Dear RADx-UP partners,

Giselle Corbie has served as a principal investigator of the RADx-UP Coordination and Data Collection Center (CDCC) since October 2020, when NIH tapped the Duke Clinical Research Institute, UNC Center for Health Equity Research, and Community-Campus Partnerships for Health to spin up this center to support each of your research project teams. Giselle's contributions, especially to the Community Engagement Core, have been meaningful and impactful for the consortium.

This year, she must step away from the CDCC. Giselle has taken on the role of Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs at UNC Chapel Hill, effective Jan. 17, 2023. This is an exciting opportunity for her to advocate for and advance UNC faculty and strengthen the UNC academic community. Congratulations to Giselle on this new position.

"I am immensely proud of what this RADx-UP Consortium is doing to advance health equity, and I am grateful for the dedication of the faculty and staff of the CDCC in supporting your project teams, community partners, and the individuals you are working to keep healthy and well," said Giselle.

Gaurav 'G' Dave, who has been very involved with RADx-UP with the Tracking and Evaluation team, now will serve as principal investigator along with Warren Kibbe and Michael Cohen-Wolkowiez, and he will oversee the CDCC Community Engagement Core.



We all look forward to what your project teams and the consortium will accomplish and learn in 2023.

Complete the Equity Evidence Academy feedback survey

The Equity Evidence Academy team wants to hear about your learning experience at the last event. If you attended the Equity Evidence Academy in September of 2022, enter to win a $50 gift card by filling out this one-minute survey.

Check out the highlights and materials from the September 2022 Equity Evidence Academy.

Seeking members for Scientific Meeting Review Committee

The CDCC is looking for volunteers to serve on the Scientific Review Committee to review abstracts submitted for presentations at the next RADx-UP Scientific Meeting. This is an opportunity to help CDCC PIs review and select the projects that will present at this year’s event. The Committee is open to all members of the RADx-UP consortium including project team members, PIs, community partners, and RADx-UP board and committee members.

The review period will begin Feb. 13, 2023 and end on February 23, 2023. If there are inconsistencies in scoring presentations, the committee will meet on Feb. 23, 2023 at 11 a.m. (EST) to discuss and finalize scoring. 

Scientific Review Committee’s Responsibilities

• Review and provide feedback on project presentation abstracts using a rubric and online submission form to assist the Scientific Meeting Planning Committee in selecting the eight presentations.
• Provide feedback on presentation abstracts and discuss any scoring inconsistencies to assist in selection of presenters.
• Review documents in advance of meetings that will be provided by Scientific Meeting Planning Committee.
• Review final agenda and provide suggestions of key points for panel discussions. 

If you are interested in serving, please contact Viviana Moreno at viviana.moreno@duke.edu

Share your data at the 2023 Scientific Meeting



The RADx-UP Scientific Meeting is an opportunity to share your project’s insights and results with fellow consortium members, community partners, NIH leaders, and more. This year’s Scientific Meeting will take place virtually on May 3, 2023. If you’re interested in giving a poster or oral presentation, please submit a presentation proposal using this online form. Proposals will be reviewed and selected by a review committee made up of consortium members and community partners. Proposals are due Feb. 10, 2023.

NEW PROPOSAL: Researchers from Florida International University submitted the analysis proposal “Chronic Health Conditions, Disability, and COVID-19 Testing, Vaccination, and Infection: A RADx-UP Analysis.”



Find out more about proposals and writing teams on the Submitted Analysis Proposal list. Please continue submitting your Analysis Concepts and visit the Partnering for Impact homepage for more information about the initiative.

Community Connections presentations and community partner nominations



The Community Connections series is a quarterly virtual gathering for organizations involved in RADx-UP to network, collaborate, and learn from other organizations around the U.S., territories and Tribal Nations. While only community partners are invited to attend, the presentations are posted online for all to view and share. Community partners rotate leading the quarterly gathering with the support of the CDCC Community Engagement Team, and are compensated for their time. The next meeting is Feb. 23, 2023 at 2 p.m. ET; save this event link to your calendar.

Nominate your partner! Do you know a community leader (or yourself!) who is doing great work, has overcome challenges, or could share knowledge on best practices? Please send your nomination to Alex James at Alexandria.James@duke.edu with a few details.

RADx-UP Research Brief: Parent/guardian intentions to vaccinate children against COVID-19 in the United States

The COVID-19 vaccine is available for many children under age 17. Most child vaccination requires parental/guardian consent. Researchers at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences studied whether parents planned to vaccinate their children and what factors may affect that decision.

