The STARR News: February 2022
We are working on a couple of Site:Site zoom conversations that we think will be of interest, but we'd love to hear from you!

Please select the ONE topic below that would be of most interest to you:
Which conversation would be of most interest to you:
Site Response to Decentralized Clinical Trial Pitch (self-advocating)
Site Staffing: Hiring, Training, and Maintaining Staff
Best recruitment tactics for indications (with a list!)
Other - please reply and let us know what you'd like to talk about.

February is
Black History Month

Every February, the U.S. honors the essential contributions of African Americans who have helped shape the nation. Black History Month celebrates the rich cultural heritage, triumphs and adversities that are an indelible part of our country's history.

This year's theme, Black Health and Wellness, pays homage to medical scholars and health care providers. The theme is especially timely as we enter the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has disproportionately affected minority communities.

This month, take some time to learn about and share Black history and support Black-owned businesses and charities. ❤
Congratulations to CenExel ACMR, the 2021 STARR Site of the Year!
CenExel ACMR, a fully dedicated, 100,000 square foot, state-of-the-art research facility in Atlanta, GA, was honored for their work in mental health awareness, advocacy, and education, both in Atlanta and across the U.S., as well as their contribution to pivotal research around the impact of COVID-19 on the mentally ill, and their community work to locally address generational mental health in families. CenExel ACMR has distinguished itself throughout the year for its commitment and dedication to advancing not only mental health research, but also patient care by treating every patient volunteer with respect and integrity, ensuring that research is seen as a part of the community’s healthcare ecosystem.
This past year, CenExel ACMR has made a conscious effort to reach out to the local communities to spread awareness of clinical research as care option. They have done holiday drives for toys and families; have made care packages and distributed them to local nonprofit organizations, and have gone out to local organizations and handed out flyers and offered trainings and Q&A sessions.

Accepting the award on behalf of CenExel ACMR was Dr. Sarah Kazmi, VP and General Manager. Dr. Kazmi and the CenExel ACMR team has been involved with the STARR Community for several years, including co-hosting several of the monthly STARR Site-to-Site zoom calls, collaborating and sharing their expertise with the STARR Community.

Congratulations to CenExel ACMR!
Check out the write-up on all of the winners on the STARR website HERE.
Project RockSTARR Advocacy Ace Awards

The RockSTARR Advocacy Ace Awards are given to individuals whose screened volunteers have designated the most donations to their local advocacy organizations. We'll feature our Advocacy Aces throughout the year.

This month, we're spotlighting Toni Ransdell, of Psychcare Consultants Research in St. Louis, MO, who has raised $450 in donations for their local NAMI and MHA chapters through the RockSTARR program. Two checks will be delivered to the site to take to the local NAMI and MHA offices to help build those relationships. Thank you for your great work, Toni!
Advocacy Spotlight:
People USA
 
We met with Steve Miccio, CEO of People USA, an incredible peer-run mental health nonprofit that creates, provides, and promotes its own innovative crisis response and wellness services. 
 
People USA has been a leader in providing person-centered care for those experiencing acute emotional distress for more than 20 years and are available to listen and help 24/7/365, with respectful, trauma-informed support, safe spaces and connections to further needed services. These services include Rose House, a short-term crisis respite that are home-like alternatives to hospital, and are open and immediately accessible 24/7/365 for hospital psychiatric ERs and inpatient units diversion; a Crisis Stabilization Center, a walk-in hub for people of all ages to connect – 24/7/365 – with an integrated team of clinicians, peer specialists, and health professionals when they’re experiencing emotional distress, acute psychiatric symptoms, addiction challenges, intoxication, family issues, and other life stressors; a Mobile Crisis Stabilization Team of clinicians, peers, and subscribers who work directly with law enforcement and courts to ensure that people presenting with mental health or substance use issues stay out of the criminal justice system when behavioral health interventions are the more appropriate response; and Integrated Peer Services where People USA employs staff who are embedded in hospital ERs, inpatient units, and intensive short-term treatment, providing, modeling, and advocating for high-quality customer service, trauma-informed care and better engagement between provider and patient.
 
