Seminars & Workshops
“Unlocking Insights: The Power of Natural Language Processing in Healthcare” with Dr. Alysse Wurcel

Join us for an engaging live Zoom event featuring Dr. Alysse Wurcel, a dedicated clinical scientist and thought leader whose work in translational science showcases the power of Natural Language Processing (NLP) to unlock information hidden in clinical data.

Dr. Wurcel’s NLP research identifies a difficult to uncover population – people who use drugs – and demonstrates the limitations of traditional Electronic Medical Record searches. Her work reveals how NLP can serve as a more effective, efficient, and ethical alternative to chart reviews. By incorporating NLP in her research, Dr. Wurcel not only identifies patients more accurately but creates the opportunity to improve care through earlier identification of at-risk populations in need of better access to care and services.

Why attend?

– Learn from Experts: Gain insights from Dr. Wurcel and our expert panelists on how NLP is transforming clinical and translational research. Understand how it serves as a bridge between raw data and tangible healthcare improvements.

– Build Strong Collaborative Teams: Explore the vital role of interdisciplinary collaboration in translational science. Learn how partnering with the right experts can strengthen your team and accelerate your research and clinical goals.

Explore Ethical and Practical Dimensions: Dive into the ethical considerations and challenges of implementing NLP in healthcare settings. Understand the importance of language choices and how they can influence patient trust, engagement, and outcomes.

– Innovate in Patient Care: Engage with thought leaders about the future of patient care. Learn how adopting cutting-edge technologies like NLP can create more person-centered healthcare systems and contribute to a broader understanding of patient needs.

Utilize the Translational Science Benefits Model: Analyze this case example to identify the wide-ranging benefits of your research, highlighting how these advantages impact interest holders across various disciplines.

Who should attend?

– Researchers and Scientists interested in identifying and understanding the needs of patients who use drugs, exploring the applications of NLP, or identifying additional benefits of their research using the Translational Science Benefits Model.

– Clinicians and Healthcare Providers seeking to enhance patient care through innovative technologies and learn how to integrate NLP into clinical practice.

– Informatics Specialists and Data Scientists passionate about data-driven healthcare solutions and their practical implementation.

– Ethics and Language Experts interested in the intersection of language, technology, and patient care, focusing on the ethical implications of these advancements.

– Program Administrators and Grant Managers responsible for designing and overseeing small funding opportunities aimed at advancing translational science.

Expert panelists

Laura Haaber Ihle, PhD (AI Ethicist)

Aurora Quaye, MD (Anesthesiologist and researcher)

Liz Scharnetzki, PhD (Social Psychologist)

Annika Schoene, PhD (Computer Scientist)

Lightning talks

Leslie Rideout, PhD, FNP, BSN (Tufts Medical Center)

Aurora Quaye, MD (Maine Health)

Isha Agarwal, MD, ScD (Maine Health)

Details

Live session via Zoom: Thursday, October 24, 10:00AM-11:30AM EST

Registration

Register in advance.

Contact

For any questions about the event, please contact Alyssa Cabrera.

Seminars & Workshops
Clinical Research Staff Quarterly Training: “Best Practices for Working with Research Participants””

Join Tufts CTSI on Zoom for the next Clinical Research Staff Quarterly Training on “Best Practices for Working with Research Participants” on Thursday, May 16 at 1:00PM. Learn from the lived experiences of past and current research participants in a panel discussion hosted by Tufts CTSI!

Panelists will talk about their experiences as research participants, with a focus on actionable methods that research staff can use to better engage with current and future participants. Attendees will also have the opportunity to ask their own questions in breakout groups. Learn more and register on I LEARN by noon on Thursday, May 16!

Who Should Attend?

Research team members from all institutions are invited to attend!

Learning Objectives

After attending this training, you will be able to:

  • Describe different factors that can impact research participants’ decisions on whether to participate in research.
  • List at least two ideas for improving your recruitment and retention strategies.

Details

Thursday, May 16, 2024
1:00PM-2:00PM

via Zoom

Registration

To attend, please enroll here via Tufts CTSI I LEARN.

For questions and further information, please email training@tuftsctsi.org.

Seminars & Workshops
D&I INTEREST GROUP MEETING: “Looking down the road towards impact” w/ Dr. Douglas Luke

Save the Date and join Tufts CTSI’s Dissemination & Implementation Core for their next D&I Interest Group (DIIG) on Monday, May 20 at 11:00AM!

Douglas Luke, PhD, will present “Looking down the road towards impact: How to conceptualize your research through the Translational Science Benefits Model (TSBM) framework.” In this talk, Dr. Luke will explore the TSBM framework as a powerful tool for researchers to envision the trajectory of their work from conception to real-world impact. Whether you are an early-stage investigator or an established researcher, this talk will provide valuable insights into how you can effectively conceptualize your research to drive meaningful change in healthcare and beyond.

Seminars & Workshops
3rd Annual Dissemination of Research Results Open House

Tufts CTSI is pleased to invite you to attend our 3rd Annual Dissemination of Research Results Open House Zoom event on Tuesday, May 7, from 6:00PM-7:00PM EST!

We are excited to have Dr. Erin Meier from Northeastern Unviersity and Dr. Gaurav Gulati fromTufts Medical Center scheduled to present the results of their studies:

  • Dr. Meier: Word Retrieval in the Wild: A Smartwatch Ecological Momentary Assessment Pilot Study in People with Post-Stroke Aphasia
  • Dr. Gulati: Helping the Right Heart Pump Better in Shock: A New Tool

This event is an opportunity for study participants to learn about the results of the study in which they participated. It is also an opportunity for the general public to learn more about research happening at Tufts Medical Center and Northeastern University. Each 15-minute presentation will be followed by a Q&A session with the researchers.

Details

Live session via Zoom: Tuesday, May 7, 2024, 6:00PM-7:00PM EST 

Download and share the event flyer.

Registration

Registration is required! Please register on Tufts CTSI I LEARN.

Information

If you have any questions, please contact Patricia Reyes (patricia.reyes@tuftsmedicine.org).

Seminars & Workshops
Hybrid Tele-mental Health and Community Forum

                     Hybrid Tele-mental Health &                        Community Forum in Roxbury

Event Details

Thursday, April 4, 2024

6:00PM-7:30PM

Bruce C. Bolling Municipal Building

2300 Washington St.

Boston, Mass. 02119

Summary

You are invited to join Tufts CTSI’s Collaboration for Research, Equity, Sustainability, and Trust (CREST) in person and via Zoom on Thursday, April 4 at 6:00PM for a Tele-mental Health and Community Forum in Roxbury.

There will be a panel discussion with experts and professionals centered around demystifying tele-mental health and engaging community members with a focus on education, access (both opportunities and challenges) and awareness.

The goals of the forum are to:

  • Promote the significance of mental health screenings.
  • Advocate for resources to support Tele-mental health needs in underserved communities.
  • Explore the multicultural landscape in Tele-mental health research.
  • Solicit audience-generated research questions.

The forum, held at the Bruce C. Bolling Municipal Building in Boston’s Nubian Square, will be moderated by Aleesha N. Young, LPC, PsyD, a licensed Mental Health Practitioner and Forensic Evaluator.

Registration

Registration is now open!

Download and share the event flyer.

Download the full agenda and complete list of speakers.

Seminars & Workshops
Decoding Nutrition Guidance: “Navigating Confusion and Trustworthiness” at the Museum of Science

Decoding Nutrition Guidance:

“Navigating Confusion and Trustworthiness”

Event Details

Tuesday, April 2, 2024

10:00AM–12:00PM

Museum of Science, Boston (directions)

1 Science Park

Boston, Mass. 02114

Summary

Tufts CTSI and the Museum of Science, Boston invite you to attend “Decoding Nutrition Guidance: Navigating Confusion and Trustworthiness” on Tuesday, April 2 at 10:00AM. This in-person public forum will bring people together to engage in discussions around truth, trust, and nutritional science.

Participants will engage in roundtable discussions on topics such as finding credible sources of information, what we think is trustworthy, and reflection on challenges we face understanding food and nutrition guidance.

Please join us for this important conversation! This event is free with advance registration.

Participants will receive a $25 e-gift card approximately one month after the event.

Registration

Registration is now open!

Download and share the event flyer.

Forum Speakers

Alice H. Lichtenstein, DSc, Gershoff Professor of Nutrition Science and Policy, Friedman School, Senior Scientist and Director, Cardiovascular Nutrition Laboratory

Lara Hyde, PhD, Creator of the Nourishable YouTube Channel and Adjunct Instructor at Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy

Christine Sinclair, MA, MS, RD, LDN, Registered Dietitian

Seminars & Workshops
D&I INTEREST GROUP MEETING: “Incorporating Qualitative Methods in Your Dissemination and Implementation (D&I) Project” w/ Dr. Carmit McMullen

Join Tufts CTSI’s Dissemination & Implementation Core for their next D&I Interest Group (DIIG) on Tuesday, March 26 at 1:00PM! Carmit McMullen, PhD, will present “Incorporating Qualitative Methods in Your Dissemination and Implementation (D&I) Project.”

Dr. McMullen is a medical anthropologist who studies health informatics, cancer survivorship, and healthcare delivery. She provides expertise in qualitative and ethnographic research methods, such as focus groups, interviews, and fieldwork (participant observation), for studies in diverse subject areas. She also facilitates stakeholder engagement in research by leading advisory boards and by training patient advocates and integrating them into the research process.

Details

Live session via Zoom: Tuesday, March 26, 1:00PM-2:00PM EST

Registration

To register in advance, click here.

To download and share the event flyer, click here.

All are welcome to attend and learn more about D&I!

Contact

Please contact Anna Thompson with any questions.

Seminars & Workshops
BHDSC Seminar: “Toward a Generalized Model of Biomedical Query Mediation to Improve Electronic Health Record Data Retrieval”

The Biomedical and Health Data Sciences Collaborative (BHDSC), a cross-disciplinary group formed by Tufts Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) and Institute for Clinical Research and Health Policy Studies (ICRHPS) at Tufts Medical Center, invites you to attend a virtual seminar on Wednesday, February 28 from 2:00PM-3:00PM.

Dr. Gregory W. Hruby will give a talk titled ” Toward a Generalized Model of Biomedical Query Mediation to Improve Electronic Health Record Data Retrieval.”

Abstract

The EHR serves as a vital resource for medical knowledge discovery, demanding both medical and technical expertise for data interrogation. Biomedical query mediation (BQM) is the process where medical researchers collaborate with query analysts to translate information needs into EHR queries. The absence of a BQM standard leads to varied practices, potentially affecting dataset accuracy. This work enhances understanding of BQM through three studies: 1) content analysis of the BQM process, 2) cognitive task analysis for workflow, and 3) development of a concept schema for comprehensive EHR data needs.

Speaker Bio

Gregory W. Hruby, a Clinical Research Scientist with a PhD in Biomedical Informatics from Columbia University, is dedicated to advancing clinical care value initiatives. With a solid foundation in qualitative and quantitative methods, he specializes in extracting insights from complex communication processes between medical data seekers and electronic health record data analysts. His expertise includes extensive knowledge of electronic healthcare data, spanning EHR/ERP systems and various data terminologies.

Details

Wednesday, February 28, 2024
2:00PM-3:00PM EST

To attend virtually, click here.

Contact

Please contact Anastasia Gurinovich and Ellaina Reed if you have any questions. Feel free to pass on to others who may be interested.

Seminars & Workshops
Obtaining Informed Consent: A Practical Approach

Does your research work involve recruiting human research volunteers?

Join Tufts CTSI for a hands-on workshop practicing informed consent conversations with past research participants. The workshop is blended synchronous/asynchronous with a live session Thursday, March 14, 2024, from 10:00AM-12:00PM via Zoom. Research staff who participate in consent conversations are encouraged to register on I LEARN by noon on Wednesday, March 13.

Participants must complete all of the pre-work on Tufts CTSI I LEARN in order to receive the Zoom link for the live training. While in the live workshop your active participation in the live role-play activity is required. You will also learn through providing feedback to others and engaging in group discussion. This will ensure that you get the most out of what this training has to offer.

Clinical research coordinators, investigators, research fellows, research nurses, and anyone involved in obtaining informed consent are encouraged to attend.

By the end of this workshop, participants of Parts 1 & 2 will be able to:

  • List the essential elements of informed consent.
  • Demonstrate (using plain language) explaining the informed consent process, in a virtual setting.
  • Demonstrate multiple techniques to verify participants’ comprehension.
  • Identify 2-3 key considerations for obtaining informed consent in a remote or virtual setting.

Enrollment is limited due to the hands-on nature of this training. After enrollment, participants will be asked to upload proof of completion of CITI basic training in human subjects research.

Details

Live session via Zoom: Tuesday, March 14, 2024, 10:00PM-12:00PM EST 

Registration

To attend, please register here via Tufts CTSI I LEARN.

Prerequisite

Enrollment is limited due to the hands-on nature of this training. After enrollment, participants will be asked to upload proof of completion of CITI basic training in human subjects research.

Seminars & Workshops
“HIPAA Compliance and Privacy for Research”

Tufts Medicine clinical research staff and investigators are invited to join Tufts CTSI in person on Thursday, February 15 at 1:00PM as we demonstrate the importance of clinical research’s adherence to HIPAA’s Research Privacy rule and the related IRB requirements. Bring your department/research team and test your HIPAA compliance and privacy knowledge against your peers in a mini-jeopardy game!

Who Should Attend?

All investigators and clinical research staff from Tufts Medicine and Tufts University are invited to attend!

Learning Objectives

By the end of this session, you will be able to:

  • Identify HIPAA regulations that apply specifically to research.
  • Describe the impact of HIPAA and privacy regulations on research.
  • Describe at least 3 strategies to operationalize compliance and privacy policies into your day-to-day operations.

Details

Thursday, February 15, 2024
1:00PM-2:00PM

via Zoom

Registration

To attend, please enroll here via Tufts CTSI I LEARN.

For questions and further information, please email training@tuftsctsi.org.

Seminars & Workshops
BHDSC Seminar: “Using Google search data for localized flu tracking”

The Biomedical and Health Data Sciences Collaborative (BHDSC), a cross-disciplinary group formed by the Tufts Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) and Institute for Clinical Research and Health Policy Studies (ICRHPS) at Tufts Medical Center, invites you to attend an in-person seminar (with a virtual option) on Wednesday, January 24 at 2:00PM at 35 Kneeland Street, 8th Floor Conference room.

Dr. Shaoyang Ning will give a talk titled “Using Google search data for localized flu tracking.”

Abstract

Big data from the Internet has great potential to track social and economic events at multiple geographical levels. Focusing on localized (regional, state-level) tracking the seasonal influenza epidemics within U.S., I will introduce a statistical model that efficiently combines publicly available Google search data at different geographical resolutions with traditional influenza surveillance data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Our method outperforms time-series-based influenza tracking methods. Our model is robust and easy to implement, with the flexibility to incorporate additional information from other sources and/or resolutions, making it generally applicable to tracking other social, economic or public health events (such as COVID-19) at the regional or local level.

Speaker Bio

Shaoyang Ning is an Assistant Professor of Statistics in the Department of Mathematics & Statistics at Williams College. He received my Ph.D. in Statistics from Harvard in 2018 and his B.S. in Probability and Statistics from Peking University, China in 2013. His research focuses on the study and design of statistical methods for integrative data analysis, in particular, to address the challenges of increasing complexity and connectivity arising from “Big Data”. He is interested in innovating statistical methods that efficiently integrate multi-source, multi-resolution information to solve real-life problems. Instances include tracking flu activities (and other infectious diseases) with Google search data and predicting cancer-targeting drugs with high-throughput multi-omics data.

Details

Wednesday, January 24, 2024
2:00PM-3:00PM EST

To attend virtually, click here.

Contact

Please contact Anastasia Gurinovich and Ellaina Reed if you have any questions. Feel free to pass on to others who may be interested.

Seminars & Workshops
2024 Faculty Mentor Training – Session 3

Want to be a more effective research mentor?

Tufts CTSI will offer three opportunities for faculty members with mentees preparing for research careers in biomedical, behavioral, clinical, and social sciences to receive training in effective mentorship.

If you are responsible for mentoring Tufts CTSI’s graduate education program’s fellows (T32) and scholars (K12), this is a great opportunity to complete the mentor training recommended every other year.

Available Sessions

  • Monday, April 15, 2024, 1:00PM – 2:30PM ET
  • Monday, September 16, 2024, 1:00PM – 2:30PM ET
  • Monday, December 2, 2024, 1:00PM – 2:30PM ET 

This is a blended learning experience. The required, asynchronous prework will be available on the Tufts CTSI I LEARN platform approximately one month before the schedjled live session. All live sessions  will take place via Zoom. Each session is limited to 8-12 participants to optimize small group and peer learning. Admission to mentor training is by open to faculty at any rank and is open to faculty across our partner network. Registration is now open! Please register for only ONE session

Details

Learn more about Mentor Training and register for the Monday, December 2 session by clicking here.

Seminars & Workshops
2024 Faculty Mentor Training – Session 2

Want to be a more effective research mentor?

Tufts CTSI will offer three opportunities for faculty members with mentees preparing for research careers in biomedical, behavioral, clinical, and social sciences to receive training in effective mentorship.

