March Newsletter

Message from the Associate Dean - BCH Oakland

March 26, 2020

Call to Action

What it means to be a physician at this time in history. We took an oath. We feel urgency. We are fixers and want to help. The world thanks us for what we are doing. The global experience illustrates that some of us are more at risk of exposure. We need to also take care of ourselves.

The arc of the COVID-19 pandemic, flat or steep, will last for weeks and months. Luckily the disease burden appears lower in the pediatric population. Nonetheless, this is a time for us to act regionally, literally put our own mask on first, and get ready for what is to come. When you get a moment make sure you unwind and slow down (see resource section below.) Your immune system will appreciate it.

Amidst the chaos and uncertainty there is amazing innovation. I have been impressed that we were able to stand up telehealth in less than a week. Incredible discovery is happening in testing, vaccine development and epidemiology. Please see the research corner below if you have ideas to test.

A word on Personal Protective Equipment (PPE):

We have an excellent procurement team and infection control team. In addition, we are accepting donations at UCSF microsite/donate at three sites in San Francisco and Oakland. We are accepting donations of FDA approved n95 masks, nitrile gloves and gowns. Please work with coordinated efforts and pay attention to daily global emails from CMO, Ted Chaconas, regarding the true status of our Personal Protective Equipment as donations and shipments are coming in daily. Note supplies may now be in secured locations as a safeguarding measure. Please check in on the units as at the present time we are using cloth gowns in some areas (ICU). We are also working with state and county partners and regional resources to make sure we have what we need when we need it. Conservation of PPE is an ongoing and evolving topic as we prepare for the long haul. Also, make sure you get up to date information on the microsite below and elsewhere on proper use, donning, doffing etc.

A word on screening and testing of patients and providers:

As you have noticed there is screening at all entrances to the hospitals. There is evolving guidance on the hand icon on how and when to screen patients. If you need guidance by pager (specific to our campus) it is available at 510-718-COVI. They have capacity to address provider screening if you think you have been exposed.

Governor Newsom Extends Shelter-in-Place Order Across:

The order extends the shelter-in-place order already in effect in Bay Area counties and includes the same restrictions.

It is important to note that both orders exempt “essential services” such as health care institutions—including UCSF—as well as banking, gas stations, grocery stores, childcare, and public transit.

For specific information on these and other topics:

There is information here for patients, clinicians, researchers, and the education community (click on the appropriate tab):

https://coronavirus.ucsf.edu/

and here for Oakland specific information: https://chonet.ucsf.edu/

U.S. Department of State Issues “Level 4” Travel Advisory Against All

International Travel:

Avoid all international travel, in accordance with the level 4 advisory issued March 19, 2020.

UCSF is restricting all non-essential university-sponsored travel—both domestic and international—and strongly recommends against all non-essential personal travel.

Be well,

Kelley Meade

Making a Difference

Local MDs including one of our house staff are coordinating PPE donations for COVID-19 via this form:

PPE Donation Form

MLK (CHORI) scientists and staff came through with a sizable donation of PPE for BCH Oakland. Some labs previously donated to BCH Oakland before this drive.

Thank you to all of the labs who donated!

A special thank you to Dale & TJ for coordinating.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

New Faculty

New Vice Chair for Health Services Research

Naomi Bardach, MD

https://profiles.ucsf.edu/naomi.bardach

Match Day 2020

Welcome the 2020-21 Intern Class - UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland

Let’s not forget that this is match season. Congratulations to all who matched with us. I also want to give appreciation to those who assisted in pediatric residency recruitment under the strong leadership of Pamela Simms-Mackey.

Wellness Resources

Here are some wellness resources, compliments of our colleagues at ZSFG, to encourage and strengthen you and your loved ones as we navigate the challenges in responding to COVID-19.

• Free Comcast internet for two months for qualifying households

• Oakland School District Free Meals for kids

Exercise

• AllTrails – phone app that locates and maps trails and urban hiking

• CLI Studios – Free live dance classes

• Pilates videos

• Yoga

• High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) 30‐Minute Home exercise

• Rhythm and Motion dance class

• Shelter‐in‐place outdoor exercise

Relaxation/Mindfulness

• Headspace.com is offering a no-cost mindfulness resource for our hard working clinical providers ( Free subscription requires a NPI# and email address)

• Meditation for insomnia

• Self‐compassion with Kristin Neff

• Guided imagery and visualization from the Osher Center

• Live stream of aquarium animals

UCSF Emotional Health & Wellbeing Webpage

UCSF Health's 5th Annual Improvement Symposium: Call for Poster Submissions

From Niraj Sehgal, MD, MPH, Chief Quality Officer, UCSF Health

and Lei Choi, MD, Medical Director, Continuous Improvement, UCSF Health

Dear Team BCH Oakland,

As with the past couple years, we wanted to make sure our Call for Posters reached your inboxes. We’ve really enjoyed having terrific BCH Oakland improvement work represented and want to continue that tradition. Please see the details below and attached poster template. You’re welcome to add BCH logos as we might try to cohort posters by setting this year (e.g., Ambulatory, BCH, Adult, GME, Nursing Research, etc.). This was popular last year when we were able to accommodate.