For more information, visit https://people-usa.org.
Students With Psychosis is excited to host our second annual RETHINK, February 26th, 2022, with both in-person and virtual attendance options. The purpose of RETHINK is to change the narrative about psychosis while bringing together student leaders and advocates in celebration of our psychosis community. Learn more here.

ASENT Annual Meeting 2021, being held February 28 - March 3, 2022, will be virtual and free to attend. Learn about the latest in neurotherapeutics including innovations across disease states, novel delivery systems, gene therapy and biomarkers, and drug therapies and devices. Learn more here.

Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA) is excited to announce that registration is now open for the ADAA 2022 Annual Conference and that it will be held in person* March 17-20, 2022, in Denver, Colorado. ADAA members are encouraged to register by December 15, 2021.

SCRS Diversity Site Solutions Summit is being held in Austin, Texas, on May 20th, 2022. This is SCRS' inaugural diversity meeting and will feature critical content for research sites as regulatory and sponsor directives require more inclusion of diverse populations in clinical trials. Learn more here.

SIRS 2022 Annual Congress is being held April 6-10 in Florence, Italy. The 2022 Congress of the Schizophrenia International Research Society (SIRS) will be in a hybrid format with this year's theme being Moving Forward Together: Diversity in Global Research. Learn more here.

ACRP 2022 is being held April 22-25 in Orlando, Florida. The Association of Clinical Research Professionals (ACRP) invites clinical research professionals to join them to learn strategies, best practices, and creative solutions for improving clinical trial quality and advancing your career. Learn more here.

SOBP's 2022 Annual Meeting is being held April 28-30 in New Orleans. The Society of Biological Psychiatry meeting program will focus on alternative and transformative frameworks for understanding psychiatric illnesses, and present enhanced and newly emerging tools for measurement and manipulation. Within these frameworks and with these tools, techniques and experimental designs are illustrated that can enhance understanding of psychiatric illness and elucidate the biological pathways and markers of illness processes. Learn more here.

APA 2022 Annual Meeting is being held May 21-25 in New Orleans, with this year's theme being Social Determinants of Mental Health. The American Psychiatric Association is offering a new Clinical Updates Track with practical pearls of wisdom; a Research Track hosted by NIDA, with sessions also from NIAAA and SAMHSA; and a special Technology Track to help you stay up to date on the major changes to clinical practice brought about by the pandemic. Learn more here.

Mental Health America’s (MHA) 2022 Annual Conference, Forward Together: Recovery, Healing, Hope, will take place in Washington, DC from June 9-11, 2022. The event will bring together hundreds of MHA affiliates, peers, providers, government officials, media, and key stakeholders from across the country to explore the intersecting equity issues that exist in mental health. The 2022 conference will be offered in a hybrid format consisting of an in-person event which will be live-streamed to a virtual platform for remote attendees to access, allowing us to reach supporters across the globe. Learn more here.

NAMICon 2022, Together for Mental Health, will be held June 14-16, 2022, and has shifted to a Virtual Only format. Save that date!

The 8th Annual BRAIN Initiative Meeting will take place from Tuesday, June 21 – Wednesday, June 22, 2022. Everyone with an interest in BRAIN and neuroscience research is welcome as we aim to continue building this vibrant and cross-collaborating community. This forum will provide space to discuss exciting scientific developments and potential new directions, and to identify areas for collaboration and research coordination. It is anticipated that this event will be a hybrid format, stay tuned for further details. Learn more here.
Are you STARR Certified?
The STARR Site Certification was created to help advance mental health clinical research by promoting community engagement, empathy, and communication between research sites, staff, patients, and advocacy groups, as well as providing support for best practices around working with advocacy, suicide prevention, and other areas that enhance clinical research.
Everything The STARR Coalition does comes from our stakeholders looking to make positive change. 

The STARR Coalition is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, our Tax ID # is 47-4634007.
Visit us on the web at www.thestarr.org. Like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, connect with us on LinkedIn.
The STARR Coalition is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, our Tax ID # is 47-4634007.
The STARR Coalition | phone: 501-725-8890 | www.thestarr.org