If you are responsible for mentoring Tufts CTSI’s graduate education program’s fellows (T32) and scholars (K12), this is a great opportunity to complete the mentor training recommended every other year.

Available Sessions

  • Monday, April 15, 2024, 1:00PM – 2:30PM ET
  • Monday, September 16, 2024, 1:00PM – 2:30PM ET
  • Monday, December 2, 2024, 1:00PM – 2:30PM ET 

This is a blended learning experience. The required, asynchronous prework will be available on the Tufts CTSI I LEARN platform approximately one month before the schedjled live session. All live sessions  will take place via Zoom. Each session is limited to 8-12 participants to optimize small group and peer learning. Admission to mentor training is by open to faculty at any rank and is open to faculty across our partner network. Registration is now open! Please register for only ONE session

Details

Learn more about Mentor Training and register for the Monday, September 16 session by clicking here.

Seminars & Workshops
2024 Faculty Mentor Training – Session 1

Want to be a more effective research mentor?

Tufts CTSI will offer three opportunities for faculty members with mentees preparing for research careers in biomedical, behavioral, clinical, and social sciences to receive training in effective mentorship.

If you are responsible for mentoring Tufts CTSI’s graduate education program’s fellows (T32) and scholars (K12), this is a great opportunity to complete the mentor training recommended every other year.

Available Sessions

  • Monday, April 15, 2024, 1:00PM – 2:30PM ET
  • Monday, September 16, 2024, 1:00PM – 2:30PM ET
  • Monday, December 2, 2024, 1:00PM – 2:30PM ET

This is a blended learning experience. The required, asynchronous prework will be available on the Tufts CTSI I LEARN platform approximately one month before the schedjled live session. All live sessions  will take place via Zoom. Each session is limited to 8-12 participants to optimize small group and peer learning. Admission to mentor training is by open to faculty at any rank and is open to faculty across our partner network. Registration is now open! Please register for only ONE session

Details

Learn more about Mentor Training and register for the Monday, April 15 session by clicking here.

Seminars & Workshops
D&I Interest Group Meeting: “The Next Generation of Implementation Strategy Testing: Optimizing for Impact, Efficiency, and Equity” w/ Dr. Cara C. Lewis

Join Tufts CTSI’s Dissemination & Implementation Core for their next D&I Interest Group (DIIG) on Tuesday, January 30 at 11:00AM! Cara C. Lewis, PhD, Deputy Director of the Center for Translation Research and Implementation Science (CTRIS) at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute within the National Institutes of Health, will present “The Next Generation of Implementation Strategy Testing: Optimizing for Impact, Efficiency, and Equity.”

Dr. Lewis’ expertise in implementation science is evidenced through her national and international responsibilities including serving as President of the Society for Implementation Research Collaboration, as co-founding Editor-in-Chief of Implementation Research and Practice, lecturer for implementation science training institutes, scientific advisor domestically and abroad (e.g., centers in Ireland, Australia), and co-editor of Practical Implementation Science.  In 2022, Clarivate recognized her as one of the most highly cited social scientists globally.

Dr. Lewis will anchor the audience in a tale of why implementation science, specifically the study of implementation strategy mechanisms, is critical for impacting public health, equitably and efficiently. NHLBI priorities around dissemination and implementation science will be discussed.

Details

Live session via Zoom: Tuesday, January 30, 11:00AM-12:00PM EST

Registration

To register in advance, click here.

To download and share the event flyer, click here.

All are welcome to attend and learn more about D&I!

Contact

Please contact Anna Thompson with any questions.

Seminars & Workshops
Clinical Research Staff Quarterly Training Q4 2023: “Getting Ready to Enroll: A Deep Dive into Study Start-Up Processes”

Join Tufts CTSI on Zoom on Thursday, December 7 at 1:00PM to review the newly revised Study Start-up Toolkit and take a deeper dive into two critical study start-up processes: feasibility questionnaires and site activation checklists.

This training will review the newly revised Study Start-up Toolkit and take a deeper dive into two critical study startup processes: feasibility questionnaires and site activation checklists. You will learn how the Toolkit can serve as a valuable reference for study startup. You will also learn strategies for completing feasibility questionnaires, including how to negotiate with sponsors on information requested.

Finally, this session will cover the differences between sponsor and local site activation checklists and how to manage your timelines for completing both so that your study is ready to enroll.

Who Should Attend?

All clinical research coordinators from Tufts Medicine are invited to attend!

Goals

During this session, you will:

  • Navigate the Study Start-up Toolkit resource.
  • Describe at least three best practices for completing sponsor feasibility questionnaires.
  • Differentiate between sponsor-provided and Tufts Medical Center site activation checklists.
  • Describe strategies and timelines for completing the site activation checklists.

Details

Thursday, December 7, 2023
1:00PM-2:00PM

via Zoom

Registration

To attend, please enroll here via Tufts CTSI I LEARN.

For questions and further information, please email training@tuftsctsi.org.

Seminars & Workshops
D&I Interest Group Meeting: “What Taylor Swift Teaches Us about Engaging Stakeholders” w/ Dr. Alysse Wurcel

Join Tufts CTSI’s D&I Interest Group to learn about stakeholder engagement in implementation science!

Tufts Medical Center’s Alysse Wurcel, MD, MS will present “What Taylor Swift Teaches Us about Engaging Stakeholders” via Zoom. An open discussion will follow her presentation.

Dr. Wurcel is an attending physician in the Division of Infectious Diseases and Geographic Medicine at Tufts Medical Center and Assistant Professor of Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine. She is board certified in Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases. A graduate of University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, she completed her Infectious Disease fellowship at Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital and Tufts Medical Center, and received a Masters in Clinical Research from the School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences at Tufts University. She currently provides HIV, hepatitis C care at Tufts Medical Center as well as six local county jails. She is the infectious diseases consultant to the Massachusetts Sheriffs Association for COVID19 prevention and mitigation strategies.

Details

Live session via Zoom: Wednesday, November 15, 1:00PM-2:00PM EST

Learning Objectives

Learning objectives:

1. Describe why stakeholder involvement is important in D&I research

2. Explain different strategies for involving stakeholders in D&I research

3. Describe what good stakeholder involvement looks like for an NIH grant

Registration

To register in advance, click here.

To download and share the event flyer, click here

All are welcome to attend and learn more about D&I!

Contact

Please contact Anna Thompson with any questions.

Seminars & Workshops
BHDSC Seminar: “Integrating post sequencing workflows and statistical approaches to improve the robustness of microbial community data analyses”

The Biomedical and Health Data Sciences Collaborative (BHDSC), a cross-disciplinary group formed by the Tufts Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) and Institute for Clinical Research and Health Policy Studies (ICRHPS) at Tufts Medical Center, invites you to attend an in-person seminar (with a virtual option) at 35 Kneeland Street, 8th Floor Conference room.

Dr. Jacob Nearing will give a talk titled “Integrating post sequencing workflows and statistical approaches to improve the robustness of microbial community data analyses”.

Abstract

Modern day sequencing technology has allowed researchers to take vast surveys of the various microbes living within numerous environments including the human body, ocean, and soil. Through this work we have found that these microbial communities, termed the microbiome, can play significant roles in their environment’s ecosystem. Yet, while various microbe(s) have been associated with numerous phenotypes such as host health, these results are often not reproducible across studies. There are many reasons as to why this may be the case including the difficulty in matching results between differing sequencing technologies such as 16S rRNA gene sequencing and shotgun metagenomic sequencing or the use of differing statistical models during data analysis. Both of which can result in differing biological conclusions from the same underlying samples. In this presentation, I will highlight my recent research on developing a tool to help address the gap between 16S and shotgun sequencing using phylogenetic placement and the use of uncertainty in difficult to assign taxonomic labels, to provide more clarity during downstream analysis. With the final goal of creating microbial profiles that have higher agreement between differing sequencing technologies. In addition,  I will  present another part of work on evaluating how differing commonly used statistical approaches in microbiome data analysis can result in different biological interpretations. Highlighting the need for more robust approaches to modeling microbiome data in the future.

Speaker Bio

Dr. Jacob Nearing is a postdoctoral fellow in the department of biostatistics at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Under the supervision of Dr. Curtis Huttenhower, he focuses on improving microbiome data analysis through the creation of new bioinformatic tools and evaluating those already present in the current literature. He has expertise in microbiome data analysis, microbiology, and bioinformatic research. During his PhD at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, he received numerous scholarships to fund his work on the oral microbiome and cancer. During 2022, Nature Communications highlighted his work on microbiome differential abundance analysis as one of the top 25 most downloaded works published in the biology section for that year.

Details

Wednesday, November 15, 2023
2:00PM-3:00PM EST

To attend virtually, click here.

Contact

Please contact Anastasia Gurinovich  and Ellaina Reed if you have any questions. Feel free to pass on to others who may be interested.

Seminars & Workshops
Building Resilience: “Promoting AAPI Access to Mental Health Care”

BUILDING RESILIENCE:

Promoting AAPI Access to Mental Health Care

Event Details

Tuesday, October 24

9:00AM–12:00PM

Museum of Science, Boston (directions)

1 Science Park

Boston, Mass. 02114

Summary

Tufts CTSI and the Museum of Science cordially invite you to join us on Tuesday, October 24 from 9:00AM-12:00PM for a workshop titled “Building Resilience: Promoting AAPI Access to Mental Health Care.” 

Creating equitable access to mental health care is about more than making services and resources available. In many cultures and communities, mental health care is often stigmatized and shunned, leaving people to suffer in silence or face shame from family and friends.

The Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) population is the fastest growing racial group in Greater Boston, with one of every ten people in Boston identifying as AAPI. Yet, there are huge divides in the care accessible to this community. How can we start bridging the gaps in care? How can we begin the process of improving our healthcare systems to consider diverse perspectives and needs?

Join us as we bring together professionals and community leaders to discuss the current state of mental health care in AAPI communities, make connections, and start the conversation around making changes. Share your voice on this important topic and help us develop a more equitable system for everyone.

Registration

Registration is now open!

To register, please click here.

To download and share the event flyer, click here.

Panel Speakers

Catherine Chang, RN, Director of Behavioral Health Program at the Greater Boston Chinese Golden Age Center (GBCGAC)

Dr. Paul Watanabe, Professor of Political Science and Director of the Institute for Asian American Studies, University of Massachusetts, Boston

Samara Grossman, MSW, LICSW, Director, Center for Behavioral Health and Wellness Director, Center for Behavioral Health and Wellness, Boston Public Health Commission

Dr. Pata Suyemoto, Training Director, National Asian American Mental Health Association (NAAPIMHA); Associate Director of Equity, Massachusetts Coalition for Suicide Prevention (MCSP)

Dr. Insoo Hyun (moderator), Director, Center for Life Sciences and Public Learning, Museum of Science, Boston

Seminars & Workshops
Including Non-English Speaking Participants in Research

Does your research work involve recruiting human research volunteers from diverse populations?

Join Tufts CTSI for a hands-on workshop practicing informed consent conversations with interpreters and participants whose primary language is not English. The workshop is blended synchronous/asynchronous with a live session Thursday, October 26, 2:00PM-4:00PM via Zoom. Research staff who participate in consent conversations are encouraged to learn more and register on I LEARN by Wednesday, October 25.

Participants must complete all of the pre-work on Tufts CTSI I LEARN in order to receive the Zoom link for the live training. While in the live workshop your active participation in the live role-play activity is required. You will also learn through providing feedback to others and engaging in group discussion. This will ensure that you get the most out of what this training has to offer.

Clinical research coordinators, investigators, research fellows, research nurses, and anyone involved in obtaining informed consent are encouraged to attend.

By the end of this workshop, participants of Parts 1 & 2 will be able to:

  • Identify when a participant needs an interpreter in order to obtain informed consent.
  • Identify the correct procedure for working with an interpreter to obtain informed consent.
  • Demonstrate at least three communication techniques during obtaining informed consent conversations with an interpreter.

Enrollment is limited due to the hands-on nature of this training. After enrollment, participants will be asked to upload proof of completion of CITI basic training in human subjects research.

Details

Live session via Zoom: Thursday, October 26, 2023, 2:00PM-4:00PM EST 

Registration

To attend, please register here via Tufts CTSI I LEARN.

Prerequisite

CITI basic human subjects protection training. Participants will be required to upload proof of CITI completion to the Tufts CTSI I LEARN course site before the live session.

Seminars & Workshops
Clinical Research Staff Quarterly Training: Meet the Tufts Clinical Research Coordinator Community

Did you know there are more than 40 clinical research coordinators across Tufts community?

By popular demand, Tufts CTSI invites clinical research coordinators from Tufts Medicine and Tufts University to attend our first in-person Clinical Research Staff Quarterly Training on Tuesday, September 14 from 12:00PM-2:00PM. Engage in interactive, structured activities that will help you learn from others’ experiences, share your knowledge, and expand your network.

Bring your own lunch and enjoy dessert courtesy of the CRS Training Planning Group!

Who Should Attend?

All clinical research coordinators from Tufts Medicine and Tufts University are invited to attend!

Goals

During this session, you will:

  • Make connections with coworkers and identify who is a good source of information.
  • Share institutional knowledge.
  • Build community across clinical research staff at Tufts.

Details

Thursday, September 14, 2023
12:00PM-2:00PM

35 Kneeland St, 8th Floor

Boston, MA 02111

Registration

To attend, please enroll here via Tufts CTSI I LEARN.

For questions and further information, please email training@tuftsctsi.org.

Seminars & Workshops
D&I Interest Group Meeting: “Writing Implementation Science Grant Proposals” w/ Dr. Rachel Gold

You are invited to a virtual Dissemination and Implementation (D&I) Interest Group Meeting on Monday, September 12 from 1:00PM-2:00PM EST.

The guest speaker for the meeting will be Rachel Gold, PhD, MPH. An open discussion will follow her presentation.

Dr. Gold is an epidemiologist and health services researcher focusing on implementation science and using health information technology to improve care quality and reduce disparities in public clinics. Her work includes studying how to implement a multi-faceted quality improvement initiative that targets cardiovascular disease and diabetes care in community health centers serving socioeconomically vulnerable patients. In this session, Dr. Gold will discuss the ten key ingredients for writing implementation science grant proposals and share examples from her own work.

The talk is based on the article “Writing implementation research grant proposals: ten key ingredients” in Implementation Science.

Details

Live session via Zoom: Monday, September 12, 1:00PM-2:00PM EST

Registration

To register in advance, click here. All are welcome to attend and learn more about D&I!

Contact

Please contact Anna Thompson with any questions.

Seminars & Workshops
Biomedical and Health Data Sciences Collaborative (BHDSC) Virtual Seminar: “Estimating and forecasting the causal effects of extreme weather events on health”

The Biomedical and Health Data Sciences Collaborative (BHDSC), a cross-disciplinary group formed by the Tufts Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) and Institute for Clinical Research and Health Policy Studies (ICRHPS) at Tufts Medical Center, invites you to attend a virtual seminar on Wednesday, July 26 from 2:00PM-3:00PM.

Rachel Nethery, PhD will give a talk titled “Estimating and forecasting the causal effects of extreme weather events on health.”

Abstract

To minimize the health threats presented by extreme weather events, we must generate high-precision insights and tools to inform strategic preparedness efforts. Currently, our limited understanding of the epidemiology of these events inhibits progress in reducing health risks. We propose an integrated causal and predictive statistical modeling approach that, when applied to today’s wealth of historic weather and health data, enables standardized, high-resolution quantification of the health impacts of historic extreme weather episodes and characterizes how features of the events and the impacted communities explain variation in health risks. This method enables high-resolution prediction of future extreme weather-related health impacts, which can inform strategic preparedness and aid in identifying high-risk communities in advance of future events. We apply our method to a rich data platform containing detailed historic tropical cyclone exposure information for the US and Medicare claims data to investigate health effects of past tropical cyclones and identify features predictive of tropical cyclone-related health risks.

Speaker Bio

Dr. Rachel Nethery is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biostatistics at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health. Her research is focused on the development of statistical methods that enable rigorous and impactful analyses of environmental health data and thereby inform new, evidence-based environmental policy and clinical guidelines to protect public health. Methodologically, her work spans the domains of causal inference, machine learning, Bayesian methods, latent variable models, spatial statistics, and time series analysis.

Details

Wednesday, July 26, 2023
2:00PM-3:00PM EST
Click here for Zoom Link

Contact

Please contact Anastasia Gurinovich  and Ellaina Reed if you have any questions. Feel free to pass on to others who may be interested.

Seminars & Workshops
Spring 2023 Faculty Mentor Training – Session 2

Want to be a more effective research mentor?

Do you mentor research faculty, post-docs, or graduate students? Join Tufts CTSI for a case-based training opportunity for faculty members with mentees preparing for research careers in biomedical, behavioral, clinical, and social sciences.

If you are responsible for mentoring Tufts CTSI’s graduate education program’s fellows (TL1) and scholars (KL2), this is a great opportunity to complete the mentor training recommended every other year.

Available Sessions
Monday, May 15, 2023, 1:00PM–4:00PM
Monday, May 22, 2023, 1:00PM–4:00PM

Each session is limited to 8-12 participants to optimize small group and peer learning.

