, "Meal Timing Affects on Circadian System in Humans," looking at how meal timing affects health, in particular, energy balance and the circadian clock.

Three to four years ago, Peterson says she learned of animal studies suggesting that grazing, or eating throughout the day, may not be beneficial for health, and that in fact eating early on in the day in a very narrow time period might be beneficial. The studies looked at two groups of rodents-one which ate only within an 8-hour period, and one which ate all day long-and the grazing group burned fewer calories relative to body weight each day.
 
"I thought this was absolutely fascinating," Peterson recalls. What she thinks might be happening in these studies is:
1)    By having a longer fasting period each day between dinner and breakfast, the body has a longer repair period, which may lower levels of oxidative stress as well as allow time for reparative processes.
2)    By eating early in the day, we may be taking advantage of eating at the best time as determined by circadian rhythms-optimal times where your body is best at doing certain things (for example, testosterone levels are highest at the morning; sleep is best at night). Blood sugar control is better during the morning, she says, and starts to decline during the afternoon and evening.
 
"I wanted to see what happened when people eat their dinner super early in the day," Peterson says, "and see how eating earlier relative to the time when you go to sleep affects the body."
 
She's conducting two pilot studies looking at eating early in the day, one taking men with prediabetes and having them test both eating early in the time (time-restricted feeding) and grazing.
 
"We're primarily looking at what it does to their blood sugar control," she says

The second study looks at overweight men and woman and tests how grazing versus time-restrictive diets affect how many calories they burn-they spend 24 hours in a respiratory chamber. She plans to look at metabolic hormones to determine if they might be related to changes in the body's internal clock.
 
In the training and career development portion of her KL2, Peterson plans to do a 10-week training session with Frank Scheer, PhD, who holds joint appointments at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School. "He does clinical research on circadian rhythms, sleep, and meal restrictions, so I'll be training with him on standardization [of circadian studies]." Additional training will take place with Karen Gamble, PhD, with the UAB Nutrition and Obesity Research Center, to learn about molecular and animal model techniques.
 
"The biggest thing that was helpful for me from the application process for the KL2 was all of the feedback, and the support and mentoring resources. Going through the process and helped me articulate the kind of research I want do," she says.
 

Wednesday, December 16
Repeat based on popular demand:
"New Year, New NIH Expectations: Are You Ready?"
Presented by Dr. David Redden and Dr. Jennifer Croker
Noon-1pm
PCAMS, 1924 7th Avenue South
Pizza lunch served

Join the UAB CCTS on Wednesday, December 16, as we reprise the recent changes announced by the NIH expectations related to reproducibility, rigor, and transparency in grant applications, progress reports, and and peer review. These will affect anyone submitting a grant to the NIH or AHRQ. We will review the changes in detail so you'll be well prepared for your next application. If you missed our Forum on Dec. 2 but want to learn more about what you need to do to be NIH compliant in 2016 and beyond, we'll see you there! 
Seminars
Seminars, Symposia and Conferences
Monday, December 7
UAB-VA Health Services, Outcomes, and 
Effectiveness Research (HSOER) Training Program
 
"Career Mapping and the Academic Job Search"
 
Presented by  Nicole Redmond, MD, PhD, MPH
Assistant Professor
Division of Preventive Medicine
University of Alabama at Birmingham
10-11:30am
Medical Towers 634
  
Thursday, December 10
Professional Skills Development Series (PSDS)
Title:  "The Temptation to Manipulate Images"
with Jeffrey A. Engler, PhD
Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics
 
Learning goals:
·         Define what constitutes image fraud
·         Describe tools to detect inappropriate manipulation of figures and micrographs
·         Share best practices for archiving data
·         Responding to allegations of image fraud in your publications


 
The PSDS program is also available via  GoToMeeting using the following: 
 
Please join my meeting from your computer, tablet or smartphone.  https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/840329197
You can also dial in using your phone: (224) 501-3412
Access Code: 840-329-197
IRB TRAINING NOTICE

The  UAB Office of the IRB has posted information regarding continuing training for investigators involved in human subjects research that must be completed by December 31, 2015. For more information, please visit: 
http://uab.edu/research/administration/news/Pages/IRB-continuing-training-requirement-for-2015.aspx
 
If you have questions about IRB training requirements, please contact the Office of the IRB at 934-3789.
ACTS Travel Awards Now Available! January Deadline

The Center for Clinical and Translation Science (CCTS) is pleased to offer travel awards to investigators and trainees across the CCTS Partner Network who are interested in presenting their work at the upcoming ACTS Translational Science Meeting.