Look forward to having you at the event as more details will come as we approach. Please let us know if you have any questions, but thanks in advance for encouraging teams to participate.

Please share the attached flyer and call for poster submissions ( key details also included here ) with your teams, colleagues, and others as we look forward to building on last year’s successful event. Even if you don’t ultimately submit a poster, we hope you’ll save the date and celebrate the work of your colleagues. Electronic poster submission deadline is May 13 ^th .

DEADLINE EXTENSION TO April 1: New Funding Opportunity for UCSF Mid-Career Faculty

From Talmadge E. King, Jr., MD

Dean, School of Medicine

Given the impact COVID-19 has had on our community, we have extended the deadline for applying to this mechanism below.

Dear colleagues,

Thanks to the generosity of Genentech, we are pleased to announce a new UCSF Mid-career Development Award Program, “Bolstering the pipeline to achieve health equity: A UCSF program to support mid-career faculty,” in alignment with our commitment to diversity in health sciences and service to underserved and vulnerable populations.

Three UCSF faculty will be selected for this 2-year award. Selection criteria, application components and timeline, and program components are outlined below. All UCSF candidates meeting these criteria are encouraged to apply.

Selection Criteria

Required

• Associate or early Full Professor (Step 2 or less)

• Strong research track record

• Experience mentoring women and/or URM trainees in research

• Demonstrated commitment to advancing the leadership of women and URM faculty

Preferred

• Conducts action-oriented research to build the evidence base needed to promote health equity, reduce health disparities, and improve health outcomes in populations facing the greatest need

• Mentoring experience of trainees across fields is particularly valuable

• Preference will be given to candidates who do not hold current NIH-K24 awards, but all who are eligible are encouraged to apply

• Research program focuses on one or more of Genentech priority disease areas (see below)

Application Components

DEADLINE EXTENDED : Please send to Alice Fishman by 4/1/20

1. One page statement outlining how applicant fits criteria

2. Documentation of track record of mentorship (see mock table below)

3. NIH biosketch

4. UCSF CV

5. Letter of Support from Chair (1 page maximum, should speak to commitment of the Chair for candidate’s future success)

Timeline

• Apr 1, 2020: Application deadline

• May 1, 2020: Awardees notified

• July 1, 2020: Program starts

Program Components

Once selected for the program, all awardees will receive the following:

• Salary support. Each awardee will receive 20% salary support for 2 years to dedicate to mentoring of junior faculty, trainees, and students. This salary support will be paid at the level of the NIH Cap.

• Discretionary funds: $10k/year for 2 years

• Advisory Council mentorship: We will have an Advisory Council reflective of UCSF’s mission of diversity and inclusion. As a group, all three program awardees will attend twice-yearly meetings with this Advisory Council to obtain personalized peer- and near-peer mentorship. These half-day meetings will provide career development support and a venue to openly discuss common issues faced by emerging leaders.

RESEARCH CORNER

Lindsey A. Criswell, MD, MPH, DSc

Vice Chancellor of Research

and

Lea Grinberg, MD, PhD

Chair, Academic Senate Committee on Research

Office of Research Town Hall:

COVID-19 Campus-wide Research at UCSF: Making an Impact

Thursday, March 26, from 1-2:30 p.m.

https://ucsf.zoom.us/j/773270133

Co-sponsored by the Department of Medicine and the Office of Research, this Zoom-only town hall aims to foster cross-communication between the significant COVID-19 research efforts occurring across campus in a broad spectrum of research arenas from vaccines, innovative tools, diagnostics, therapeutic development, therapeutic trials, clinical studies (excluding trials), virology, immunopathogenesis, to epidemiology/population health.

Please submit questions in advance via this survey: https://ucsf.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_ewYoZYVRSlcXHAV

Note: This town hall will be held in conjunction with and immediately following a special Zoom-only (same Zoom session as the research portion) Grand Rounds co-sponsored by the Department of Medicine and the School of Medicine Office of Medical Education, which will address the impact of COVID-19 on the Department of Medicine’s educational programs and learners. The education portion of the program will be held from 12 – 1 p.m.

The town hall will be moderated by David Erle, MD, Professor and Associate Chair of Biomedical Research in the Department of Medicine and Director of the UCSF CoLabs.