Note: Admission to mentor training is open to faculty at any rank and is open to faculty across the Tufts CTSI partner network.

Details

Learn more about Mentor Training and register for the Monday, May 22 session by clicking here.

Seminars & Workshops
Spring 2023 Faculty Mentor Training – Session 1

Want to be a more effective research mentor?

Do you mentor research faculty, post-docs, or graduate students? Join Tufts CTSI for a case-based training opportunity for faculty members with mentees preparing for research careers in biomedical, behavioral, clinical, and social sciences.

If you are responsible for mentoring Tufts CTSI’s graduate education program’s fellows (TL1) and scholars (KL2), this is a great opportunity to complete the mentor training recommended every other year.

Available Sessions
Monday, May 15, 2023, 1:00PM–4:00PM
Monday, May 22, 2023, 1:00PM–4:00PM

Each session is limited to 8-12 participants to optimize small group and peer learning.

Note: Admission to mentor training is open to faculty at any rank and is open to faculty across the Tufts CTSI partner network.

Details

Learn more about Mentor Training and register for the Monday, May 15 session by clicking here.

Seminars & Workshops
CLINICAL RESEARCH STAFF QUARTERLY TRAINING: Peer-to-Peer Onboarding: Techniques for Training Your New Coworker (or Yourself!)

You’ve been assigned to train your new peer – now what?

Onboarding a new coworker doesn’t have to be a hassle! Establishing a training plan can help ease the transition for new staff and save valuable time for existing or departing staff. Join Tufts CTSI on Thursday, March 2 to learn practical, generalizable strategies for onboarding new team members. You’ll learn about techniques already in use across Tufts MC and walk away with resources you can put into action immediately. Even if you aren’t hiring right now, this session will provide valuable tools for ensuring that the next new hire on your team is set up for success from the start!

Learning Objectives

By the end of this session, you will be able to:

  • Identify key resources to share with new staff.
  • Describe at least 3 concrete ideas/activities for onboarding your next coworker/peer.
  • Create a training plan for new staff within your department/team

Who Should Attend

All research staff are invited to attend!

Details

Thursday, March 2, 1:00PM–3:00PM EST, online via Zoom

Registration

Click here to register.

Seminars & Workshops
“Fundamentals for Building Inclusive Research Teams” Workshop

There is an urgent need to develop diverse, equitable, and collaborative research teams to improve research impact and health outcomes. However, several barriers remain to achieving this goal, including implementation of strategies for creating an equitable and inclusive research team.

Tufts CTSI invites you to join us for “Fundamentals for Building Inclusive Research Teams” on Friday, March 31  and Friday, April 7, from 11:00AM-12:00PM. This workshop will share practical skills for building collaborative and inclusive research teams.  Participants will learn about fostering teams that welcome diverse identities, working and learning styles, disciplines, and forms of knowledge. The format will involve case studies, presentations, a panel discussion, and reflection/discussion.

Topics covered will include:

  • Cultural humility as a basis for equitable collaboration
  • Creating, supporting, and sustaining cohesive, equitable, and collaborative research teams
  • Leveraging a team’s diversity to improve translational research

Participants will leave with tools and frameworks that will help them implement a plan to operationalize skills learned.

Learning Objectives

After attending this event, participants will be able to do the following as part of dynamic research teams:

  • Describe strategies that promote equitable collaboration
  • Apply best practices for building diverse, collaborative research teams

Who Should Attend

Investigators with varied research collaboration experience and varied disciplinary interests, as well as research staff and others responsible for supporting collaborative research projects are encouraged to attend.

Details

Friday, March 31, 2023, 11:00AM-12:00PM

Friday, April 7, 2023, 11:00AM-12:00PM

This workshop will be held remotely via Zoom over two separate 1-hour sessions. Registrants should plan to attend both.

Registration

Click here to register. Registration for this workshop closes March 24, 2023.

Seminars & Workshops
2nd Annual Dissemination of Research Results Open House

Tufts CTSI cordially invites you to attend our 2nd Annual Dissemination of Research Results Open House!

This online event, held Wednesday, March 29 at 6:00PM EST, is an opportunity to learn about research happening at Tufts University and Baystate Health. Study participants will also have an opportunity to learn about the results of the study in which they participated. This hour-long event will include two 15-minute presentations given by the researchers. The audience will also have a chance to ask questions following each presentation.

Presenters

Dr. Nancy Baker, Associate Professor, Occupational Therapy, Tufts University | “The Feasibility of Immersive Virtual Reality as a Treatment for Chronic Back Pain”

 

 

Dr. Elizabeth Peacock-Chambers, Department of Pediatrics, Baystate Health; Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, UMass Chan Medical School | “Assessment of a Train-the-Trainer Model for a Parenting Intervention for Mothers in Recovery”

 

Details

Live session via Zoom: Wednesday, March 29, 2023, 6:00PM-7:00PM EST 

Registration

Registration is required! Click here to register.

Information

If you have any questions, please contact Stasia Swiadas.

Seminars & Workshops
Obtaining Informed Consent: A Practical Approach

Does your work involve recruiting human research volunteers?

Join Tufts CTSI for a blended synchronous/asynchronous workshop focused on providing hands-on practice consenting simulated research participants. This two-part training includes a short online tutorial followed by a live Zoom meeting on January 31 where you will practice obtaining informed consent with community members, many of whom have been research participants themselves.  This is a learning and skill building opportunity for you and will not be evaluated in any way.

Participants must complete all of the pre-work on Tufts CTSI I LEARN in order to receive the Zoom link for the live training. While in the live workshop your active participation in the live role-play activity is required. You will also learn through providing feedback to others and engaging in group discussion. This will ensure that you get the most out of what this training has to offer.

Clinical research coordinators, investigators, research fellows, research nurses, and anyone involved in obtaining informed consent are encouraged to attend.

By the end of this workshop, participants of Parts 1 & 2 will be able to:

  • List the essential elements of informed consent.
  • Demonstrate (using plain language) in explaining the informed consent process, in a virtual setting.
  • Demonstrate multiple techniques to verify participants’ comprehension.
  • Identify 2-3 key considerations for obtaining informed consent in a remote or virtual setting.

Details

Live session via Zoom: Tuesday, January 31, 2022, 1:00PM-3:00PM 

Registration

To attend, please register here via Tufts CTSI I LEARN.

Prerequisite

CITI basic human subjects protection training. Participants will be required to upload proof of CITI completion to the Tufts CTSI I LEARN course site before the live session.

Seminars & Workshops
Biomedical and Health Data Science Collaborative (BHDSC) Virtual Seminar: “The Elephant in the Room: Unmeasured Confounding in Pharmacoepidemiology”

The Biomedical and Health Data Science Collaborative (BHDSC), a cross-disciplinary group formed by the Tufts Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) and Institute for Clinical Research and Health Policy Studies (ICRHPS) at Tufts Medical Center, invites you to attend a virtual seminar on Wednesday, January 25, from 2:00PM-3:00PM. Jeremy P. Brown, PhD will give a talk titled “The Elephant in the Room: Unmeasured Confounding in Pharmacoepidemiology”.

Abstract

Unmeasured confounding is a major challenge to causal inference in pharmacoepidemiological research, as it can introduce bias and lead to incorrect conclusions. In this presentation, I will discuss methods for diagnosing, reducing, and quantifying unmeasured confounding in pharmacoepidemiological studies. These methods include negative controls, the high-dimensional propensity score, self-controlled study designs, and quantitative bias analysis. I will provide examples of these methods in action, as applied to two non-interventional studies conducted using UK electronic health records: one investigating the effect of proton pump inhibitors on mortality, and the other examining the effect of fluoroquinolones on aortic aneurysm or dissection. By using methods such as these, we can improve the accuracy and reliability of our findings and make more informed decisions about the safety and effectiveness of medications.

Speaker Bio

Jeremy Brown is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the CAUSALab at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. His research focuses on methods, and in particular causal inference methods, in pharmacoepidemiology and their application to understanding the safety and effectiveness of medications using insurance claims and electronic health records data. Prior to Harvard T.H. Chan he conducted his PhD in pharmacoepidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Details

Wednesday, January 25, 2023
2:00PM-3:00PM EST
Zoom Link: https://wellforce.zoom.us/j/91467788400?pwd=U2FXdTZRZENkdzdnQTYxczlWVCtFdz09&from=addon

Contact

Please contact Anastasia Gurinovich (agurinovich@tuftsmedicalcenter.org) and Ellaina Reed (ereed1@tuftsmedicalcenter.org) if you have any questions.

Feel free to pass on to others who may be interested.

Seminars & Workshops
Panel Discussion on Modern Computing Resources for Biomedical Data Science

You are invited to a panel discussion on “Modern Computing Resources for Biomedical Data Science” organized by the Biomedical and Health Data Science Collaborative (BHDSC), a cross-disciplinary group formed by Tufts CTSI and Institute for Clinical Research and Health Policy Studies (ICRHPS) at Tufts Medical Center.

The panel will be held Wednesday, December 7, 2022 from 2:00PM-4:00PM EST via Zoom (link below).

The goal of the panel is provide an overview of modern computing resources for omics data analyses, including in-house high-performance computing clusters, shared computing clusters, cloud computing, and hybrid solutions. Keeping in mind that one solution does not address all needs, we will invite a series of experts to share their own decisions and experiences with various computing solutions, their pros and cons, and their vision on where the field is going. The panel will also include few users who can share their own challenges/experiences.

Who Should Attend

Researchers who analyze genetic and genomic data.

Details

Wednesday, December 7, 2022, 2:00PM-4:00PM EST via Zoom.

Registration

Researchers and community members are encouraged to attend.

Language interpretation and translation services in Chinese Mandarin and Cantonese will be provided.

Space is limited! Please register here by September 23.

Flyer

Download, print, and share by clicking here.

Registration

For the event Zoom link, please click here.

Schedule

Opening remarks. 2:00-2:05. Dr Paola Sebastiani, ICRHPS, Tufts Medical Center

Part I: Example of existing system [2:05-3:15pm].
Moderator: Dr Rebecca Batorsky, Data Intensive Study Center (DISC), Tufts University. DISC is one of the centers that collaborate with the BHDSC.

  • 2:05-2:30. Dr Geraldine van der Aurwera, The Broad Institute. Computing challenges and emerging technology solutions in genetics and genomics.
  • 2:30-2:45. Dr Adelaide Rhodes, Tufts Technology Services, Tufts University. Emerging Challenges: A Bioinformatics Perspective.
  • 2:45-3:00. Dr Joseph Gormley, Tufts CTSI. AI applications and needed resources.
  • 3:00-3:15. Patrick Florance and Shawn Doughty, Research Technology, Tufts Technology Services. Tufts University Resources.

Part II: Panel Discussion: Experiences with different systems [3:15-4:00pm]
Moderators: Drs Batorsky, Rhodes and Sebastiani.

Panelists:

  • Dr Vijaya B. Kolachalama, Center for Computational Biomedicine. Boston University
  • Dr Honghuang Lin, Division of Health Systems Science and Program in Digital Medicine, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School
  • Dr Albert Tai, Director of Tufts Genomics Core, Tufts University
  • Dr Heather Gardner, Department of Clinical Sciences, Tufts University
  • Dr Shira Rockowitz, Data Science Director at Boston Children’s Hospital
Seminars & Workshops
Panel Discussion on Modern Computing Resources for Biomedical Data Science

You are invited to a panel discussion on “Modern Computing Resources for Biomedical Data Science” organized by the Biomedical and Health Data Sciences Collaborative (BHDSC), a cross-disciplinary group formed by Tufts CTSI and Institute for Clinical Research and Health Policy Studies (ICRHPS) at Tufts Medical Center.

The panel will be held Wednesday, December 7, 2022 from 2:00PM-4:00PM EST via Zoom (link below).

The goal of the panel is provide an overview of modern computing resources for omics data analyses, including in-house high-performance computing clusters, shared computing clusters, cloud computing, and hybrid solutions. Keeping in mind that one solution does not address all needs, we will invite a series of experts to share their own decisions and experiences with various computing solutions, their pros and cons, and their vision on where the field is going. The panel will also include few users who can share their own challenges/experiences.

Who Should Attend

Researchers who analyze genetic and genomic data.

Details

Wednesday, December7, 2022, 2:00PM-4:00PM EST via Zoom.

Flyer

Download, print, and share by clicking here.

Registration

For the event Zoom link, please click here.

Schedule

Opening remarks. 2:00-2:05. Dr Paola Sebastiani, ICRHPS, Tufts Medical Center

Part I: Example of existing system [2:05-3:15pm].
Moderator: Dr Rebecca Batorsky, Data Intensive Study Center (DISC), Tufts University. DISC is one of the centers that collaborate with the BHDSC.

  • 2:05-2:30. Dr Geraldine van der Aurwera, The Broad Institute. Computing challenges and emerging technology solutions in genetics and genomics.
  • 2:30-2:45. Dr Adelaide Rhodes, Tufts Technology Services, Tufts University. Emerging Challenges: A Bioinformatics Perspective.
  • 2:45-3:00. Dr Joseph Gormley, Tufts CTSI. AI applications and needed resources.
  • 3:00-3:15. Patrick Florance and Shawn Doughty, Research Technology, Tufts Technology Services. Tufts University Resources.

Part II: Panel Discussion: Experiences with different systems [3:15-4:00pm]
Moderators: Drs Batorsky, Rhodes and Sebastiani.

Panelists:

  • Dr Vijaya B. Kolachalama, Center for Computational Biomedicine. Boston University
  • Dr Honghuang Lin, Division of Health Systems Science and Program in Digital Medicine, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School
  • Dr Albert Tai, Director of Tufts Genomics Core, Tufts University
  • Dr Heather Gardner, Department of Clinical Sciences, Tufts University
  • Dr Shira Rockowitz, Data Science Director at Boston Children’s Hospital
Seminars & Workshops
Dissemination and Implementation (D&I) Science Special Interest Group Meeting, November 30

Interested in learning how researchers can address implementation in their effectiveness studies?

You are invited to a virtual Dissemination and Implementation Science Special Interest Group Meeting on Wednesday, November 30, 2022, 1:00PM-2:00PM EST.

The guest speaker for the meeting will be Rachel Gold, PhD, MPH. An open discussion will follow her presentation.

Dr. Gold is an epidemiologist and health services researcher. Her work focuses on using health information technology to improve care quality in public clinics and reduce health disparities, and on the implementation methods needed to support adoption of such technologies. She has partnered with the OCHIN practice-based research network since 2005; she now has a joint appointment at the Center for Health Research, where she is a Senior Investigator, and OCHIN, where she is the lead research scientist. Her work includes studying how to implement a multi-faceted quality improvement initiative that targeted cardiovascular disease (CVD) and diabetes care in the Kaiser Permanente setting, in the context of community health centers serving socioeconomically vulnerable patient populations.

Dr. Gold is also studying the adoption and impact of an innovative point-of-care shared decision-making tool on CVD outcomes in community clinics. She also pilot-tested electronic health record-based tools for collecting and acting on patient-reported social risks (adverse social determinants of health), and is now studying how to help community clinics implement systematic social risk screening, and how to use patient-reported social risk data in clinical decision-making. Past efforts include analyzing the impact of state insurance policy changes on pediatric care in safety net clinics, and the relationship between continuous insurance coverage and receipt of diabetes care in community clinic settings.

Dr. Gold earned her MPH from Temple University and her PhD in epidemiology from the University of Washington.

Details

Live session via Zoom: Wednesday, November 30, 1:00PM-2:00PM EST

Registration

To receive the Zoom link to this event, please email Anna Thompson. All are welcome to attend and learn more about D&I!

Seminars & Workshops
Clinical Research Staff Quarterly Training: Integrating the Clinical Trials Management System into Your Research Workflow

Tufts Medical Center and Tufts CTSI Professional Education invite you to join them on Zoom on Thursday, December 15 at 1:00PM for the next Clinical Research Staff Quarterly Training session: “Integrating the “Clinical Trials Management System into Your Research Workflow.”

This quarter’s session is all about how research staff can use the Clinical Trials Management System (CTMS) to its full potential. Using the system is a requirement at Tufts MC and it’s designed to address the needs of research staff for activating new clinical studies, tracking clinical progress, and managing financials.

You’ll get a brief overview of the CTMS, then take a deeper look from four different perspectives: clinical research billing review, Research Administration, Research IT, and clinical research coordinator workflow. Learn from your peers in breakout rooms to see live demonstrations of the CTMS in action for different study activities. This is a great opportunity for advanced CTMS users to share their own tips and tricks with their peers, and for newer users to learn how other departments are using the CTMS. Come prepared to discuss your experience with the CTMS in breakout rooms.

Who Should Attend?

All clinical research staff involved in entering clinical trial data through the CTMS at Tufts MC are invited to attend. Both experienced and new users of the CTMS should attend.