View the Research Brief summarizing the study and results in English and Spanish.

Project-wide Meeting presentation recap: Researchers study new ways to encourage COVID-19 testing uptake among people who inject drugs

The August 2022 Project-wide Meeting featured a presentation from Anne Marie Mauricio and Camille Cioffi of the University of Oregon, with Amanda McCluskey of the HIV Alliance about their study Contingency Management and SARS-CoV-2 Testing Among People Who Inject Drugs.

Aiming to improve uptake of COVID-19 testing among people who inject drugs (PWIDs), researchers presented findings that compare the impact of contingency management (in the form of a $10 gift card) and motivational enhancement (in the form of interview-guided conversations called Connect2Test) in promoting testing at Syringe Exchange Programs (SEPs). The quantitative data show that contingency management was effective while the motivational enhancement did not impact testing uptake. Conversations with the project team brought to light critical new ideas on how Connect2Test could be updated to promote uptake and be more feasible in the SEP setting. Read more about the presentation and study.

RADx-UP Data Dashboard



At the top of this newsletter, you saw that RADx-UP has conducted 417,000 COVID-19 tests. You can view the results of these tests as well as other RADx-UP data on demographics, social vulnerability, vaccine acceptance, and more on the RADx-UP Data Dashboard.

The Data Dashboard is interactive, and allows users to browse CDE data from the past year. Check it out!

New resources in RADx-UP.org library

• NYU-CUNY Prevention Research Center videos: The NYU-CUNY Prevention Research Center created a Digital Story Video Collection that tells the stories of New Yorkers' COVID-19 vaccination and pandemic experiences.
• Community Health Worker (CHW) Core Consensus Project: The Community Health Worker (CHW) Core Consensus Project's website provides information on the essential roles and competencies of CHWs as well as resources for carrying them out.
• Health+ Long Covid Human-Centered Design Report: The Health+ Long COVID Human-Centered Design Report elevates the narratives and expertise of people with Long COVID and what they want and need to live better, healthier lives.

Find these resources and more in the RADx-UP.org Resource Library.

Testing tracking resource available to projects

Workflow Services by ImageMover provides a comprehensive solution for managing point-of-care testing. The HIPAA-compliant solution allows participants to securely register, receive COVID-19 test results through text or email, and automatic reporting of COVID-19 test results to state and federal health authorities. All this data is stored securely to evaluate your program, identify trends, and remove barriers for simple operations. Neither RADx-UP nor the CDCC is affiliated or endorsing this service or company – this information is being shared as a potential resource.

For more information, visit the Workflow Services website or contact Shannon Brenkendorff, VP of Technical Solutions, Workflow Services by ImageMover, at shannon@imagemovermd.com or 719-229-8627.

New Notice of Special Interests to support secondary analysis using the RADx Data Hub

At the end of 2022, NIH released two new Notice of Special Interests (NOSIs), described below. Both support scientific inquiry using existing data resources in the RADx Data Hub.

NOT-OD-23-040: NOSI: Advance Data Science Approaches Through Secondary Data Analysis to Reveal Scientific Insights of COVID-19 Testing Technologies (R21)

• The purpose of this NOSI is to support secondary data analysis to address questions and advance scientific inquiry related to SARS-CoV-2 through the existing data resources in the Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics Data Hub (RADx Data Hub), including and in conjunction with other data resources.

NOT-OD-23-041: NOSI: Research Supplements to Promote Data Science Workforce Diversity to Reveal Scientific Insights of COVID-19 Testing Technologies (Admin Supp Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

• The purpose of this NOSI is to enhance the diversity of the data science workforce to address questions and scientific inquiry related to SARS-CoV-2 through existing data resources in the Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics Data Hub (RADx Data Hub), including and in conjunction with other data resources.

Life in a drop of water

Smithsonian Magazine shared these photos, taken by Angel Fitor, of drops of ocean water seen through a magnifying lens. The photos reveal a world of tiny plankton, called copepods, that are 0.2 to 1.7 millimeters in length. They are also the most numerous animals on the planet!

“People think insects are [the most numerous],” said Chad Walter, an emeritus researcher at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. “But 70 percent of the planet is covered by water, and copepods inhabit all of that.”



The photo below is of a sea cucumber larva—isn’t it kind of cute? Check out the article to see more photos of the tiny creatures inhabiting a single drop of water.