OCTOBER 2023

NEWSLETTER

The Center for Advanced Research Training & Innovation (CARTI) newsletter lists upcoming events, resources, services and grant deadlines for UMB research faculty and fellows. To register for CARTI's upcoming events, click HERE.

Engaging Your Research Team During Grant Writing

Tuesday, October 10

9:00 – 10:00am

Zoom

Engaging your research team during grant writing is a necessary skill for those tasked with drafting a proposal. This session will provide practical strategies for organizing and managing group dynamics and tasks during the phases of the grant writing process. These strategies will increase the efficacy of your research team and the probability of a successfully funded proposal.

Speaker: Owen White, PhD, Director of Bioinformatics, UM School of Medicine; Professor, Department of Epidemiology & Public Health, UMSOM

Learn to Easily Analyze Your Clinical Dataset with the

Simple Visual Analytics Tool: POD-Vis

Thursday, October 19

9:00 – 10:00am

Zoom

POD-Vis (Probing Outcomes Data with Visual Analytics) is a web-based visual analytics tool that explores and analyzes all types of clinical data. Developed through a collaboration between Dr. Lisa Shulman (Neurology) and Anup Mahurkar (IGS Informatics Resource Center), POD-Vis is designed for easy data visualization and analysis by non-data scientists. Using the simple clinical language of predictors and outcomes, you will learn to explore interrelationships between study variables, develop preliminary data, and generate hypotheses. This session will provide a comprehensive overview and demonstration of POD-Vis with a special opportunity to upload your dataset into POD-Vis for your personal use.

Speakers: Lisa M. Shulman, MD, Eugenia Brin Endowed Professor of Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders, Department of Neurology; Director, University of Maryland Parkinson Disease and Movement Disorders Center; UMSOM and Anup Mahurkar, B.E., MBA, Executive Director of Software Engineering & Information Technology, Institute of Genome Sciences, UMSOM

Career in Clinical Trials

Monday, October 23

12:00 – 1:30pm

SMC Campus Center, Room 208 (621 W. Lombard Street, 2nd floor)

Lunch will be provided for the first 35 registrants

A virtual option will be available

This seminar is intended for Clinical faculty interested in participating in clinical trials research. This session will discuss strategies for participating in clinical trials research as you progress throughout your career. Dr. Igho Ofotukun will share his experience of how to identify, participate, and lead clinical trials over the course of your career. Lunch will be provided to the first 35 registrants.

Guest Speaker: Igho Ofotokun, MD, MSc, Professor of Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine; Professor of Behavioral Sciences and Health Education at Emory University Rollins School of Public Health; Staff Physician, Grady Memorial Health System; Associate Division Director for Research, Emory University Infectious Diseases Division; Co-Director of the Emory Center for AIDS Research Clinical Core.

This session is only open to faculty in the School of Medicine 

An Introduction to Science Communications

Thursday, October 19

12:00 - 1:00pm

Zoom

Join Audrey Huang and Rick Borchelt for a discussion on how to think about communicating your research and how not to approach it. They will talk about awe, wonder, and curiosity as well as messaging, storytelling, and audiences.

Speakers:

Audrey Huang, MA, PhD

Director of Science Communication and Science Editor, CARTI

Rick Borchelt

Special Assistant to the Director, Department of Energy, Office of Science

Executive Panel Discussion on What Audiences Want

Thursday, December 7

12:00 - 1:00pm

Zoom

Tune in to learn what government, philanthropist, and foundation audiences are looking for in your research results and how to best approach those conversation. Audrey Huang will moderate a panel discussion with three executives to tap their knowledge and expertise on what aspects of research storytelling are most successful.

Panelists:

Shawn Castellanos

National Executive of Emerging Strategies, American Heart Association

Heather Culp

Chief Philanthropy Officer, UMMC & UMSOM



Kevin Kelley

Chief Government Affairs Officer and Vice President, UMB

Strategies for Identifying a Journal and Publishing Your Research Manuscript

Thursday, October 26

9:00 – 10:00am

Zoom

Identifying an appropriate journal to publish your research manuscript can be a challenge for any author. This seminar will explain how to identify potential journals for your manuscript including:

• How to identify potential journals to publish in
• Considerations for publishing in mid-impact journals vs high impact journals
• Brief introduction to the review process, including timeline for review 
• When to resubmit vs. submitting to a different journal

Speaker: Mervyn Monteiro, PhD, Professor, Center for Biomedical Engineering and Technology & Departments of Neurobiology, Neurology and Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, UMSOM

How to Write a Standard Scientific Research Paper

Thursday, November 16

9:00 – 10:00am

Zoom

This session will provide tips for writing a peer-reviewed scientific research paper and will focus on the content of the sections (Introduction, Methods, Results and Discussion, and Title & Abstract). In addition, this session will include advice about organizing and communicating your research.