Featured Speakers

Swetha Chinta, Research Analyst II, Tufts CTSI

Christian Lawlor, Clinical Research Coordinator III, Neely Cancer Center, Tufts Medical Center

Olivia Lovegreen, Director of Clinical Trials Office & Regulatory Operations, Tufts Medical Center

Danielle Riggs, Executive Director of Research Administration, Tufts Medical Center

Ajay Tupil, Clinical Research Coordinator I, Neely Cancer Center, Tufts Medical Center

Learning Objectives

By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:

  • Describe the benefits of using the CTMS
  • Identify points in the research process when data should be entered into the CTMS
  • Describe the process for entering patient and study data into the CTMS
  • Describe how study data entered into the CTMS are used by Research Administration and clinical research billing review

Details

Thursday, December 15, 2022
1:00-2:00PM
Live online (a link will be sent to those who register).

Registration

To attend, please enroll here via Tufts CTSI I LEARN by noon on December 15, 2022.

For questions and further information, please email training@tuftsctsi.org.

Seminars & Workshops
Clinical Research Staff Quarterly Training: Best Practices for Completing Regulatory Documents

Are you utilizing best practices when completing regulatory documents?

Tufts Medical Center and Tufts CTSI Professional Education invite you to join us on September 15 for the next Clinical Research Staff Quarterly Training session. This interactive, live session will highlight best practices for completing and managing regulatory documents for industry-funded clinical trials. We will focus on the regulatory documents that are required before study initiation. You will also learn strategies for keeping a well-organized digital regulatory binder. Plus – participate in a team-based scavenger hunt activity for a chance to win a $5 Dunkin gift card for all team members.

Who Should Attend?

All clinical research staff involved in study start-up for industry-funded trials at Tufts MC are invited.

Featured Speaker

Vidya Iyer, MBBS, CPI, Director of Clinical Research at Tufts Medical Center

Learning Objectives

By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:

  • Identify the required documents for study start up
  • Distinguish between FDA-required and sponsor-specific forms
  • Discuss tips and tricks for completing regulatory documents
  • Utilize best practices for organizing regulatory forms in digital format (“Regulatory Binder”)

Details

Thursday, September 15, 2022
1:00-2:00PM
Live online (a link will be sent to those who register).

Registration

To attend, please enroll here via Tufts CTSI I LEARN by noon on September 15, 2022.

For questions and further information, please email Shane Cox.

 

Seminars & Workshops
Obtaining Informed Consent: A Practical Approach

Are you a clinical research team member, obtaining informed consent from human research volunteers?

Could you or your team use information on best practices and strategies for obtaining informed consent?

Join Tufts CTSI for a blended synchronous/asynchronous workshop focused on providing hands-on practice consenting research participants. This training will take place in two parts.

Part 1 of this workshop will be offered online, self-paced through Tufts CTSI I LEARN.

Part 2 of the workshop will take place in a live Zoom meeting and provide an opportunity to practice obtaining informed consent with members of Tufts CTSI’s Stakeholder Expert Panel. Panel members are former research participants and individuals with experience as simulated patients. This is a learning and skill building opportunity for you and will not be evaluated in any way.

Participants must complete all of the pre-work on Tufts CTSI I LEARN in order to receive the Zoom link for the live training. While in the live workshop your active participation in the live role-play activity is required. You will also learn through providing feedback to others and engaging in group discussion. This will ensure that you get the most out of what this training has to offer.

Clinical research coordinators, investigators, research fellows, research nurses, and anyone involved in obtaining informed consent are encouraged to attend.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this workshop, participants of Parts 1 & 2 will be able to:

  • List the essential elements of informed consent.
  • Demonstrate (using plain language) in explaining the informed consent process, in a virtual setting.
  • Demonstrate multiple techniques to verify participants’ comprehension.
  • Identify 2-3 key considerations for obtaining informed consent in a remote or virtual setting.

Details

Live Session: Thursday, June 23, 2022
10:00AM-noon
Online via Zoom (a link will be sent to those who register and complete the I LEARN pre-work).

Registration

To attend, please enroll here via Tufts CTSI I LEARN by Thursday, June 16, 2022.

Prerequisite: CITI basic human subjects protection training. Participants will be required to upload proof of CITI completion to the Tufts CTSI I LEARN course site before the live session.

Seminars & Workshops
An Evening With CREST: A Collaboration for Research, Equity, Sustainability, and Trust

Come get to know CREST! An academic-community collaboration dedicated to improving the health of Black and Brown Bostonians.

The Collaboration for Research, Equity, Sustainability, and Trust (CREST) invites you to join us for An Evening with CREST: Improving the Health of our Black and Brown Communities on Monday, May 23 from 6:00PM-7:30PM at Roxbury Community College.

The event will feature:

  • An introduction to CREST and its core partner organizations
  • A panel discussion on healing communities and promoting health equity through community-partnered research
  • Networking opportunities for researchers, community members, and other stakeholders

We are delighted to present our current membership which consists of five grassroots organizations: Rounding the Bases, Inc., Union Capital Boston, CSI Support & Development, Greater Boston Section – National Council of Negro Women, and the Authentic Caribbean Foundation.

Light refreshments will be served.

We hope you can join us for CREST’s first public event!

Details

Monday, May 23, 2022

6:00PM-7:30PM

In person: Roxbury Community College, 1234 Columbus Ave., Boston, MA 02120

Via Zoom: see below

Registration

To attend, please register here as in-person space will be limited. Please indicate whether you will be attending in-person or via Zoom on your order form.

 

 

Seminars & Workshops
FRESH& Joyful Cooking Cooking Class: Juneteenth Recipes with Janna Adkins

Want to experience the joy of Juneteenth this summer with some amazing, healthy recipes?

The National Council of Negro Women (NCNW)-Greater Boston Section and Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy have partnered to develop FRESH& – a monthly webinar series that will explore a range of nutrition topics. FRESH& is designed to engage Black women in discussing their diet and nutrition in a culturally competent, celebratory way. Each month attendees will explore topics like how to make healthy, culturally relevant meals, boost their immune systems through diet, and coping with stress through food.

This month, we are excited to present FRESH& Joyful Cooking: Juneteenth Recipes with Janna Adkins on Thursday, May 19, 6:00PM-7:00PM EST. During the event, we will review simple changes to some of Janna’s favorite recipes that can have a big impact on health. Don’t worry about skipping out on your favorites. FRESH& has you covered so you can experience the joy of Juneteenth this summer!

Janna earned her MS in Nutrition Interventions, Communication, and Behavior Change in May 2021 and is a current doctoral student at Tufts FSNSP. She studies how to make nutritious food accessible to everyone. During her studies at Tufts FSNSP, Janna has learned the importance of social justice and food equity, and she hopes to apply these concepts to her work. She is interested in developing community nutrition interventions and building social capital. She believes that food is a universal language with the power to connect us all. In her free time, she likes to ride her bike and go on long nature walks. Janna is excited to exchange her nutrition knowledge with everyone who seeks to lead healthier lives.

Details

Thursday, May 19, 2022
6:00-7:00PM
Online (a link will be sent to those who register).

Registration

To attend, please register here.

 

 

Seminars & Workshops
Clinical Research Staff Quarterly Training: Career Paths in Research

Where can you go from here?

Tufts Medical Center and Tufts CTSI Professional Education invite you to join us on May 19 for the next Clinical Research Staff Quarterly Training session.

In this session we feature a panel discussion focused on the variety of traditional and non-traditional careers in clinical and translational research. Hear success stories of Tufts Medical Center research staff. Learn how you can leverage the skills you are developing now into avenues you might not have considered. This will be an interactive session, and we encourage you to send us your questions in advance – we can’t wait to see you there!

Research coordinators and anyone else interested in learning about research career paths are invited to attend.

Learning Objectives

After attending this event, participants should be able to:

  • Identify at least three possible career paths for research coordinators.
  • Describe the transferable skills developed by working as research staff.
  • Identify certifications and other educational options for career advancement.

Details

Thursday, May 19, 2022
1:00-2:00PM
Live online (a link will be sent to those who register).

Registration

To attend, please enroll here via Tufts CTSI I LEARN by noon on May 19, 2022.

For further information, please email Shane Cox.

 

Seminars & Workshops
Scientific Manuscript Writing Workshops – Summer 2022

Need to transform your ideas into a publishable peer reviewed manuscript?

Finding it difficult to write alone without assistance and constructive feedback?

Join Tufts CTSI this summer to begin writing and refining the core sections of your manuscript draft with your colleagues and a highly experienced editor.

Details

Overview

Tufts CTSI is excited to recruit up to 10 motivated clinical or public health researchers to join a live, online workshop series designed to get you started on efficient manuscript writing. Our experienced editor and chronic disease epidemiologist, Robert Goldberg, PhD,  will provide guidance on the elements of preparing successful manuscripts for peer reviewed scientific journals including navigating major journals, scientific writing style, and approaches to sentence composition.The program is focused solely on hands-on writing exercises and peer review with expert coaching on manuscript style and content. The participants will incorporate class feedback and submit a new draft each session with a goal of polishing each section of their scientific manuscript in the IMRAD (Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion) format.

By the end of this series, you will have completed a solid working draft of a manuscript that will be either ready for peer reviewed submission to a journal or will be close to submission with some additional final polishing needed.

Workshop Faculty

  • Main Instructor: Robert J. Goldberg, PhD, Professor, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Department of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences

Learning Objectives

By the end of this workshop series, you should be able to:

  • Discuss the core components of a successful scientific manuscript.
  • Identify strategies and steps for completing a full manuscript for peer review submission.
  • Anticipate reviewers’ concerns in discussing and presenting your research and how to best respond to these concerns.

Expectation for Homework and Your Commitment

Registration is on a first come, first served, basis and priorities are given to members of Tufts CTSI partner institutions. All participants will be required to submit, at the time of application, a draft manuscript with a minimum of the introduction and methods sections. Data/results are preferred but are not required for participation. We will confirm your enrollment as soon we finalize the registration list.

Class attendance is critical to this peer review-based format. If your participation in these workshops needs to be approved by your supervisor or a person responsible for your time release, please secure that approval before submitting your registration application.

You will be expected to be actively engaged in classroom discussion, including presenting your drafts for critique by the course instructor and other course attendees. We ask participants to come open-minded and be receptive to both provide and receive constructive feedback.

Dates and Location

Location: Online via Zoom

  • Session I: Tuesday, June 14 1:30PM–3:00PM
  • Session II: Tuesday, June 28, 1:30PM–3:00PM
  • Session III: Tuesday, July 12, 1:30PM-3:00PM

Additionally, Dr. Goldberg will be available the week of July 25 to provide final feedback on all submitted drafts.

Registration and Requirements

A total of 10 slots are available for those who commit to attending and submitting their manuscript drafts prior to all sessions. Manuscripts must be targeted to clinical and translational science or public health journals.

Please note: Registration is now closed

All subsequent manuscript submissions and other assignments will be handled through the course site on the Tufts CTSI I LEARN platform. All accepted participants will be required to sign up for a free I LEARN account to complete their enrollment in the course.

Tufts CTSI Professional Education

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.

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.

 

Seminars & Workshops
FRESH& Healthy Snacking with Sarah Kerrigan

Fresh& Healthy Snacking event graphic

Want turn a guilty pleasure into a quick, nutritious activity?

The National Council of Negro Women (NCNW)-Greater Boston Section and Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy have partnered to develop FRESH& – a monthly webinar series that will explore a range of nutrition topics. FRESH& is designed to engage Black women in discussing their diet and nutrition in a culturally competent, celebratory way. Each month attendees will explore topics like how to make healthy, culturally relevant meals, boost their immune systems through diet, and coping with stress through food.

This month, we are excited to present FRESH& Healthy Snacking with Sarah Kerrigan on Wednesday, March 30, 6:00PM-7:00PM EST.

FRESH& is on snack duty this month! Learn how to turn a guilty pleasure into a quick, nutritious activity with FRESH& Healthy Snacking. In honor of Women’s History Month, the snacks we make will be filled with nutrients that are especially beneficial to women. Sarah will prepare a Greek yogurt parfait, granola bars, and baked crunchy chickpeas. Follow along to make your snacks for the week.

Sarah Kerrigan is a graduate student at Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition Science & Policy getting her Master’s degree in Nutrition Interventions, Communication, & Behavior Change. She is a member of the Didactic Program in Dietetics at Simmons University. Sarah graduated from Providence College with a BA in Mathematics & Economics in 2020. After working in the finance field for a year, she decided to make a career change and pursue her true passion, nutrition. Sarah hopes to work as a Registered Dietitian working with athletes and those with disordered eating and eating disorders. She is passionate about helping people create a healthy relationship with food. In her free time, Sarah loves being outdoors. She enjoys running, hiking, or just sitting at the beach. We’ll be cheering for her in the 2022 Boston Marathon!

Details

Wednesday, March 30, 2022
6;00-7:00PM
Online (a link will and list of ingredients will be sent to those who register).

Registration

To attend, please register here.

 

The Greater Boston Section – National Council of Negro Women (GBS-NCNW) has partnered with Tufts Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) to build the Collaboration for Research, Equity, Sustainability, and Trust (CREST). CREST is an academic-community partnership that works with Black and Brown communities in the Greater Boston Area to improve health. We are proud to present the FRESH& series as a product of successful collaboration between Tufts and GBS-NCNW.

 

Seminars & Workshops
Center for Quantitative Methods and Data Science Seminar 2022: Peter Pirolli, PhD

Computational Cognitive Models of Behavior Change in the Real World and at Scale

This seminar of the Center for Quantitative Methods and Data Science (QM&DS), in partnership with the Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Research Design (BERD) Center at Tufts CTSI and the Data-Intensive Studies Center (DISC) at Tufts University, is Wednesday, March 30, 2:00-3:00PM via Zoom. The topic is Computational Cognitive Models of Behavior Change in the Real World and At Scale, presented by Peter Pirolli, PhD.

Psychology calls itself the science of behavior, but some have lamented that “cognitive psychology [has] never had much to say about the meaningful activities people perform in their daily lives, nor have they really intended to.” In this presentation, Dr. Pirolli discusses two threads of research on computational cognitive models of human behavior change in the ecology of everyday life:

  • The first thread of research concerns models of health behavior change occurring in multi-week, in-the-world, experiments using mobile health applications designed to promote physical activity, stress reduction, and improved nutrition habits. These computational models, built in the ACT-R cognitive architecture, provide an integrated account of goal intentions, implementation intentions, self-efficacy, motivation, self-affirmation, and habit strengthening underlying more than a half dozen behavior change techniques.
  • The second thread of research expands on ACT-R models of behavior change to address how humans responded to the COVID-19 pandemic. Heterogeneous behavioral responses over time and geographical regions depend on the individual beliefs and information consumption patterns of populations. To address the need for more precise and accurate epidemiological models, we are researching Psychologically Valid Agent models of human responses to epidemic information and non-pharmaceutical interventions during the pandemic.

Faculty

Peter Pirolli, PhD is currently a Senior Research Scientist at the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition. His research involves a mix of cognitive science, artificial intelligence, and human-computer interaction, with applications in digital health, sensemaking, and information foraging, among other things. Previously, Dr. Pirolli was at the Palo Alto Reseach Center, and was a Professor in the School of Education at UC Berkeley. He received his doctorate in cognitive psychology from Carnegie Mellon University in 1985. Dr. Pirolli received a B.Sc. in psychology and anthropology from Trent University. He has been elected as a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Psychological Association (Div 3 and Div 21), the Association for Psychological Science, the National Academy of Education, and the ACM Computer-Human Interaction Academy. Please see his book titled “Information Foraging Theory: Adaptive Interaction with Information.”

 

Details

Wednesday, March 30, 2022, 2:00-3:00PM, via Zoom

Registration

To attend, please register here via Tufts CTSI I LEARN.

 

 

 

Seminars & Workshops
FRESH& Fun Cooking for Mental Wellness with Dina E. Cote

Fresh& Fun Cooking for Mental Wellness info

Want a 3-course family meal in one hour?..For less than $10?…With ingredients that can help reduce stress and improve sleep?

The National Council of Negro Women (NCNW)-Greater Boston Section and Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy have partnered to develop FRESH& – a monthly webinar series that will explore a range of nutrition topics. FRESH& is designed to engage Black women in discussing their diet and nutrition in a culturally competent, celebratory way. Each month attendees will explore topics like how to make healthy, culturally relevant meals, boost their immune systems through diet, and coping with stress through food.

This month, we are excited to present FRESH& Fun Cooking for Mental Wellness with Dina E. Cote on Wednesday, February 23, 7:00PM-8:00PM EST.

Dina E. Cote, a current graduate student at Tufts specializing in Nutrition and Food Security Policy and Programming at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, will show us how to prepare a 3-course family meal in one hour. Nothing too fancy, but everything will be flavorful, nutritious and less than $10. We will explore how different ingredients can be used to reduce our stress levels and improve our sleep. Grab your ingredients and get ready to cook well, eat well, and be well!

Details

Wednesday, February 23, 2022
7;00-8:00PM
Online (a link will be sent to those who register).

Registration

To attend, please register here.

 

 

Seminars & Workshops
Spring 2022 Faculty Mentor Training – Session 2

Want to be a more effective research mentor?

Join us in April 2022 for one of two case-based training opportunities for faculty members with mentees preparing for research careers in biomedical, behavioral, clinical, and social sciences.

If you are responsible for mentoring Tufts CTSI’s graduate education program’s fellows (TL1) and scholars (KL2), this is a great opportunity to complete the mentor training recommended every other year.

