In This Issue
- Federal FY20 Budget Update
- New Clinical Research Operations Director
- Clinical Research Training Program Call for Applications
- Biomarker and Biorepository Cores Offer Expert Services
- CRTP Elective Courses Available
- Protecting Software IP Seminar
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NIH Gets Budget Boost for FY 2020
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First the good news. Just before the holiday break, Congress passed a FY 2020 budget that gives NIH $41.7 billion, an increase of $2.6 billion above last year. As a new report from
Research! America
notes, this is the fourth year that medical and health R&D investment has grown, faster than overall health spending (6.4% vs 4.5%).
Now for the bad news—the country’s total R&D represents only about
5 cents of every dollar
in health spending. As the example in this figure shows, the entire US investment in research for only these 8 medical conditions ($194 billion) is dwarfed by the direct cost of healthcare (over $1.1 trillion). We know that research can ameliorate the personal and societal burdens of these major chronic diseases, and it appears that the American people agree. In the same report by
Research! America,
a 2019 poll of American adults shows that the majority (63%) say that current spending on health research is not enough.
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The healthcare community is best equipped to advocate for our patients and communities—and to point out that every advance in medical care is the result of research. If you want to tell members of Congress how you participate in clinical and translational research, you can attend
Hill Day
at the 2020 Translational Science meeting next April in Washington DC where you’ll join organized visits to Congressional offices. If you are interested, please
click here
.
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Clinical Research Operations Director
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We welcome
Richa Upadhyay MD
, Director of Clinical Research Operations at Einstein-Montefiore, who will work collaboratively with all arms of our clinical research infrastructure—including legal, regulatory, billing, IRB, Epic, OCT, etc— directing an institutional effort to streamline and integrate research processes at both Montefiore and Einstein campuses. She will focus her efforts to build systems, integrate workflows, and provide tools and resources for investigators. Dr. Upadhyay comes to us from Mount Sinai Icahn School of Medicine where she served as Associate Director of Cancer Clinical Trials. She has over 10 years of experience in clinical research operations and administration, and experience in leadership and operational management including strategic planning and implementation. Dr. Upadhyay can be reached at
richa.upadhyay@einsteinmed.org
.
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CRTP Applications Due March 2nd
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This 2-year program consists of a didactic curriculum, emphasizing epidemiology, biostatistics, data analysis, grant writing, and research ethics; and a faculty mentored experience in clinical research, leading to the preparation of a thesis. Scholars successfully completing this program will earn a Master of Science (MSc) in Clinical Research Methods degree granted by the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.
For more information and to apply,
click here
and make sure to visit the CRTP poster exhibit on Main Street in Forchheimer on display until February 3rd. For questions, please contact
Dr. Aileen McGinn
.
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Register Now for CRTP Elective Courses
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The registration is now open to all for the Spring 2020 elective courses. All electives classes will be held on the Einstein Campus in the Forchheimer Educational Center or the conference room on the 5
th
floor of Block. For more information and to register,
click here
.
Each spring elective is by permission of the instructor
Human Genetics
9:00-11:00am on Thursdays
This course will consist of lectures covering a broad range of topics in human genetics. It will begin with a discussion of the human genome and the clinical and basic science applications that emerged from the human genome initiative. This will be followed by a review of the regulation of gene expression, focusing on basic molecular biology, evolutionary considerations and clinical implications. Faculty: Herb Lachman MD
Qualitative Research
3:00-5:00pm on Mondays
Weaknesses and limitations in much published qualitative research, especially its sole reliance on interview data and thematic analysis have reinforced the incorrect view that qualitative research is inherently ‘descriptive’ rather than explanatory. The present course reframes qualitative and mixed methods as a pragmatic research enterprise that can generate powerful explanations of phenomena. Faculty: Alison Karasz PhD
Design and Analysis of Longitudinal Studies
11:00-12:50pm on Tuesdays
This course will introduce participants to design of longitudinal studies and modern approaches to the analysis of repeated measures and longitudinal data. Topics include design issues (sample size, measurement, missing data), examples of longitudinal studies, modeling marginal and subject specific models for repeated and longitudinal data, computational issues and missing data issues. STATA statistical software will be used in the data analysis component of this course where the students will learn how to analyze and interpret model results. Faculty:
Shankar Viswanathan, DrPH MSc
Cost Effectiveness Analysis
Tutorial: dates/times to be determined with instructor
In this course, the student will conduct a cost-effectiveness analysis of a policy or intervention of his/her interest under the supervision of the course instructor. The student must have available at the start of the course an adequate data set from which to estimate, by standard statistical approaches, the relevant clinical outcomes of the target policy or intervention. During the course, the instructor will guide the student in assessing the associated costs and assembling the costs and effects into a cost-effectiveness analysis. Instruction will take place during contact sessions averaging 2-3 hours per week, during which time the student will report on his/her progress, and then plans for next steps in the project will be discussed and agreed upon. The student will spend an additional 5-6 hours per week carrying out the plans arrived at. Faculty: Clyde Schechter, MD
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Affordable Biomarkers for Research
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Clinical research is an expensive proposition, especially if you add in the costs of specimen acquisition, handling, and analysis. The ICTR’s
Biomarker and Biorepository
cores can help you with a broad menu of services, efficient workflows, and affordable rates. Whether you need research samples shipped or analyzed locally, or surgical specimens collected for tissue studies, or specimen biobanking, or measurement of specific circulating protein biomarkers,
you can do one-stop shopping
here
(some
members of the team are pictured below)
.
Daniel Stein MD is the scientific director of the cores, and Jeff LaFleur is the Operations Director, and they are a
lways available for consultation and advice.
Please note that only IRB-approved research studies are handled, and that all billing is done through
Einstein’s iLab platform.
To access services or contact the core,
click here
.
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Protecting Software Intellectual Property
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The Office of Biotechnology and Business Development will resume its IP & Coffee Seminar Series (the 3rd Wednesday of each month) on January 15
th
at 3pm in Price 351.
Eric Huestis
will be reviewing intellectual property strategies for protecting
software and computational algorithms
. Questions can be directed to
biotech@einsteinmed.org
.
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Congress has reauthorized the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute's (PCORI) funding for 10 years and the legislation has been signed into law. PCORI has funded more than $2 billion in research and related projects, including those that support the methods and capacity for conducting that research. PCORI's mission is to provide funding to help more patients and other stakeholders become involved in the research process and to improve outcomes that are important to patients. To learn more about PCORI,
click here
.
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Diabetes Research Center Pilot Grants Available
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Funds are now available for diabetes-related research through the Einstein-Mount Sinai Diabetes Research Center (ES-DRC) up to $50,000 for one year for new projects that explore a diabetes-related concept. Applications are due by February 14th, 2020 for a start date of May 1st, 2020. To learn more and apply,
click here
.
Questions concerning this program should be directed to
Streamson Chua, M.D. Ph.D
.
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Research in the Headlines
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Harold and Muriel Block Institute for Clinical and Translational Research
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