Speaker: Joseph P. Stains, PhD, Professor, Department of Orthopaedics, Division Head of Musculoskeletal Science, UMSOM

Strategic Planning and Time Management

Tuesday, October 17

9:00 - 9:30am

Zoom

During this 30-minute session, we will discuss approaches to achieve professional and personal success through strategic planning. Topics include developing strategic plan, SMART goals, mapping the steps, weekly planning, and developing daily writing habit. We will also discuss the importance of accountability and peer support.

Speaker: David Benavides, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Neurology, Division of Multiple Sclerosis and Neuroimmunology, UMSOM

Scholarly Writing Accountability Group (SWAG) Program

Virtual Program to Help Faculty Increase Their Scholarly Writing Productivity

The Center for Advanced Research Training & Innovation (CARTI) provides a virtual peer accountability/support program designed to increase writing productivity among UMB early stage faculty called Scholarly Writing Accountability Group (SWAG). A description of our virtual SWAG program follows, including details on how to participate.

What is a VIRTUAL SWAG?

A virtual SWAG is an active peer-led writing group for UMB junior faculty that meets for 1-hour, once a week over a 10-week period using Microsoft Teams. Groups follow a structured agenda including 15 minutes of updates and goal-setting followed by 30 minutes of individual writing and then 15 minutes of reporting and wrap-up. Each group is limited to 4-8 members who must commit to attending at least 8 out of the 10 weekly sessions. In a SWAG, there is no peer review of writing; SWAGs focus on the process of writing, not the content. The purpose of SWAG is to help junior faculty get in the habit of 1) writing in short blocks of time daily or almost every day and 2) identifying and prioritizing feasible writing goals.

Writing accountability groups are being used at multiple major medical schools. The data which have been reported on the results of this program are very favorable, reflecting marked increases in the quantity and quality of writing by junior faculty participants.

What are the Benefits of Joining a SWAG?

Faculty who join SWAG will:

• Develop new writing habits to achieve writing goals
• Improved time management skills
• Gain a greater sense of control over the writing process
•  Build a small community of support/social network

Fall SWAG Opportunities:

● Tuesdays 10-11am (Oct 17 – Dec 19)

(3 spots left)

● Wednesdays 12-1pm (Oct 11 - Dec 13)

(3 spots left)

● Fridays 10-11am (Oct 6 - Dec 15)

(2 spots left)

Registration

New SWAGs at UMB are being formed on a rolling basis. If you’re interested in participating, please submit the following REQUEST FORM.

Questions? Email Stacie Mendoza

CARTI'S Seminar Slides & Recordings

CARTI'S Individual Consultations

CARTI'S Mini LIbrary

University of Maryland School of Nursing

Research Seminar Series

Jointly hosted by:

UMSON Research Seminar & Baltimore SOCRA

Navigating the Single IRB Process

Wednesday, October 25

12:00 - 1:00pm

Zoom

UMSON's Office of Research and Scholarship and the Baltimore SOCRA chapter invite you to attend this free, virtual seminar on navigating the single IRB process. This talk will be given by Nichelle Cobb, PhD, senior advisor for strategic initiatives at AAHRPP; Michael Linke, PhD, CIP SMART IRB program director for education and training; and Polly Goodman, CIP associate director, Regulatory Affairs Operations for SMART IRB at Harvard Catalyst. The presentation will include SMART IRB tips.

Free and open to all, register for link to attend:

The Society of Clinical Research Associates (SOCRA) 

Baltimore Chapter

The Society of Clinical Research Associates (SOCRA) is a non-profit, charitable and educational membership organization committed to providing education, certification, and networking opportunities to all persons involved in clinical research activities. 

The Baltimore Chapter's monthly meetings are open to the public and all are welcome to attend.  Below is the topic for the next meeting:

Community Based Research

Wednesday, November 1

12:00 - 1:00pm

Zoom

This talk will be given by the director of research for the PATIENTS Program in the Department of Pharmaceutical Health Services Research (PHSR) at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy. Free and open to all, register for link to attend.

Funding Opportunities

Seeking Foundation Funding for your Research?

The SOM’s Office of Development, Corporate and Foundation Relations, provides services and resources to assist UMSOM faculty with identifying private foundation funding for research, programs, educational initiative, and community outreach at the local, regional, and national level. Visit their website for more information and to schedule an appointment. 

Additional funding opportunities can be found at:

 UMSOM Internal Funding Opportunities & External Funding Databases

UMGCCC Funding Database

(Cancer related research)

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