Seminars & Workshops
Pfizer Investigator Training Program (iTP) Online

This unique, two-day, virtual (via Zoom), free-of-charge program will empower clinical researchers to build critical skills required for the recruitment, management, conduct, and reporting of clinical trials. It will examine the entire trial process, from planning stages to trial close-out activities, and will provide practical recommendations for increasing the efficiency of clinical trial conduct at investigative sites. This year’s program will also include a pediatric clinical research module.

Led by clinical trial experts, this interactive training will consist of didactic lectures and discussions. The iTP is targeted to investigators and the entire clinical study team, including research fellows, coordinators, research nurses, data managers, regulatory, and IRB members. Clinical trial experience (even if limited) is encouraged, though not required.

Learning modules will include:

  • The Drug Development Process
  • Study Start-Up
  • Conducting a Study
  • Study Oversight
  • Safety in Clinical Trials
  • Pediatric Clinical Research.

Attendees who complete the training will receive a Transcelerate GCP Certificate.

Details

Wednesday, November 4 and Thursday, November 5
2:00-5:00PM
via Zoom (login details will be sent to those who register).

To receive the Transcelerate GCP certificate, attendees are expected to:

  • Attend both sessions for the entire time.
  • Have a stable internet connection.
  • Keep their cameras on for the entire event.
  • Respond to polls and questions.

Registration

Registration for this event is now closed. 

Contact

Questions? Please email info@tuftsctsi.org for assistance.

Seminars & Workshops
Disseminating Research Results to Participants and the Public – Session 2

Does your study follow the best practice of communicating end results to participants? Are you disseminating findings to affected communities that are understandable and actionable?

The new Common Rule (NIH 2017) emphasizes the need for clinical research investigators and teams to provide participants with information they can read, understand and act on. In a recent survey of past clinical trial participants (CISCRP 2019), 68% said they wanted to receive a post-study summary of results they could understand and use, but only 38% reported receiving any such communication.

Applying a health literacy framework supports study teams to meet the literacy, language, and cultural health communication needs of participants and the public. Using plain language writing and design principles enables study teams to develop results summaries that are relevant, understand and actionable.

This 90-minute online workshop, Disseminating Research Results to Participants and the Public, is led by health literacy and plain language experts from Tufts CTSI faculty, along with guest lectures from the Multi-Regional Clinical Trials (MRCT) Center of Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard and the Center for Information & Study on Clinical Research Participation (CISCRP). Participants will learn about health literacy and plain language as a strategic effort to communicate more clearly throughout the clinical research life cycle, practice plain language writing and design techniques to communicate end of study findings, and engage in dialogue and reflection on how to apply lessons learned in practice.

The workshop will use Zoom video conferencing for live interactive learning and the I LEARN course management system to support applied asynchronous learning activities. This online program will be engaging, interactive, and tailored to meet participant needs.

After attending this event, participants should be able to:

  • Define health literacy and plain language as a strategic approach to communication throughout the clinical research life cycle, with a focus on sharing post-study results with participants and the community
  • Apply plain language writing and design principles when crafting written communications at the close of a study that are tailored to needs of study participants and the public (i.e. drafting a letter to participants describing aggregate results or a one-page fact sheets describing relevant findings to the public).

Faculty

Sabrina Kurtz-Rossi, MEd, is Assistant Professor of Public Health and Community Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine. Kurtz-Rossi has extensive experience teaching with technology and creating engaging and tailored remote learning experiences. She will introduce the fundamentals of health literacy and plain language in health and science communication with the public.

Sylvia Baedorf Kassis, MPH, is Program Manager for Health Literacy in Clinical Research at the Multi-Regional Clinical Trials (MRCT) Center of Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard. Baedorf Kassis will cover health literacy throughout the clinical research life cycle and specifically techniques for communicating results to study participants.

Behtash Bahador, MS, is Associate Director of Relationship Management and Development at the Center for Information & Study on Clinical Research Participation (CISCRP). Bahador will offer further specific guidance and resources on the return of results and will use case examples to facilitate communication of research results to affected communities.

Details

Date: Wednesday, November 4, 2020, 10:00–11:30AM (90 min)

Location: Zoom video conference and I LEARN course management system

Clinical research investigators and coordinators, and anyone on the clinical research team responsible for communicating results to study participants, are encouraged to attend, especially investigators and study teams with results ready to share.

If you are an investigator with experience sharing study results with study participants and the public, please contact sabrina.kurtz_rossi@tufts.edu so that we may incorporate your experience, questions, and challenges into the content of the training.

To join in this live, 90-minute online event, participants must be able to access the Internet using a device with audio and video camera capabilities. Participants will receive an invitation to join the training live via Zoom and to log onto the I LEARN course management system to access all training materials. Please join the training from a location that has reliable internet access and limited background noise.

Course enrollment priority is given to researchers from Tufts CTSI partner institutions.

If your participation needs to be approved by your supervisor or a person responsible for your time release, you may provide their contact information when you register for the program.

Registration

To attend, please register here.

Tufts CTSI Professional Education & Expectations for Course Participants

Tufts CTSI’s Professional Education programs provide non-degree continuing education and training for clinical and translational research professionals from all Tufts CTSI partners and beyond.

Course enrollment priority is given to researchers from Tufts CTSI partner institutions. If your participation needs to be approved by your supervisor or a person responsible for your time release, you may provide their contact information when you register for the program.

This course is provided free of charge and is supported by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Award Number UL1TR002544.  The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH.

CANCELLED
Center for Quantitative Methods and Data Science Seminar: Tanya Karagiannis, MS

This event is cancelled. We apologize for any inconvenience.

The Center for Quantitative Methods and Data Science, in partnership with the Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Research Design (BERD) Center and the Data-Intensive Studies Center (DISC) will host a Zoom seminar series on a Wednesday each month from 2:00-3:00PM.

The November session on Wednesday, November 11 will feature Tanya Karagiannis, MS. She will give a talk titled Analysis of Single Cell Transcriptomics Data as it Relates to Aging and Longevity.

Abstract

Studies of aging have shown a gradual decline in the immune system, such that people experience age-related disabilities and diseases as well as differences in immune population composition and functions over time. However, a rare population of individuals who reach 100 years of age known as centenarians, experience delay in age-related disabilities and diseases and in fact live the majority of their lives in good health. In order to investigate how centenarians delay and defy aging, we utilize single cell transcriptomic methods to investigate longevity related differences in the peripheral blood immune system of centenarians. Single cell level transcriptomic data has allowed for the profiling of thousands of cells to characterize cell states and populations in specific tissues. More specifically, these methods can be used to identify rare populations and assess transcriptional similarities and differences within a population of cells. We describe integrated analyses using four single cell RNA-sequencing datasets that we conducted to investigate compositional and gene expression differences in immune populations of centenarians and younger age controls (20-80 years). Early findings demonstrate gene expression differences between centenarians and younger age controls that are specific to populations of cells. We also find centenarians not only have cell type specific compositional differences but overall have more cell type diversity than younger age controls.

Faculty

Tanya Karagiannis is a Research Assistant at Tufts Medical Center in the Institute for Clinical Research and Health Policy Studies, working with Dr. Paola Sebastiani. She has an MS in Bioinformatics from Boston University where she is also continuing her PhD in Bioinformatics under the advisement of Dr. Paola Sebastiani and Dr. Stefano Monti. Her research focus is in the application and development of single cell transcriptomic methods utilizing machine learning and Bayesian statistics, with interest in multi-omics as well.

Details

Date: Wednesday, November 11, 2020, 2:00-3:00PM

Location: Zoom video conference.

Registration

To receive the link to the Zoom video conference, please register here.