Flash speakers on research include :

Nevan Krogan, PhD – Development of novel therapeutic strategies for

COVID-19

Chaz Langelier, MD, PhD – New diagnostic tests for COVID-19

Carolyn Calfee, MD, MAS – COVID-19-related immunoprofiling to understand susceptibility and prognosis

Max Krummel, PhD – The ImmunoX COVID-19 rapid path to discovery

Annie Luetkemeyer, MD – Clinical trials for COVID-19

George Rutherford, MD – Modeling the global pandemic

Flash talks will be followed by a panel discussion addressing COVID-19 research resources and opportunities.

Internal COVID-19 Open Proposal Forum

Gretchen Kiser and the Research Development Office just launched an internal COVID-19 open proposal forum, asking researchers to share ideas, current research, and potential research avenues. The forum can be found online at:

https://open-proposals.ucsf.edu/covid19

This would be a good time to ask researchers to contribute their own ideas, and critically, to offer comments/suggestions to help improve the ideas that have already been proposed.

Some of the proposals involve communicating with the public, and it would be helpful if communicators could weigh in. For example, I just saw this citizen science proposal, which would let folks answer online surveys and (optionally) donate smartphone data to help researchers understand how COVID-19 is spreading or presenting to the public:

https://open-proposals.ucsf.edu/covid19/research-projects-or-discussion-topic/14879

GUIDANCE FOR RESEARCHERS: COVID-19

From Mark C. Walters, MD

Professor of Pediatrics

Interim Director of Research, UCSF BCH Oakland

Jordan Family Director, Blood and Marrow Transplant Program

Dear Clinical Research Community at BCHO:

This is to provide guidance about UCSF clinical research policies as these are being developed in response to the rapidly evolving COVID-19 pandemic. We would like to confirm and emphasize that all UCSF policies about research activities during the COVID-19 pandemic apply to the BCHO campus and to faculty and staff who work in Oakland. The best source of up-to-date information is located on the UCSF COVID-19 website:

https://coronavirus.ucsf.edu/

There is a pull-down menu at the top of the website for Policies & Guidance, and at the bottom of the webpage, boxes with links for Researchers and Clinicians. Please become familiar with the policies restricting clinical trial enrollment and routine face-to-face clinic visits, study monitor visits, and travel related to clinical trial participation. All research activities should be restricted to visits and enrollments that are necessary to ensure patient safety.

In addition, please refer to the IRB website link regarding study protocol deviations and protocol changes with regard to COVID-19. Please feel free to contact the IRB administrator if you still have questions after reviewing the content of this website.

http://irb.ucsf.edu/covid-19-resources

We appreciate the flexibility and cooperation in adhering to these new policies. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions about how your studies might be impacted.

UCSF Office of Research:

Revised Interim UCSF Policy on Human Subjects-Related Research Visits at San Francisco Campuses during COVID-19 Outbreak. Effective on March 16, 2020

National Science Foundation on the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)

National Science Foundation

JUST RELEASED! FY20 DoD Pre-Announcements and Funding Opportunities

This is to notify the research community of recently released Fiscal Year 2020 (FY20) pre-announcements and funding opportunities for the Department of Defense (DoD) programs managed by the office of Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP). CDMRP understands that applicants are impacted by COVID-19. Submission deadlines for pre-applications and full applications will incorporate the maximum time that is feasible for each FY20 program. Thank you for your efforts during this challenging time.

More info can be found HERE .

Clinical Trials Office (CTO)

Office of Clinical Trial Activation

OnCore at BCHO 2020 - For Research Study Teams

https://trialactivation.ucsf.edu/bcho

OnCore

OnCore is UCSF's enterprise clinical trial management system (CTMS) and is being implemented at BCH Oakland in conjunction with the APeX go-live on March 1.

Information about clinical studies is entered into OnCore to create a linkage to APeX for patient encounters and research-related billing compliance.

OnCore facilitates the following via the integration with APeX:

Research study setup
Coverage analysis
Subject enrollment
Research revenue cycle

Since September the project team has been working to gather information about active, in-scope BCH Oakland studies for the transition. Study coordinators have been provided training on the system. Study teams have access to enroll patients for in-scope studies the week prior to go-live, Feb 24-28. During this time study teams will be making sure their studies are in APeX, can enroll their subjects in OnCore and APeX, and can link upcoming visits to their subject enrollments.

For in-scope studies that require coverage analysis (CA), this work is underway and will continue beyond the March 1 go-live for several months. For studies where a CA is needed and not yet in place, charges will be held in a queue until the CA is available. Patients can still be seen and research will not be impeded during this time.

Thank you for your support during this time of transition. Questions can be directed to Nicholas Vesom, Director, Clinical Research - BCH Oakland.

Paul Sullivan,

Program Manager

UCSF Program Management Office