Meet peers and faculty members with expertise in mentoring and career development, and advance your skills in:

  • Goal-setting and alignment
  • Feedback (giving and receiving)
  • Diversity and unconscious bias
  • Relational boundaries
  • Wellness and resiliency.

Requirements for the training:

  • Complete online pre-work (approximately 45 minutes) on the Tufts CTSI I LEARN platform prior to attending the live session.
  • Participate actively during the live session (3 hours) and share mentoring experiences.
  • Answer follow-up surveys about the outcomes and impact of this training on your mentees.

After completing one of these sessions, you should be able to:

  • Describe the difference between advising, coaching, and mentoring.
  • Explain the importance of communication in the mentor/mentee relationship.
  • Discuss common mentoring challenges and possible solutions.
  • Identify mentoring tools and resources that you can use with your mentees.
  • Articulate ways that wellness and resiliency strategies can be integrated into the mentoring process.

Details

Monday April 25, 1:00-4:00PM EDT, via Zoom

Each session is limited to 8-12 participants to optimize small group and peer learning. Admission to mentor training is by open to faculty at any rank and is open to faculty across our partner network. Please register for only ONE session.

Submit your application for this session by April 18, 2022.

 

 

Seminars & Workshops
Spring 2022 Faculty Mentor Training – Session 1

Want to be a more effective research mentor?

Join us in April 2022 for one of two case-based training opportunities for faculty members with mentees preparing for research careers in biomedical, behavioral, clinical, and social sciences.

If you are responsible for mentoring Tufts CTSI’s graduate education program’s fellows (TL1) and scholars (KL2), this is a great opportunity to complete the mentor training recommended every other year.

Meet peers and faculty members with expertise in mentoring and career development, and advance your skills in:

  • Goal-setting and alignment
  • Feedback (giving and receiving)
  • Diversity and unconscious bias
  • Relational boundaries
  • Wellness and resiliency.

Requirements for the training:

  • Complete online pre-work (approximately 45 minutes) on the Tufts CTSI I LEARN platform prior to attending the live session.
  • Participate actively during the live session (3 hours) and share mentoring experiences.
  • Answer follow-up surveys about the outcomes and impact of this training on your mentees.

After completing one of these sessions, you should be able to:

  • Describe the difference between advising, coaching, and mentoring.
  • Explain the importance of communication in the mentor/mentee relationship.
  • Discuss common mentoring challenges and possible solutions.
  • Identify mentoring tools and resources that you can use with your mentees.
  • Articulate ways that wellness and resiliency strategies can be integrated into the mentoring process.

Details

Monday April 4, 1:00-4:00PM EDT, via Zoom

Each session is limited to 8-12 participants to optimize small group and peer learning. Admission to mentor training is by open to faculty at any rank and is open to faculty across our partner network. Please register for only ONE session.

Submit your application for this session by March 28, 2022.

 

 

Seminars & Workshops
Center for Quantitative Methods and Data Science Seminar 2022: Nicholas Schork, PhD

N-of-1 and Aggregated N-of-1 Trials: Motivation, Applications and Future Directions

This seminar of the Center for Quantitative Methods and Data Science (QM&DS), in partnership with the Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Research Design (BERD) Center at Tufts CTSI and the Data-Intensive Studies Center (DISC) at Tufts University, is Wednesday, March 2, 11:00AM-noon via Zoom. The topic is N-of-1 and Aggregated N-of-1 Trials: Motivation, Applications and Future Directions, presented by Nicholas Schork, PhD.

There is tremendous interest in advancing ‘personalized’ or ‘precision’ medicine — the idea that one can tailor more effective health interventions to an individual’s unique genetic, physiological, behavioral and exposure profile. Although there have been major success stories in personalized medicine, particularly in cancer treatment settings, testing personalized interventions requires non-traditional study designs such as N-of-1 (single subject) and aggregated N-of-1 studies. Dr. Schork describes the principals behind N-of-1 trials as well as strategies for pursuing them in comprehensive and efficient ways. In particular, he describes study designs that consider the effect of individual components making up a multiple component intervention, the sequential analysis of aggregated N-of-1 trials, ’systems physiology’ studies of intervention effects in individuals, and the broad use of guided smart phone apps to optimize mental health interventions for individuals.

Faculty

Nicholas Schork, PhD is a Deputy Director and Distinguished Professor of Quantitative Medicine at The Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen), an affiliate of the City of Hope (COH) National Medical Center, and an Adjunct Professor of Medicine and Population Science at COH. He is also an Adjunct Professor of Psychiatry and Biostatistics at the University of California San Diego (UCSD) as well as Adjunct Professor of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology at Scripps Research.

Prior to joining TGen, Dr. Schork held faculty positions at Scripps Research, the J. Craig Venter Institute, UCSD and Case Western Reserve University. Dr. Schork’s interests and expertise are in the quantitative aspects of human biology research, genetics, and integrated approaches to complex biological and medical problems. These interests include analyzing large biomedical data sets, developing systems-level approaches to the analysis of biomedical data, and the design of personalized clinical trials.

Dr. Schork has published more than 550 scientific articles and book chapters. He has mentored over 75 graduate students and post-doctoral fellows, has 12 patents, and has been involved in establishing over 10 different companies in the biomedical space. A member of several scientific journal editorial boards, Dr. Schork is a frequent participant in NIH-related steering committees and review boards. He is currently scientific director and a principal investigator for the NIA-sponsored Longevity Consortium and the Integrated Longevity OMICS initiative, two multi-million-dollar initiatives to identify and characterize genetically-mediated factors contributing to human longevity and healthspan. He is also a former member of the National Academy of Science, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) Food and Nutrition Board and current member of the NASEM special emphasis panel on diet and disease relationships. Dr. Schork received a BA, MA, MS and PhD all from the University of Michigan.

Details

Wednesday, March 2, 2022, 11:00AM-noon, via Zoom

Registration

To attend, please register here via Tufts CTSI I LEARN.

 

 

 

Seminars & Workshops
FRESH & Soulful Cooking: A One-Pot Recipe with Janna Adkins

Want to cook a nutritious, soulful meal while learning about the history and cultural importance of common ingredients across the African diaspora?

The National Council of Negro Women (NCNW)-Greater Boston Section and Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy have partnered to develop FRESH& – a monthly webinar series that will explore a range of nutrition topics. FRESH& is designed to engage Black women in discussing their diet and nutrition in a culturally competent, celebratory way. Each month attendees will explore topics like how to make healthy, culturally relevant meals, boost their immune systems through diet, and coping with stress through food.

This month, we are excited to present FRESH & Soulful Cooking: A One-Pot Recipe with Janna Adkins, MS on Wednesday January 26th, 7:00PM-8:00PM EST.

Janna earned her MS in Nutrition Interventions, Communication, and Behavior Change in May 2021 and is a current doctoral student at the Friedman School. She will lead a live cooking class that reviews the history and cultural importance of common ingredients across the African diaspora. Additionally, she will share information about the nutritional content of these ingredients and how to get the most out of the food we cherish.

Attendees will be able to purchase ingredients beforehand and follow along as Janna prepares a one-pot vegetable stew.

Details

Wednesday, January 26, 2022
7;00-8:00PM
Online (a link will be sent to those who register).

Registration

To attend, please register here.

Cooking Class Flyer

 

 

Seminars & Workshops
Obtaining Informed Consent with Special Populations

Are you a clinical research team member obtaining informed consent from human research volunteers?

Could you or your team use information on best practices and strategies for obtaining informed consent from special populations?

Join Tufts CTSI for a blended synchronous/asynchronous workshop focused on providing hands-on practice consenting research participants from special populations. This training has two parts: a required, self-paced pre-work tutorial on Tufts CTSI I LEARN, and a live Zoom practice session.

In the live portion of the workshop, all participants will practice obtaining informed consent with members of Tufts CTSI’s Stakeholder Expert Panel and student actors from the Boston Arts Academy in two role-play scenarios: an adolescent research participant and an adult with temporary diminished capacity. Panel members are former research participants and individuals with experience as simulated patients. This is a learning and skill building opportunity for you, and you will not be evaluated in any way.

Participants must complete all of the pre-work on Tufts CTSI I LEARN in order to receive the Zoom link for the live training. While in the live session your active participation in the role-play activity is required. You will also learn through providing feedback to others and engaging in group discussion. This will ensure that you get the most out of what this training has to offer.

Clinical research coordinators, investigators, research fellows, research nurses, and anyone involved in obtaining informed consent are encouraged to attend.

Learning Objectives

After attending this event, participants should be able to:

  • Demonstrate professional judgement on whether a potential participant has the capacity to provide willing and uncoerced consent.
  • Distinguish between competency and capacity with respect to informed consent conversations.
  • Distinguish between assent and consent to participate in research.
  • Demonstrate (using plain language) explaining the informed consent process, in a virtual setting, to participants from special populations.

Details

Live Session: Thursday, February 3, 2022
3;00-5:00PM
Online via Zoom (a link will be sent to those who register and complete the I LEARN pre-work).

Registration

To attend, please enroll here via Tufts CTSI I LEARN by noon on February 2, 2022.

NOTE: Registration will open on Monday, January 10.

Prerequisite: CITI basic human subjects protection training. Participants will be required to upload proof of CITI completion to the Tufts CTSI I LEARN course site before the live session.

For further information, please contact Noelle Weicker, MHS.

 

 

 

Seminars & Workshops
Center for Quantitative Methods and Data Science Seminar 2022: Laura Corlin, PhD

Methods to Handle Mixtures of (Environmental) Exposures in Health Analyses

This seminar of the Center for Quantitative Methods and Data Science (QM&DS), in partnership with the Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Research Design (BERD) Center at Tufts CTSI and the Data-Intensive Studies Center (DISC) at Tufts University, is Wednesday, January 26, 2:00-3:00PM via Zoom. The topic is Methods to Handle Mixtures of (Environmental) Exposures in Health Analyses, presented by Laura Corlin, PhD.

Traditionally, (environmental) epidemiology has focused on individual exposure-outcome relationships; however, many (environmental) exposures co-occur. How do we identify which of these often highly-correlated exposures most affect health outcomes? Are certain combinations or mixtures important? The methods to answer these types of questions have been rapidly evolving. In this talk, Dr. Corlin will discuss several major approaches in an environmental health context.

Faculty

Laura Corlin, PhD is an Assistant Professor in Public Health and Community Medicine. She earned her MS and PhD in Environmental Health through the Tufts School of Engineering in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. She completed a post-doctoral fellowship in Cardiovascular Epidemiology at the Boston University School of Medicine. Her research focuses on developing and applying new methods to assess the health effects of environmental mixtures in observational studies. Through her exposure assessment and environmental epidemiology research, Dr. Corlin seeks to mitigate environmental health disparities. Dr. Corlin also enjoys working with students in and out of the classroom.

Details

Wednesday, January 26, 2022, 2:00-3:30PM, via Zoom

Registration

To attend, please register here via Tufts CTSI I LEARN.

 

 

 

Seminars & Workshops
Clinical Research Staff Quarterly Training: Clinical Research from a Research Administration Perspective

What is the role of the research coordinator in the clinical trials agreement and budget process? What can hold up study approval?

Tufts Medical Center (Tufts MC) and Tufts CTSI Professional Education invite you to join us on Thursday, January 27, 1:00-2:00PM for the next Clinical Research Staff Quarterly Training session. We will kick off our 2022 series with an interactive session focusing on the clinical research process from the Research Administration perspective.

You will learn how to help Research Administration develop clinical research budgets and complete the Medicare Coverage Analysis. We will walk through an overview of the Medicare Coverage Analysis process and give insight to the process of negotiating Clinical Research agreements. You will also learn how to help your Research Administrator develop budgets, track expenses, and closeout the study from a financial perspective. We will also cover how to utilize the CTMS to improve communication with Research Administration and will preview how upcoming changes in EPIC will affect the pre-registration process for clinical research studies.

Research coordinators, research managers, and anyone involved in study start-up & close-out at Tufts MC are invited to attend. This training will give you the knowledge to confidently navigate the approval process.

Featured Speakers

Olivia Lovegreen, Manager, Clinical Trials and Compliance, Research Administration

Carly Tucker, MPH, Clinical Research Compliance Specialist, Compliance Department

Swetha Chinta, MS, Research Analyst, Tufts CTSI

Learning Objectives

After attending this event, participants should be able to:

  • Identify barriers in the startup process.
  • Identify methods for improving the startup process.
  • Identify what your research administrator needs from you and/or your PI, and when.
  • Describe techniques for improving communication with the Research Administration department.

Details

Thursday, January 27, 2022
1;00-2:00PM
Online via Zoom (a link will be sent to those who register).

Registration

To attend, please enroll here via Tufts CTSI I LEARN by noon on January 27, 2022.

For further information, please email Shane Cox.

 

 

 

Seminars & Workshops
Center for Quantitative Methods and Data Science Seminar 2021: Christine M. Ulbricht, PhD, MPH

NIH Funding Opportunities for Methodological Research in Mental Health

This seminar of the Center for Quantitative Methods and Data Science (QM&DS), in partnership with the Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Research Design (BERD) Center at Tufts CTSI and the Data-Intensive Studies Center (DISC) at Tufts University, is Wednesday, December 1, 2:00-3:30PM via Zoom. The topic is NIH Funding Opportunities for Methodological Research in Mental Health, presented by Christine M. Ulbricht, PhD, MPH.

This session will focus on opportunities for methodological research at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). Christine Ulbricht, PhD, MPH, the Chief of the Methodological Research Program in the Services Research and Clinical Epidemiology Research Branch at NIMH, will provide an overview of the NIH and discuss NIMH’s funding priorities, programs, and mechanisms. She will discuss recent advances in statistical methods for mental health services research and funding opportunities for such research, such as NIMH-funded studies of machine learning applications to prevent suicide.

Faculty

Christine M. Ulbricht, PhD, MPH is a psychiatric epidemiologist who oversees the extramural Methodological Research Program within the Services Research and Clinical Epidemiology Research branch of the Division of Services and Intervention Research at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). Prior to joining NIMH, she was an assistant professor at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, where her primary research interests were in applying novel statistical methods to understand heterogeneity of treatment effects, improve mental health services, and improve suicide prevention. She has served as the principal investigator of several NIH-funded studies leveraging big data to examine major depressive disorder, serious mental illness, and suicide among younger and older long-term care residents. Additionally, Dr. Ulbricht has been a co-investigator of studies on improving suicide risk identification in healthcare systems and on examining pain among older adults. She also served as associate faculty of the UMass Medical School’s Department of Psychiatry’s Implementation Science and Practice Advances Research Center and Eunice Kennedy Shriver Center and as the faculty co-director of the student chapter of the International Society of Pharmacoepidemiology

Details

Wednesday, December 1, 2:00-3:30PM, via Zoom

Registration

To attend, please register here via Tufts CTSI I LEARN.

 

 

 

Seminars & Workshops
Center for Quantitative Methods and Data Science Seminar 2021: Jean-Baptiste Poline, PhD

Tools, Methods, and Community Actions for Reproducible Neuroscience

The November seminar of the Center for Quantitative Methods and Data Science (QM&DS), in partnership with the Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Research Design (BERD) Center at Tufts CTSI and the Data-Intensive Studies Center (DISC) at Tufts University, is Wednesday, November 17, 2:00-3:30PM via Zoom. The topic is Tools, Methods, and Community Actions for Reproducible Neuroscience, presented by Jean-Baptiste Poline, PhD.

The credibility of scientific activity has recently been under scrutiny with reports questioning the reproducibility of results. In response to this “reproducibility crisis,” the National Institutes of Health (NIH) designed a plan for more reproducible science in 2015, but progress to curb the issue seems to be slow at best. It is possible that the solutions proposed by the NIH are targeting symptoms rather than causes. In this talk, Dr. Poline will first consider the field of neuroscience and human neuroimaging and analyze the main causes of irreproducibility, considering the statistical and computational aspects of neuroimaging or imaging genetics. He will then discuss the social components that are likely to contribute to irreproducibility. In a second part, Dr. Poline will review solutions to foster a more reproducible research at the level of the tools and the statistical methods used – for example in high dimensions. He will also consider the academic ecosystem and propose community actions that are both possible and could be effective to reshape the way we practice research.

Faculty

Jean-Baptiste Poline, PhD is an Associate Professor in the Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery at McGill; the co-Chair of the NeuroHub and Chair of the Technical Steering Committee for the Canadian Open Neuroscience Platform (CONP) at the Montreal Neurological Institute & Hospital (the NEURO); and a Primary Investigator at the Ludmer Centre for Neuroinformatics & Mental Health.

Details

Wednesday, November 17, 2:00-3:30PM, via Zoom

Registration

To attend, please register here via Tufts CTSI I LEARN.

 

 

 

Seminars & Workshops
Center for Quantitative Methods and Data Science Seminar 2021: Emma Pierson, PhD, MS

How can data science and machine learning be used to illuminate and reduce inequality in health care and public health?

The December seminar of the Center for Quantitative Methods and Data Science (QM&DS), in partnership with the Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Research Design (BERD) Center at Tufts CTSI and the Data-Intensive Studies Center (DISC) at Tufts University, is Wednesday, December 15, 2:00-3:30PM via Zoom. The topic is Using Machine Learning to Increase Equality in Health Care and Public Health, presented by Emma Pierson, PhD, MS.

