CTSI Update
Access to COVID-19 Samples via the MassCPR Sample Sharing System 
As many of you know, Boston Medical Center and Boston University are members of the Massachusetts Consortium on Pathogen Readiness (MassCPR). This initiative, led by Harvard Medical School, was convened one year ago with the mission to develop and invest in research projects and infrastructure to address the current global COVID-19 pandemic. Read Full Announcement Here
Reminder
Session 4: Improving Research for People with Low English Proficiency
Apr. 26, 2021, 12 - 1 p.m.

Presented by Michael K. Paasche-Orlow, MD, MA, MPH,
Sarah L. Kimball, MD, Glory Ruiz, MD, & Michael Berhe

The goal of this series is to provide an understanding of the ethical background, regulatory knowledge, and models of best practices for conducting research when the participants represent special populations and vulnerable subjects.
New Funding Opportunities

Emergency Award: RADx-UP - Social, Ethical, and Behavioral Implications (SEBI) Research on Disparities in COVID-19 Testing among Underserved and Vulnerable Populations (U01 Clinical Trials Optional)


Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): Administrative Supplements for Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics-Underserved Populations (RADx-UP) Phase I Projects to Address Vaccine Hesitancy and Uptake


Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): Emergency Competitive Revisions for Community-engaged COVID-19 Testing Interventions among Underserved and Vulnerable Populations – RADx-UP Phase II

Office of The Director, National Institutes of Health (OD)

Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): Characterization of Genomics of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Lines for AD/ADRD Research

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)

Advancing Health Literacy to Enhance Equitable Community Responses to COVID-19

Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health

Notice of Special Interest: Research to Advance the Understanding and Management of the Multiple Organ Dysfunction Syndrome in Children (R01, R21)

Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)

Transformative Research to Address Health Disparities and Advance Health Equity at Minority Serving Institutions (U01 Clinical Trial Allowed)

Office of Strategic Coordination (Common Fund)

Transformative Research to Address Health Disparities and Advance Health Equity at Minority Serving Institutions (U01 Clinical Trial Allowed)

National Institute on Aging (NIA)

Understanding and Addressing the Impact of Structural Racism and Discrimination on Minority Health and Health Disparities (R01 Clinical Trial Optional)

National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD)

LOI Deadline: April 23, 2021
Funding: Up to $600,000 for two years.

To accelerate the translation of academic discoveries into medicines for treating, preventing, or curing patients with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. Of particular interest are targets related to proteostasis and epigenetics. Researchers working on drug development programs that are relevant to yet not presently focused on the Alzheimer’s field are encouraged. 

Deadline: May 10, 2021
Funding: $250,000 to $500,000 for work done over 18 months. 

This program aims to reduce harm from erroneous or delayed diagnoses, reduce costs and redundancy in the diagnostic process, improve health outcomes and save lives. The focus is acute vascular events (such as stroke and myocardial infarction), infections (such as sepsis and pneumonia), and cancer (such as lung cancer and colorectal cancer). 
News Highlights
Large Clinical Trial to Study Repurposed Drugs to Treat COVID-19 Symptoms

The National Institutes of Health will fund a large, randomized, placebo-controlled Phase 3 clinical trial to test several existing prescription and over-the-counter medications for people to self-administer to treat symptoms of COVID-19. Read More
Experimental Antiviral for COVID-19 Effective in Hamster Study


The experimental antiviral drug MK-4482 significantly decreased levels of virus and disease damage in the lungs of hamsters treated for SARS-CoV-2 infection. Read More
NIH Trial of Anti-CD14 Antibody to Treat COVID-19 Respiratory Disease Begins

The laboratory-created monoclonal antibody, called IC14, binds to a human protein, CD14, that is found on the surface of immune cells circulating in the blood and airway fluid and that also circulates as a stand-alone protein.

NIH Experts Discuss Post-Acute COVID-19

Many people who have COVID-19 make a full recovery and return to their baseline state of health; however, some people have symptoms or other sequelae weeks or months after initial SARS-CoV-2 infection. Read More

What You Should Know About the
Johnson & Johnson Vaccine Pause

The pause in the rollout of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is the right course, but the vaccine’s benefits “without doubt outweigh the risks,” a vaccine researcher argues. Read More
One Year Later, the N3C Data Enclave Has Data for Over One Million COVID+ Patients

The Enclave is a one-of-a-kind collection of clinical data that the research community can use to study COVID-19 and identify potential treatments. Read More
Upcoming Workshop & Events
The Innovative Climate of Study Teams and Their Adoption
of Innovative Study Designs within Clinical Trials
Apr. 21, 2021, 11 a.m.
Clinical research must be modernized. There are increasing demands to have more rapid innovation in order to develop novel treatments more quickly and cost-effectively. The challenges that COVID adds to the landscape of clinical trials also bring the potential for new pathways of clinical trial innovation. Join this discussion to hear about the potential factors driving the decision to use an innovative study design.  Register Here
CTSA Visiting Scholar Program: Tolerable Strategies to Overcome
Treatment Resistance in Breast Cancer
Apr. 23, 2021, 1 p.m.
KL2 awardees from Clinical and Translational Science Centers (CTSA) present virtual lectures as part of the CTSA Visiting Scholar Program. Mathew Cherian MD, from Ohio State University, hosted by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences will present his research on "Tolerable Strategies to Overcome Treatment Resistance in Breast Cancer." More Details Here
Implementation Science Journal Club
May 20, 2021, 11 a.m.
Join us for the CIIS Implementation Science Journal Club!
CIIS Co-Directors, Drs. Mari-Lynn Drainoni and Allan Walkey will facilitate a lively discussion on the study design, methods, and implications for research and practice.
May 14, 2021, 12 p.m.
Deanne M. Taylor, Ph.D., will present "Integrating Common Fund Program Datasets for Feature Selection and Machine Learning" at the monthly Data Sharing and Reuse Seminar. Dr. Taylor is the director of bioinformatics in the Department of Biomedical and Health Informatics at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Research Institute and a research assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. More Details Here
Accelerating Discoveries Towards Better Health