Available for investigators and teams at all levels of career development, with special emphasis on junior faculty, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate students. Requires an abstract submission as a presenter at theTranslational Science 2016 Meeting, taking place April 13-15, 2016 , at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, DC. 

What You Will Experience at ACTS:
  • Translational Science 2016 will offer more continuing education than ever before!
  • Hear dedicated plenary sessions, view abstracts during expanded poster-hall viewing hours with dedicated oral presentation time, and over thirty 60-minute breakout sessions covering the following topic areas:
  • Translational Science in the Digital Age
  • Dissemination and Implementation Science
  • Team Science
  • Learning and Development Science
  • Innovation and Entrepreneurial Science
  • Integrity & Conduct of Clinical and Translational Science
  • Translational Science Acceleration
  • Informative Examples of Translational Science
  • The Translational Science Meeting spotlights cutting-edge achievements in clinical and translational investigation, research impact, networking and scientific community, exposure to novel methods, best practices and important resources, and career development programs.
Learn more about the meeting and  REGISTRATION INFORMATION  for Translational Science 2016.

Travel awards of up to $1,000 will be available from the CCTS to match funds from the researcher's department.

Please submit the following materials to the CCTS to apply for your travel award:
  • Copy of submitted abstract
  • Letter from the Chair of your Department specifying they will provide matching funds in the amount of $1,000 towards travel.

Please submit your application for a travel award to Angie Schmeckebier/CCTS Research Commons at  ccts@uab.edu  no later than January 11, 2016.
Biostatistics
BIOSTATISTICS & BIOREPOSITORY*(*new!)

Mondays
Epidemiology/Biostatistics Clinic in The Edge of Chaos
This clinic provides the UAB community access to epidemiology and biostatistics resources.  Available most Mondays, 10am-2pm in The Edge of Chaos (Lister Hill Library, 4th floor).  Check the Edge of Chaos calendar   for confirmation of meeting dates and times. 

UAB CCTS Biostatistics & Biorepository Clinics                                                   
Biostats: Weekly on Wednesdays, 11:30am-1pm
Biorepository: First Wednesday of each month, 11:30am-1pm
PCAMS Building 1924 7th Avenue South

We've expanded our Biostats Clinic to include members of our CCTS Biorepository Team. On the FIRST WEDNESDAY of each month, experts from our CCTS Core Lab will join the CCTS Biostats experts to answer questions and provide consultative services on any aspect of specimen collection, specimen management, specimen processing and biorepository needs.

The Biostatistics & Biorepository Clinicare open to all faculty members, post-docs, fellows, residents, and students. Attendees are invited to bring statistical and methodological questions about on-going research projects, projects being planned, manuscripts in progress, responses to peer reviewers, and published articles. They are also invited to bring their laptops. Assistance will be provided by members of the  CCTS BERD & Biorepository groups. A light lunch is served.    


HOLIDAY SCHEDULE
The weekly Wednesday Biostats Clinics will take a break for certain dates during the holiday season. 

Remaining clinics in 2015 will be held:
 
December 9
December 16
 
The first clinic of 2016 will be held on January 6.


BERD Design Consultation Available Today
If you can't visit the clinic, please contact the BERD  or the Core Lab at your convenience  by emailing ccts@uab.edu,  calling  (205) 934-7442, or connecting through  Research Commons on the CCTS home page. 

UAB Center for Clinical and Translational Science |   ccts@uab.edu | www.uab.edu/ccts
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