Our society remains profoundly unequal. Worse, there is abundant evidence that algorithms can, improperly applied, exacerbate inequality in health care and other domains. This talk pursues a more optimistic counterpoint – that data science and machine learning can also be used to illuminate and reduce inequality in health care and public health – by presenting vignettes about women’s health, COVID-19, and pain.

Faculty

Emma Pierson, PhD, MS is an Assistant Professor of computer science at the Jacobs Technion-Cornell Institute at Cornell Tech and the Technion, and a computer science field member at Cornell University. She develops data science and machine learning methods to study inequality and healthcare. Her work has been recognized by a Rhodes Scholarship, Hertz Fellowship, Rising Star in EECS, MIT Technology Review 35 Innovators Under 35, and Forbes 30 Under 30 in Science. She has written for The New York Times, FiveThirtyEight, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, Wired, and various other publications.

Details

Wednesday, December 15, 2:00-3:30PM, via Zoom

Registration

To attend, please register here via Tufts CTSI I LEARN.

 

 

 

Seminars & Workshops
Collaboration Planning for Writing a Competitive Team Science Proposal

What is a collaboration plan, and how can you use it to write a successful grant proposal and build a sustainable research team?

Evidence of a well-founded approach to scientific collaboration and research project management is increasingly required by funders and a focus of reviewer attention.

This two-part workshop, jointly offered by Tufts CTSI and Tufts University’s Office of the Vice Provost for Research, is designed to help researchers developing multi-investigator and cross-disciplinary collaborations to structure their funding proposals and set plans for a successful project start. Participants will be introduced to the comprehensive Collaborative Planning Approach developed at the NIH on the basis of research on the key factors that influence the success of a science team. Although geared to NIH applications, the workshop will draw on diverse case studies and prepare participants to apply the techniques and tools presented to craft multi-investigator proposals and build cohesive research teams in any scientific domain.

Topics covered will include:

  • Elements of a collaboration plan
  • Developing your rationale for a team approach
  • Building your team
  • Understanding collaboration readiness
  • Convergence and cross-disciplinarity in team functioning.

Featured Speakers

Amy Gantt, MA, Director of Research Development, Office of the Vice Provost for Research, Tufts University

Susan Lewis, PhD, Associate Director, Team Science & Interdisciplinary Research, Office of the Vice Provost for Research, Tufts University

Cheryl London, DVM, PhD, DACVIM, Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Education, Tufts University Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine and Director of Research Collaborations, Tufts CTSI

Anna Ponzi Dalby, ABD, Senior Research Development Specialist, Office of the Vice Provost for Research, Tufts University

Learning Objectives

After attending this event, participants should be able to:

  • Describe the elements of a collaboration plan and their intersections with writing a competitive team science proposal
  • Explain how the elements of a collaboration plan apply to building a successful and sustainable team
  • Differentiate between plans for ‘taskwork’ and ‘teamwork’
  • Identify strategies for integrating and co-producing knowledge.

Who should attend

Investigators at all levels, currently working on or hoping to develop multi-investigator research projects, as well as research staff and others responsible for supporting collaborative projects.

Time Commitment and Expectations for Attendees

Participants are expected to attend both 90-minute sessions and actively engage in breakout discussions and practice exercises.

This workshop is provided free of charge and is open to faculty and staff of Tufts University, Tufts Medical Center, and Tufts CTSI partner institutions.

Details

Thursday, January 20 and Thursday, January 27, 2022
10:00-11:30AM
Online via Zoom (a link will be sent to those who register).

Registration

To attend, please enroll here via Tufts CTSI I LEARN by January 6, 2022.

For further information, please email Hannah Santos, MBA.

 

 

 

Seminars & Workshops
A Conversation with The New York Times

Graphic for New York Times online event

Want to learn about the data and graphics behind The New York Times COVID-19 dashboard?

Don’t miss this live, online presentation and Q&A by Tiff Fehr, Rich Harris, Albert Sun, and Lisa Waananen Jones of The New York Times, moderated by Anna Haensch, PhD, Senior Data Scientist at the Data Intensive Studies Center (DISC) at Tufts University.

This event is co-sponsored by the Center for Quantitative Methods and Data Science (QM&DS) at Tufts Medical Center and by Tufts CTSI.

Details

Thursday, September 23, 4:00-5:30PM

Via Zoom

Registration

To attend, please register here.

Seminars & Workshops
Clinical Research Staff Quarterly Training: October 2021

The October 2021 Clinical Research Staff Quarterly Training will focus on sponsor-initiated studies.

Join us on October 21 for the next session of the Tufts Medical Center (Tufts MC) and Tufts CTSI Professional Education Clinical Research Staff Quarterly Training series.

This quarter will be all about sponsor-initiated studies: from study start-up to audits, we will cover tools, resources, tips, and best practices to help you run a successful study. These quarterly trainings are also a great way to get connected to the community of clinical research professionals at Tufts MC.

Featured Speakers

Alyssa Cabrera, MPH, Senior Project Manager, Tufts CTSI

Carly Tucker, MPH, Clinical Research Compliance Manager, Tufts Medical Center

Kimberly Garabedian, IRB Analyst, Tufts Medical Center

Vidya Iyer, MBBS, CPI, Manager, Tufts CTSI Clinical and Translational Research Center (CTRC)

Featured Topics

The Study Start-up Toolkit

This section will cover how the Study Start-up Toolkit can be used as a resource for getting clinical trials up and running. We will walk you through key sections of the toolkit and how it can support overall trial efficiency. You will walk away with a clear understanding of study start-up and your role in supporting sponsor-initiated studies during this phase.

Being Audit-Ready

Did you know there are a number of resources available to help you maintain audit readiness? The Tufts Health Sciences IRB will discuss best practices for conducting routine self-audits to keep your regulatory files in order and introduce self-auditing tools to ensure your study is always in an audit-ready state! In addition, the Tufts MC Compliance Department will also discuss their audit preparation resources.

Surviving the Sponsor Audit

In this section, we will cover a broad overview of the regulatory bodies that can audit an investigator/site. You will learn some of the major reasons for being audited and the difference between sponsor audit versus a monitoring visit. You get an in-depth review of best practices and tips that will prepare you for sponsor audits.

 

Who should attend

Clinical research staff are encouraged to attend.

Details

Thursday, October 21, 2021
1:00-2:00PM
Online via Zoom (a link will be sent to those who register).

Registration

To attend, please register here.

 

 

Seminars & Workshops
Obtaining Informed Consent: A Practical Approach

Does your work involve recruiting human research volunteers?

Join Tufts CTSI for a blended synchronous/asynchronous workshop focused on providing hands-on practice consenting simulated research participants. This two-part training includes a short online tutorial followed by a live Zoom meeting on January 31 where you will practice obtaining informed consent with community members, many of whom have been research participants themselves.  This is a learning and skill building opportunity for you and will not be evaluated in any way.

Participants must complete all of the pre-work on Tufts CTSI I LEARN in order to receive the Zoom link for the live training. While in the live workshop your active participation in the live role-play activity is required. You will also learn through providing feedback to others and engaging in group discussion. This will ensure that you get the most out of what this training has to offer.

Clinical research coordinators, investigators, research fellows, research nurses, and anyone involved in obtaining informed consent are encouraged to attend.

By the end of this workshop, participants of Parts 1 & 2 will be able to:

  • List the essential elements of informed consent.
  • Demonstrate (using plain language) in explaining the informed consent process, in a virtual setting.
  • Demonstrate multiple techniques to verify participants’ comprehension.
  • Identify 2-3 key considerations for obtaining informed consent in a remote or virtual setting.

Details

Live session via Zoom: Tuesday, January 31, 2022, 1:00PM-3:00PM EST 

Registration

To attend, please register here via Tufts CTSI I LEARN.

Prerequisite

CITI basic human subjects protection training. Participants will be required to upload proof of CITI completion to the Tufts CTSI I LEARN course site before the live session.

Seminars & Workshops
Pfizer Investigator Training Program (iTP) 2021

A foundational International Conference on Harmonization (ICH) Good Clinical Practices (GCP) training on Clinical Trial Management for Junior Level Investigators and Clinical Research Personnel

Tufts CTSI will host the Pfizer Investigator Training Program (ITP)-Facilitating Global Excellence in Clinical Trials.  This unique, two-day, free, live online (via videoconference), workshop is designed for junior-level clinical research personnel (e.g., junior investigators, junior clinical trial coordinators, junior IRB staff) looking to expand their skills related to the clinical trial process.  This eight-hour workshop reviews the entire trial process from planning to close-out. Attendees will gain the fundamental GCP skills required for the planning and conduct of clinical trials and the reporting of resultant data.

Details

Wednesday, September 15 and Thursday, September 16
1:00-5:00PM
via Videoconference

GCP Certificate Requirements

Completion of ITP training satisfies the Pfizer GCP requirement and TransCelerate mutual recognition criteria for conducting clinical trials.

To qualify for the GCP certificate, participants must:

  • Attend all modules in their entirety (8 hours over the course of 2 days)
  • Keep their cameras on for the entirety of the training
  • Not share computers for purposes of confirming individual attendance
  • Participate through discussion, Q&As and responding to polls

Training Modules Include:

  • The Drug Development Process
  • Study Start-up
  • Informed Consent
  • Diversity in Clinical Trials
  • Conducting a Trial
  • Study Oversight
  • Safety in Clinical Trials
  • Pediatric Drug Development
  • Regional Regulations Governing Clinical Trials
  • Pfizer Mentor Program
  • Additional content may be available

Registration

To reserve your seat, please register here via Tufts CTSI I LEARN.

Seminars & Workshops
Clinical Research Staff Quarterly Training: July 2021

The July 2021 Clinical Research Staff Quarterly Training will focus on hot topics in IRB and research compliance.

Big changes are coming to IRB forms and submission processes. Join us on July 15 for the next session of the Tufts Medical Center (Tufts MC) and Tufts CTSI Professional Education Clinical Research Staff Quarterly Training series. You’ll get the inside scoop on what is new, what you will be required to do, and best practices for working with the Tufts IRB. If you are involved in study start-up activities or interact with research participants or IRB submissions, these sessions are for you! These quarterly trainings are also a great way to get connected to the community of clinical research professionals at Tufts MC.

The July session continues our focus on topics in research compliance specific to Tufts MC. Whether you are an experienced coordinator, or new to Tufts MC, there will be something here that is relevant to your work.

Featured Speakers

Christine Choy, IRB Supervisor and Database Administrator

Caitlin Farley, IRB Administrator II

Carly Tucker, Clinical Research Compliance Manager

Featured Topics

Diversity Enrollment, Biospecimen Banking, and More

The IRB office recently updated their forms and templates to reflect new processes to highlight and improve enrollment of diverse populations, their updated Biospecimen banking (formerly tissue banking) policy, and much more. You will learn about all of these changes; which forms, templates, and policies were revised, created, and eliminated; and how these changes will affect current and new studies.

Best Practices for IRB Submissions and Responding to IRB Comments

The IRB office will provide tips and guidance for a smooth and efficient IRB review of your projects. You will learn best practices for submitting studies to the Tufts IRB, responding to comments and requested revisions, and getting your study approved as quickly as possible.

Third Party Vendor Risk Assessment Update

This short update will cover the EVA page for approved research vendors including: where to find the list, how to best understand and use the approved vendors list, and other tips and tricks for this new vendor review.

Who should attend

Clinical research staff are encouraged to attend.

Details

Thursday, July 15
1:00-2:00PM
Online via Zoom (a link will be sent to those who register).

Registration

To attend, please register here.

 

 

Seminars & Workshops
Functional and Enrichment Analysis Methods for RNAseq Data

What are the three main types of functional analysis?

Functional and enrichment analyses are used to give a biological interpretation to a list of genes or proteins that may be produced from gene expression analysis. This session will introduce three main types of functional analysis and review common tools that are employed: Gene Ontology annotation and enrichment, Gene Set and Pathway enrichment, and network analysis.

This course is part of a series of trainings in biomedical data science offered by the Center for Quantitative Methods and Data Science, Tufts CTSI, and Tufts University Data Intensive Studies Center. For the full list of trainings in this series, please visit the Center for Quantitative Methods and Data Science webpage.

Faculty

This workshop will be taught by Rebecca Batorsky, PhD, Eric Reed, PhD, and Albert Tai, PhD.

Rebecca Batorsky is a Senior Bioinformatics Scientist in Research Technology, part of Tufts Technology Services and a DISC fellow. She earned her PhD in Physics in 2012 from Tufts University, where she focused on mathematical and computational modeling of virus evolution. Before becoming staff at Tufts, she worked as a bioinformatics software developer at a clinical genomics start-up company. Dr. Batorsky works to enable researchers to answer biological questions with data-driven methods, such as analysis of high-throughput DNA and RNA sequencing data. She is especially interested in developing methods to use multiple `omics technologies to give insight into biological pathways and processes.

Eric Reed is a Data Scientist in the Data Intensive Studies Center (DISC) at Tufts University. He earned an MS in Biostatistics from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2015 and a PhD in Bioinformatics from Boston University in 2020. Dr. Reed’s research is focused on working with biomedical researchers to implement cutting-edge high-throughput profiling techniques and develop analytical approaches to better interrogate the biological questions at hand. His dissertation work encompassed advancement of large-scale transcriptomic profiling for toxicogenomic screening. This included the benchmarking scalable library preparation techniques and development of machine learning methods and software. Through numerous collaborative projects, Dr. Reed’s work has led to contributions to various biomedical fields including environmental health, metabolic diseases, oral cancer, breast cancer, Huntington’s disease, and addiction.

Albert Tai is a Research Assistant Professor of Immunology at Tufts University. His research work focuses on providing current research technology to basic research community within and outside of the University, including next generation sequencing (NGS), high throughout screen (HTS), high content screen (HGS), robotics automation and flow cytometry. These technologies, especially NGS and HCS, generates significant amount of data and require specialized analytical approaches. A part of his research centers on creating or optimizing these analytical approaches, via utilizing existing software/pipeline and/or developing new ones. Furthermore, research projects that utilize multiple technologies, or multi-omics, are becoming more popular, a mean to allow association and visualization of multi-omics data is also of interest.

Who should attend

Basic statistical knowledge is required. Computational experience will be helpful, but is not required.

Details

Wednesday, July 28
2:00-3:30PM
Online (a link will be sent to those who register).

Registration

To attend, please register here.

You may also register for the other trainings in this series:

 

 

Seminars & Workshops
Bioinformatics Analysis of Single-Cell RNA Sequencing Data

What are methods for performing common workflows on scRNAseq data to characterize sub-populations of cell profiles?

Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) allows for transcriptome-wide profiling of individual cells present in a tissue sample. While conceptually similar, scRNSeq and “bulk” RNAseq projects differ so greatly in their overall study design, goals, and statistical caveats that their analytical investigation is distinct. In this session, we will introduce methods for performing common workflows on scRNAseq data to characterize sub-populations of cell profiles, including: data preprocessing and normalization, dimensionality reduction, clustering, and visualization.

This course is part of a series of trainings in biomedical data science offered by the Center for Quantitative Methods and Data Science, Tufts CTSI, and Tufts University Data Intensive Studies Center. For the full list of trainings in this series, please visit the Center for Quantitative Methods and Data Science webpage.

Faculty

This workshop will be taught by Tanya Karagiannis, MS and Eric Reed, PhD.

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.

Eric Reed is a Data Scientist in the Data Intensive Studies Center (DISC) at Tufts University. He earned an MS in Biostatistics from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2015 and a PhD in Bioinformatics from Boston University in 2020. Dr. Reed’s research is focused on working with biomedical researchers to implement cutting-edge high-throughput profiling techniques and develop analytical approaches to better interrogate the biological questions at hand. His dissertation work encompassed advancement of large-scale transcriptomic profiling for toxicogenomic screening. This included the benchmarking scalable library preparation techniques and development of machine learning methods and software. Through numerous collaborative projects, Dr. Reed’s work has led to contributions to various biomedical fields including environmental health, metabolic diseases, oral cancer, breast cancer, Huntington’s disease, and addiction.

Who should attend

Basic statistical knowledge is required. Computational experience will be helpful, but is not required.

Details

Wednesday, July 21
2:00-3:30PM
Online (a link will be sent to those who register).

Registration

To attend, please register here.

You may also register for the other trainings in this series:

 

 

Seminars & Workshops
Bioinformatics Analysis of Bulk RNA Sequencing Data

Which tools for experimental analysis should you choose?

High throughout RNA sequencing allows genome-wide investigation of gene expression and regulation. However, designing an experiment and choosing the right tools for analysis can be challenging. This session will introduce methods for analyzing and visualizing RNA-seq data: quality control, alignment-based quantification, transcriptome assembly and differential expression analysis.

This course is part of a series of trainings in biomedical data science offered by the Center for Quantitative Methods and Data Science, Tufts CTSI, and Tufts University Data Intensive Studies Center. For the full list of trainings in this series, please visit the Center for Quantitative Methods and Data Science webpage.

Faculty

This workshop will be taught by  Rebecca Batorsky, PhD and Albert Tai, PhD.

Rebecca Batorsky is a Senior Bioinformatics Scientist in Research Technology, part of Tufts Technology Services and a DISC fellow. She earned her PhD in Physics in 2012 from Tufts University, where she focused on mathematical and computational modeling of virus evolution. Before becoming staff at Tufts, she worked as a bioinformatics software developer at a clinical genomics start-up company. Dr. Batorsky works to enable researchers to answer biological questions with data-driven methods, such as analysis of high-throughput DNA and RNA sequencing data. She is especially interested in developing methods to use multiple `omics technologies to give insight into biological pathways and processes.

Albert Tai is a Research Assistant Professor of Immunology at Tufts University. His research work focuses on providing current research technology to basic research community within and outside of the University, including next generation sequencing (NGS), high throughout screen (HTS), high content screen (HGS), robotics automation and flow cytometry. These technologies, especially NGS and HCS, generates significant amount of data and require specialized analytical approaches. A part of his research centers on creating or optimizing these analytical approaches, via utilizing existing software/pipeline and/or developing new ones. Furthermore, research projects that utilize multiple technologies, or multi-omics, are becoming more popular, a mean to allow association and visualization of multi-omics data is also of interest.

Who should attend

Basic statistical knowledge is required. Computational experience will be helpful, but is not required.

Details

Wednesday, July 14
2:00-3:30PM
Online (a link will be sent to those who register).

Registration

To attend, please register here.

You may also register for the other trainings in this series:

 

 

Seminars & Workshops
Introduction to Sequence-Based Transcriptomic Analysis

When should you use sample enrichment, sequencing format, and library preparation approaches?

RNA-Seq is a powerful technology that can be used to study transcription profile in sample of interest. Yet, the choice of sample enrichment, sequencing format, and library preparation approach all have profound impact on the usability of sequencing data for downstream intended (and intended) analysis. Thus, the parameters are important consideration when designing your own experiment, as well as utilizing data that is available in the public domain. This session aims to provide some guidance on these topics.

This course is part of a series of trainings in biomedical data science offered by the Center for Quantitative Methods and Data Science, Tufts CTSI, and Tufts University Data Intensive Studies Center. For the full list of trainings in this series, please visit the Center for Quantitative Methods and Data Science webpage.

Faculty

This workshop will be taught by Eric Reed, PhD and Albert Tai, PhD.

Eric Reed is a Data Scientist at Tufts University. He earned an MS in Biostatistics from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2015 and a PhD in Bioinformatics from Boston University in 2020. Eric’s research is focused on working with biomedical researchers to implement cutting-edge high-throughput profiling techniques and develop analytical approaches to better interrogate the biological questions at hand. His dissertation work encompassed advancement of large-scale transcriptomic profiling for toxicogenomic screening. This included the benchmarking scalable library preparation techniques and development of machine learning methods and software. Through numerous collaborative projects, Eric’s work has led to contributions to various biomedical fields including environmental health, metabolic diseases, oral cancer, breast cancer, Huntington’s disease, and addiction.

Albert Tai is a Research Assistant Professor of Immunology at Tufts University. His research work focuses on providing current research technology to basic research community within and outside of the University, including next generation sequencing (NGS), high throughout screen (HTS), high content screen (HGS), robotics automation and flow cytometry. These technologies, especially NGS and HCS, generates significant amount of data and require specialized analytical approaches. A part of his research centers on creating or optimizing these analytical approaches, via utilizing existing software/pipeline and/or developing new ones. Furthermore, research projects that utilize multiple technologies, or multi-omics, are becoming more popular, a mean to allow association and visualization of multi-omics data is also of interest.

Who should attend

Basic statistical knowledge is required. Computational experience will be helpful, but is not required.

Details

Wednesday, June 30
2:00-3:30PM
Online (a link will be sent to those who register).

Registration

To attend, please register here.

You may also register for the other trainings in this series:

 

 

Seminars & Workshops
Study Design for Biomedical Data Science

What are the appropriate analytical techniques for study designs and what measures of association, advantages and disadvantages should be used?

This seminar will provide an introduction to epidemiologic study design, including cross-sectional, cohort, and case-control studies. It will review the appropriate analytical techniques for each design along with their measures of association, advantages and disadvantages, and the types of biases that can be present with each. Examples from the literature will be provided to illustrate concepts and common pitfalls that may occur when analyzing data from observational studies.

This course is part of a series of trainings in biomedical data science offered by the Center for Quantitative Methods and Data Science, Tufts CTSI, and Tufts University Data Intensive Studies Center. For the full list of trainings in this series, please visit the Center for Quantitative Methods and Data Science webpage.

Basic statistical knowledge is required. Computational experience will be helpful, but is not required.

Faculty

This workshop will be taught by Janis Breeze, MPH and Angie Rodday, PhD, MS

Janis Breeze is an Epidemiologist, Assistant Professor of Medicine, and Associate Director of the Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Research Design (BERD) Center at Tufts CTSI. She has many years’ experience helping researchers in the design of observational and experimental studies, particularly in the areas of newborn medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, pulmonary medicine, and surgery.

Angie Rodday is a Biostatistician, Assistant Professor of Medicine, and Associate Director of the Clinical and Translational Science (CTS) Graduate Program at the Tufts University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. She has experience as a principal investigator of her own work, as well as experience as a Co-Investigator on others’ projects. Dr. Rodday teaches biostatistics courses as part of the CTS Graduate Program.

Who should attend

Basic statistical knowledge is required. Computational experience will be helpful, but is not required.

Details

Wednesday, June 23
2:00-3:30PM
Online (a link will be sent to those who register).

Registration

To attend, please register here.

You may also register for the other trainings in this series:

 

 

Seminars & Workshops
Center for Quantitative Methods and Data Science Seminar 2021: Michael Wojnowicz, PhD

Want a framework for flexible joint Bayesian modeling of multiple time series where inference is fast, easy, and scalable?

The second June seminar of the Center for Quantitative Methods and Data Science (QM&DS), in partnership with the Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Research Design (BERD) Center at Tufts CTSI and the Data-Intensive Studies Center (DISC) at Tufts University, is Wednesday, June 16, 2:00-3:00PM via Zoom. The topic is Scalable Bayesian Flexible Joint Time Series Modeling, presented by Michael Wojnowicz, PhD.

We frequently obtain datasets containing multiple time series — that is, a collection of sequences, often corresponding to temporal data from multiple individuals. For example, consider movement patterns of soldiers during a ruck march, lesion counts of multiple sclerosis patients, or computer activity by employees at a company. In this talk, we describe a framework for flexible joint Bayesian modeling of multiple time series where inference is fast, easy, and scalable. In particular, we construct a scalable Bayesian approach to mixed HMMs, where mixed HMMs are Hidden Markov Models with multi-level generalized linear models (a.k.a. Generalized Linear Mixed Models, or Mixed Effects Models) embedded within the transitions and emissions structure. Mixed HMMs are an excellent framework for personalized time series modeling: models can be personalized, while sharing statistical strength across individuals to “fill in” knowledge as necessary, based on knowledge about other individuals, and particularly similar individuals. Moreover, the impact of dynamic covariates can be learned based on their effects across the entire population of individuals. In this talk, we will introduce mixed HMMs, and then discuss how to make inference fast, easy, and scalable.

Faculty

Michael Wojnowicz, PhD is a Data Scientist II in the Data Intensive Studies Center (DISC) at Tufts University, working with the Machine Learning Research Group. He earned his Ph.D. from Cornell University in 2012, where his work in Cognitive Science led to the Dallenbach Fellowship for Research Excellence, the Cognitive Science Dissertation Proposal Award, and the Cognitive Science Graduate Research Award. Dr. Wojnowicz also has master’s degrees in Mathematics (University of Washington) and Statistics (University of California at Irvine). Before joining Tufts University, Dr. Wojnowicz was the Distinguished Data Scientist at Cylance. At Cylance, he developed statistical machine learning models for detecting malicious computer files and anomalous user activity, leading to 10 patents (5 granted, 5 pending). Dr. Wojnowicz’ current research interests include time series modeling, variational inference, and nonparametric Bayesian modeling.

Details

Wednesday, June 16, 2:00-3:00PM, via Zoom

Registration

To attend, please register here via Tufts CTSI I LEARN.

 

 

 

Seminars & Workshops
Including Non-English-Speaking Participants in Research

Are you a clinical research team member obtaining informed consent from human research volunteers?

Could you or your team use information on best practices and strategies for working with interpreters?

Join Tufts CTSI’s Stakeholder and Community Engagement Program’s quarterly training focused on Including Non-English-Speaking Participants in Research. This is a blended synchronous/asynchronous workshop that includes completion of a required, self-paced tutorial on Tufts CTSI I LEARN followed by an interactive live session hosted on Zoom. The live session will provide an opportunity to practice working with professional interpreters to obtain informed consent with non-English-speaking members of Tufts CTSI’s Stakeholder Expert Panel. Panel members are former research participants and individuals with experience as simulated patients. This is a learning and skill-building opportunity for you and will not be evaluated in any way.

Participants must complete the online pre-work in order to receive the Zoom link for the live training. While in the live session, your active participation is required, including participating in the roleplay, providing feedback to others, and engaging in group discussion. This will ensure that you get the most out of what this training has to offer.

By the end of this training, you should be able to:

  • Identify when a participant needs an interpreter in order to obtain informed consent.
  • Demonstrate the correct procedure for using an interpreter to obtain informed consent.
  • Demonstrate three communication techniques to use while obtaining informed consent with an interpreter.

Faculty

This training will be taught by Robert Sege, MD, PhD, Tufts CTSI Lead Navigator and Co-Director of Stakeholder and Community Engagement.

Who should attend

Clinical research coordinators, investigators, research fellows, research nurses, and anyone involved in obtaining informed consent are encouraged to attend.

Details

Thursday, June 10
9:00-11:00AM
Online via Zoom (a link will be sent to those who register).

*Pre-work via Tufts CTSI I LEARN must be completed prior to the training.

Registration

To attend, please register here.

 

 

Seminars & Workshops
Including Non-English-Speaking Participants in Research

Are you a clinical research team member obtaining informed consent from human research volunteers?

Could you or your team use information on best practices and strategies for working with interpreters?

Join Tufts CTSI’s Stakeholder and Community Engagement Program’s quarterly training focused on Including Non-English-Speaking Participants in Research. This is a blended synchronous/asynchronous workshop that includes completion of a required, self-paced tutorial on Tufts CTSI I LEARN followed by an interactive live session hosted on Zoom. The live session will provide an opportunity to practice working with professional interpreters to obtain informed consent with non-English-speaking members of Tufts CTSI’s Stakeholder Expert Panel. Panel members are former research participants and individuals with experience as simulated patients. This is a learning and skill-building opportunity for you and will not be evaluated in any way.

Participants must complete the online pre-work in order to receive the Zoom link for the live training. While in the live session, your active participation is required, including participating in the roleplay, providing feedback to others, and engaging in group discussion. This will ensure that you get the most out of what this training has to offer.

By the end of this training, you should be able to:

  • Identify when a participant needs an interpreter in order to obtain informed consent.
  • Demonstrate the correct procedure for using an interpreter to obtain informed consent.
  • Demonstrate three communication techniques to use while obtaining informed consent with an interpreter.

Faculty

This training will be taught by Robert Sege, MD, PhD, Tufts CTSI Lead Navigator and Co-Director of Stakeholder and Community Engagement.

Who should attend

Clinical research coordinators, investigators, research fellows, research nurses, and anyone involved in obtaining informed consent are encouraged to attend.

Details

Tuesday, June 8
1:30-3:30PM
Online via Zoom (a link will be sent to those who register).

*Pre-work via Tufts CTSI I LEARN must be completed prior to the training.

Registration

To attend, please register here.

 

 

Seminars & Workshops
Community-Engaged Research in Boston Chinatown

Authentic partnerships for relevant, actionable research

This 90-minute live training will give academic researchers interested in doing engaged research in the Chinatown neighborhood of Boston a basic grounding in authentic and relevant best practices for engaging in this type of work with community partners. The topics to be covered are the benefits and challenges in this research and how to build trusting, authentic relationships with community partners. Through this training, participants will hear some of the voices from the community, and be given time to reflect on your role in and perspective on community engaged research and how to make it action-oriented and relevant in today’s world.

By the end of this training, you should be able to:

  • Define community engaged research as has been practiced in Boston Chinatown.
  • Describe methods for building trust with community partners and research participants.
  • List qualities required for successful community engaged research practice
  • Provide a case study of problem gambling as an example of how community engaged research can be mutually beneficial for researchers and community members.

Faculty

This training will be taught by Carolyn Rubin, EdD, MA, Director of Addressing Disparities in Asian Populations through Translational Research (ADAPT).

Who should attend

Investigators, research study team members, and graduate students are encouraged to attend.

Details

Thursday, June 3
10:00-11:30AM
Online (a link will be sent to those who register).

Registration

To attend, please register here.

 

 

Seminars & Workshops
Mentor Training for Graduate Students

Want to be a more effective research mentee?

In Spring 2021, Tufts CTSI will offer a new, special Mentor Training session for graduate students in the Tufts University School of Medicine and Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences MD/PhD and Clinical and Translational Science (CTS) programs.

In addition to exploring concepts of mentoring, this special session will focus on how to have an effective mentor relationship, resiliency, and how to receive constructive feedback.

Details

Monday May 10, 1:00-3:00PM EDT, via Zoom

Submit your application for Graduate Student Mentor Training by April 30, 2021.

 

 

 

Seminars & Workshops
Mentor Training for Junior and Senior Faculty

Want to be a more effective research mentor?

Join us in May 2021 for one of two case-based training opportunities for faculty members with mentees preparing for research careers in biomedical, behavioral, clinical, and social sciences.

If you are responsible for mentoring Tufts CTSI’s graduate education program’s fellows (TL1) and scholars (KL2), this is a great opportunity to complete the mentor training recommended every other year.

Meet peers and faculty members with expertise in mentoring and career development, and advance your skills in:

  • Goal-setting and alignment
  • Feedback (giving and receiving)
  • Diversity and unconscious bias
  • Relational boundaries
  • Team science.

Requirements for the training:

  • Complete online pre-work (approximately 1-2 hours) on the Tufts CTSI I LEARN platform prior to attending the live session.
  • Participate actively during the live session (2 hours) and share mentoring experiences.
  • Answer follow-up surveys about the outcomes and impact of this training on your mentees.

After completing one of these sessions, you should be able to:

  • Describe the difference between advising and mentoring.
  • Explain the importance of communication in the mentor/mentee relationship.
  • Discuss common mentoring challenges and possible solutions.
  • Identify mentoring tools and resources that you can use with your mentees.

Details

Monday May 24, 1:00-3:00PM EDT, via Zoom

Admission to mentor training is by application and is open to faculty across our partner network.

Submit your application for Faculty Mentor Training by May 12, 2021.

 

 

 

Seminars & Workshops
Mentor Training for Junior and Senior Faculty

Want to be a more effective research mentor?

Join us in May 2021 for one of two case-based training opportunities for faculty members with mentees preparing for research careers in biomedical, behavioral, clinical, and social sciences.

If you are responsible for mentoring Tufts CTSI’s graduate education program’s fellows (TL1) and scholars (KL2), this is a great opportunity to complete the mentor training recommended every other year.

Meet peers and faculty members with expertise in mentoring and career development, and advance your skills in:

  • Goal-setting and alignment
  • Feedback (giving and receiving)
  • Diversity and unconscious bias
  • Relational boundaries
  • Team science.

Requirements for the training:

  • Complete online pre-work (approximately 1-2 hours) on the Tufts CTSI I LEARN platform prior to attending the live session.
  • Participate actively during the live session (2 hours) and share mentoring experiences.
  • Answer follow-up surveys about the outcomes and impact of this training on your mentees.

After completing one of these sessions, you should be able to:

  • Describe the difference between advising and mentoring.
  • Explain the importance of communication in the mentor/mentee relationship.
  • Discuss common mentoring challenges and possible solutions.
  • Identify mentoring tools and resources that you can use with your mentees.

Details

Monday May 17, 1:00-3:00PM EDT, via Zoom

Admission to mentor training is by application and is open to faculty across our partner network.

Submit your application for Faculty Mentor Training by May 12, 2021.

 

 

 

Seminars & Workshops
Clinical Research Staff Quarterly Training: May 2021

The May Clinical Research Staff Quarterly Training will focus on hot topics in research compliance.

Tufts Medical Center and Tufts CTSI Professional Education are excited to announce the re-launch of the Clinical Research Staff Quarterly Training series. The first training in the new series will focus on topics in research compliance specific to Tufts Medical Center.

Featured Topics

Clinical Research Pre-Registration

The Clinical Research Pre-Registration (Pre-Reg) form is used for patients coming into the hospital for inpatient or outpatient study visits that are scheduled for ancillary care. You will learn how to complete a Clinical Research Pre-Registration form and the importance of this information as it relates to research billing compliance.

Greenphire Clincard

Greenphire Clincard system is the preferred method for providing compensation or reimbursement to subjects in clinical research studies. We will discuss how to get studies added to Clincard, why the system is the most compliant way to pay research subjects, FAQs around using the system and important things to consider when requesting an alternative method.

Research Third Party Vendor Onboarding and Risk Assessment

Wellforce has recently rolled out a new Third Party Risk Management (TPRM) process including a new TPRM Vendor Onboarding Form. We will discuss when this form should be completed as part of study start-up and how to best complete it as it relates to research.

Who should attend

Clinical research staff are encouraged to attend.

Details

Friday, May 7
1:00-2:00PM
Online via Zoom (a link will be sent to those who register).

Registration

To attend, please register here.

 

 

Seminars & Workshops
A Conversation about COVID-19 and Mental Wellness

View the video from this event.

How can the role of women and parents facilitate emotional healing during the COVID-19 pandemic?

Join the Greater Boston Section of the National Council of Negro Women and Tufts CTSI for an interactive, virtual (Zoom) discussion with Marsha Jackson, LICSW.

Marsha Jackson has vast experience providing clinical and therapeutic services for families, children, adolescents, and adults, including 20 years of supervising social workers who conduct case management in the Child Welfare System. She will talk about:

  • The role of women as a core to facilitate healing
  • Behavioral indicators of children and family who are struggling
  • How to maintain emotional wellness
  • Usage of Telehealth/Telemedicine to connect with providers
  • Other resources

Who should attend

All are welcome to attend.

Details

Tuesday, April 6
7:00-8:00PM
Online via Zoom (a link will be sent to those who register).

Registration

To attend, please register here.

 

 

Seminars & Workshops
Center for Quantitative Methods and Data Science Seminar 2021: Sara Lodi, PhD, MS

What is the long-term effect of direct antiviral agents for Hepatitis C?

The first June seminar of the Center for Quantitative Methods and Data Science (QM&DS), in partnership with the Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Research Design (BERD) Center at Tufts CTSI and the Data-Intensive Studies Center (DISC) at Tufts University, is Wednesday, June 9, 2:00-3:00PM via Zoom. The topic of this month’s webinar is What is the Long-term Effect of Direct Antiviral Agents for Hepatitis C? A Causal Inference Approach Using ‘Big Data,’ presented by Sara Lodi, PhD.

The advent of direct-acting antiviral agents (DAAs) in 2011 revolutionized hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment: based on clinical trials and real world data, approximately 95% of patients treated with DAA achieved a sustained virological response equivalent to cure. However, even after cure is achieved, the risk of hepatic and extra-hepatic disease remains. Our understanding of post-DAA clinical outcomes is based on clinical trials with relatively short follow-up and selected participants. However, the extent to which DAA impacts extra-hepatic morbidity in the long-term and in heterogenous populations is unknown. Electronic health records collected in routine clinical practice provide a unique opportunity to estimate the long-term benefits of DAA treatment and to assess the need for post-DAA clinical management.

In this talk, Dr. Sara Lodi will discuss how to design an observational study to estimate the effect of DAA on kidney function using the target trial approach. She will also describe how to apply and interpret the results of the parametric g-formula, a causal inference method that provides consistent estimates in the presence of treatment-confounding feedback. Dr. Lodi will present preliminary results using electronic health records from Boston Medical Center and the HepCAUSAL collaboration.

 

Faculty

Sara Lodi, PhD is an Assistant Professor in Biostatistics at Boston University School of Public Health. She obtained her PhD in Medical Statistics at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in 2009. Her research focuses on clinical trials, clinical epidemiology and comparative effectiveness research using routinely collected heath data, particularly in the area of infectious disease and substance use. Methodologically, she focuses on statistical techniques for causal inference to estimate effects of interventions along the HIV continuum of care. She has published many articles on behalf of large international collaborations of HIV cohorts such as CASCADE, COHERE, URBAN ARCH and the HIV-CAUSAL Collaboration.

Details

Wednesday, June 9, 2:00-3:00PM, via Zoom

Registration

To attend, please register here via Tufts CTSI I LEARN.

 

 

 

Seminars & Workshops
Conflict in Research Teams: Prevention, Management, and Resolution

Would you like to learn how to manage conflict as a member or leader of a team-based research project?

In collaborative research, conflict is inevitable. As individuals with diverse perspectives, backgrounds, and personalities undergo the stages of team formation, differences in goals, working styles, and expectations emerge. Failing to address these differences can derail a promising research idea and fracture collaborative relationships.

Learn the strategies to anticipate and overcome conflict in your research from a Team Science methodology in Conflict in Research Teams: Prevention, Management, and Resolution. In this two-session, live online workshop, you’ll hear about common areas of conflict in research teams, learn about frameworks for understanding, discussing, and managing conflict, and practice these skills through role-playing.

Learning objectives

After attending this event, participants should be able to:

  • Assess the state of conflict in their own teams.
  • Describe how a high-functioning team manages conflict effectively.
  • Employ tools and practices to anticipate and resolve common areas of conflict in research teams.

Who should attend

Faculty and research team members who currently work on team-based research projects, or plan to do so in the future, are encouraged to attend.

Details

Monday, April 26 and Monday, May 3, 2021
2:00-4:00PM
Online via Zoom (a link will be sent to those who register).

Registration

To attend, please enroll here via Tufts CTSI I LEARN by April 25.

*If you have not already registered for Tufts CTSI I LEARN, you will be asked to create an account, which can be used to register for all future Tufts CTSI sponsored workshops, courses, and events. If you are not sure whether you have an account, please email training@tuftsctsi.org.

 

Seminars & Workshops
Center for Quantitative Methods and Data Science Seminar 2021: Elena Naumova, PhD, MS

How can data help us to better understand and respond to the synchronization of infectious outbreaks?

The March seminar of the Center for Quantitative Methods and Data Sciences (QM&DS), in partnership with the Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Research Design (BERD) Center at Tufts CTSI and the Data-Intensive Studies Center (DISC) at Tufts University, is Wednesday, March 31, 2:00-3:00PM via Zoom. The topic of this month’s webinar is To Everything There is a Season: Synchronization of Infectious Outbreaks, presented by Elena Naumova, PhD.

A marked seasonality in many infections, like influenza or salmonellosis, is a well-known phenomenon. When we observe a pronounced seasonal pattern, it gives us a reason to expect high predictability of high or low disease incidence periods in a calendar year. With the expansion of national and global surveillance systems, the opportunities to better understand the local, regional, and global temporal fluctuations are also growing. As we learn more about the seasonality of many infections, it is reasonable to expect that some will co-occur. Yet, patterns of co-occurrences and factors driving such synchronization remain elusive.

In this talk, Dr. Naumova will demonstrate the methodology developed to assess the extent, lag, and directionality of seasonal synchronization. Dr. Naumova will provide several examples using national databases, such as the CDC’s Foodborne Disease Active Surveillance Network (FoodNet), National Outbreak Reporting System (NORS), and the FluNet supported by the WHO to illustrate seasonal synchronizations among foodborne infections and the challenges of time-referenced surveillance data. The modeling approaches include the trend-adjusted mixed effects nonlinear harmonic regression models and the delta-method to derive the estimates and confidence intervals for the seasonal peak timing and amplitude, allowing us to build local, regional, and global disease calendars. The methodological rigor, standardization, and data harmonization across surveillance systems are enabling comprehensive characterization of disease seasonality and serve as a pathway for implementing the Precision Public Health, Nutrition, and Medicine principles to tailor prevention and intervention strategies.

Faculty

Elena Naumova, PhD is Professor and Chair of the Division of Nutrition Epidemiology and Data Science at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University. Dr. Naumova’s area of expertise is in developing methodology for modeling of transient processes with applications in environmental epidemiology, nutrition, infectious diseases, and public health. As a mathematician by training, she designs statistical, computational and mathematical models to characterize and forecast infectious outbreaks. Dr. Naumova is using large-scale data sources to study infections sensitive to climate variations and extreme weather. She led research programs in emerging biomedical fields of epidemiology, immunogenetics, nutrition and growth, nationally and internationally to set new standards for public health investigations. Dr. Naumova is Editor-in-Chief for the Journal of Public Health Policy (Nature Publishing Group). She is currently funded by the NSF to develop ways to train data-savvy workforce, highlight advancements and challenges of data revolution, share examples where the data analytics and data visualizations enhance our knowledge and help to find solutions to wicked problems. Dr. Naumova hopes to stir the discussion on how data scientists have to rethink and reframe the state-of-the-art methodology to enable the discovery of emerging trends in global health fields.

Details

Wednesday, March 31, 2021, 2:00-3:00PM, online via Zoom

Registration

To attend, please enroll here via Tufts CTSI I LEARN.

 

Seminars & Workshops
Center for Quantitative Methods and Data Science Seminar 2021: Thomas Stopka, PhD, MS

How can data help us to better understand and respond to the opioid crisis?

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 virtual seminar series on a Wednesday each month from 2:00-3:00PM.

The session on Wednesday, February 17 will feature Associate Professor Thomas Stopka, PhD, MS. He will give a talk titled Spatial Epidemiological Analysis and Modeling of Opioid Decedent Data.

Abstract

The current opioid crisis has contributed to precipitous increases in opioid use disorder, fatal overdoses, and infectious diseases. Opioid-related overdoses alone have increased five-fold during the past two decades in Massachusetts. Decedent data, available through the Massachusetts Registry for Vital Records and Statistics, provide a valuable resource to better understand and respond to the opioid crisis. Together with his GIS and spatial epidemiology team, Dr. Thomas Stopka has explored the spatial distribution of fatal overdoses across the state to identify high-risk locations and inform targeted public health responses.

In this presentation, Dr. Stopka will provide an overview of his work, with a focus on geo-mapping, spatial epidemiological analyses, statistical modeling, and geographically weighted regression analyses. He will highlight fatal overdose hotspots, factors associated with overdose, spatial access to services, and unique approaches to modeling the risk landscape.

Faculty

Thomas Stopka, MS, PhD is is an associate professor with the Department of Public Health and Community Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine and Tufts Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI). He has contributed to and led numerous mixed methods, interdisciplinary, and translational studies focused on the intersection of opioid use disorder, overdose, and infectious disease since 1999. Dr. Stopka has employed geographic information systems (GIS), spatial epidemiological, qualitative, biostatistical, and laboratory approaches in multi-site, multi-investigator studies and public health interventions to better understand and curb the opioid syndemic. He currently leads and contributes to several studies funded by the NIH, CDC, SAMHSA, state and local public health departments, and private and philanthropic agencies, with a focus on development and implementation of evidence-based interventions among opioid users in New England. Dr. Stopka is Co-Chair of the Tufts research priority group focused on equity in health, wealth, and civic engagement. He teaches courses in GIS and spatial epidemiology, research methods for public health, and epidemiology.

Details

Date: Wednesday, February 17, 2021, 2:00-3:00PM

Registration

To attend, please enroll via Tufts CTSI I LEARN here.

 

Seminars & Workshops
Center for Quantitative Methods and Data Science Seminar 2021: Tanya Karagiannis, MS

How do centenarians delay and defy aging?

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 virtual seminar series on a Wednesday each month from 2:00-3:00PM.

The session on Wednesday, January 20 will feature Research Assistant and PhD Candidate 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, January 20, 2020, 2:00-3:00PM

Registration

To attend, please enroll via Tufts CTSI I LEARN here.

 

Seminars & Workshops
Center for Quantitative Methods and Data Science Seminar: Karl Broman, PhD

Interested in learning how to make your data analysis and other scientific computations reproducible?

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 virtual seminar series on a Wednesday each month from 2:00-3:00PM.

The session on Wednesday, December 16 will feature Karl Broman, PhD. He will give a talk titled Steps Toward Reproducible Research.

Abstract

A minimal standard for data analysis and other scientific computations is that they be reproducible: that the code and data are assembled in a way so that another group can re-create all of the results (e.g., the figures and table in a paper). Adopting a workflow that will make your results reproducible will ultimately make your life easier; if a problem or question arises somewhere down the line, it will be much easier to correct or explain.

But organizing analyses so that they are reproducible is not easy. It requires diligence and a considerable investment of time: to learn new computational tools, and to organize and document analyses as you go. Nevertheless, partially reproducible is better than not at all reproducible. Just try to make your next paper or project better organized than the last. There are many paths toward reproducible research, and you shouldn’t try to change all aspects of your current practices all at once. Identify one weakness, adopt an improved approach, refine that a bit, and then move on to the next thing. Dr. Karl Broman will offer some suggestions for the initial steps to take towards making your work reproducible.

Faculty

Dr. Karl Broman is a Professor in the Department of Biostatistics & Medical Informatics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Dr. Broman is an applied statistician working on the genetics of complex diseases in experimental organisms. He develops the R package, R/qtl, has written a number of short tutorials useful for data scientists, and is very keen to develop tools for interactive data visualization (to view an example, click here).

Details

Date: Wednesday, December 16, 2020, 2:00-3:00PM

Registration

To attend, please enroll via Tufts CTSI I LEARN here.

 

Seminars & Workshops
Taking Responsibility for Building a Trustworthy Research Enterprise

What is your role in being an anti-racist researcher and creating a trustworthy research enterprise?

This webinar will focus on looking at the history of malfeasance in research including up to the present day. We will explore how mistrust of research is mediated through historical and generational trauma and how it impacts present day perceptions of research. We will discuss how we can flip the narrative around mistrust of research as a “barrier” to focus on what researchers can do to become more trustworthy. We will outline specific steps you can take to bring awareness to your labs and study teams to engage in anti-racism and anti-oppression in your work.

You will come away with concrete steps that you can take, resources you can utilize, and continued support from Tufts CTSI to engage in dialogue with your teams and colleagues.

Details

Date: December 9, 2020, noon-1:00PM

Location: I LEARN course management system

Registration

Enroll in Taking Responsibility for Building a Trustworthy Research Enterprise.

Seminars & Workshops
Scientific Manuscript Writing Workshops – Fall 2020

Overview

Need to transform your ideas into a publishable manuscript? Finding it difficult to write alone without assistance and feedback?

Join Tufts CTSI this fall to begin writing and refining the core sections of your manuscript draft with your colleagues and with an experienced editor.

Commit to attending four working sessions and getting your own manuscript draft, and those of your peers, reviewed before each session. Optional service requests are available for one-on-one consultations on general English writing and peer review.

Dates and Location

All sessions will take place online via Zoom (a link will be provided to those who register), on Wednesdays from 10:30AM-noon.

  • Session I: Wednesday, October 28, 10:30-12:00PM
  • Session II: Wednesday, November 11, 10:30-12:00PM
  • Session III: Wednesday, November 25, 10:30-12:00PM
  • Session IV: Wednesday, December 9, 10:30-12:00PM

Registration and Requirements

Ten slots are available for those who commit to attending and submitting their manuscript drafts prior to all four sessions. You do not need to have your actual final study results or references available to get the essential work done, but it would be beneficial for you to have some elements of a work in progress available for review such as the introduction, methods, or results section of a clinical/translational research paper.

Please register here.

The first assignment is due by Wednesday, October 28:

  • Reading: Welch HG (1999) Preparing manuscripts for submission to medical journals: the paper trail. Eff Clin Pract 2:131–137
  • Submit your first draft in Word to ctsitraining@tuftsmedicalcenter.org. Minimum requirements:
    • One- two paragraphs for the Introduction section
    • Several paragraphs for the Methods and/or Results sections, with subheadings
    • Two to three draft tables or figures that illustrate your principal study findings, even if you don’t have the actual final data available at this time
  • Subsequent drafts and peer review are due three business days prior to each session.
Details

Tufts CTSI is excited to recruit up to 10 motivated biomedical and clinical researchers to join a hands-on workshop series designed to get you started on efficient manuscript writing. Don’t miss this chance for face time with Robert Goldberg, PhD to hear his advice on the elements of preparing successful manuscripts for peer reviewed scientific journals including  navigating major journals, scientific writing style, and approaches to sentence composition.

The program is focused solely on hands-on writing exercises and peer review with expert coaching on manuscript style and content. The participants will incorporate class feedback and submit a new draft each session with a goal of polishing each section of their scientific manuscript in the IMRAD (Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion) format.

By the end of the series, you will have completed a solid working draft of a manuscript that will be either ready for peer reviewed submission to a journal, or will be close to submission with some additional final polishing needed.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this workshop series, you should be able to:

  • Discuss the core components of a successful scientific manuscript.
  • Identify strategies and steps for completing a full manuscript for peer review submission.
  • Anticipate reviewers’ concerns in discussing and presenting your research and how to best respond to these concerns.

Workshop Faculty

  • Instructor: Robert J. Goldberg, PhD, Professor, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Department of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences
  • Guest instructor: Nicholas Moustakas, MA, Research Development Specialist, Tufts CTSI

Expectations for Homework and Your Commitment

Registration is on a first come, first served basis and priorities are given to members of Tufts CTSI partner institutions. Once the course is full, additional registrants will be put on a waitlist and invited to the next available opportunity. We will confirm your enrollment as soon we finalize the registration list.

Class attendance is critical to this peer review-based format. If your participation in these workshops needs to be approved by your supervisor or a person responsible for your time release, you may optionally provide their contact information when you register for the workshop program.

You will be expected to be actively engaged in classroom discussion. We ask participants to come open-minded and be receptive to constructive feedback.

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.

 

Seminars & Workshops
Center for Quantitative Methods and Data Sciences Seminar: Cody Meissner, MD and Norma Terrin, PhD

The Center for Quantitative Methods and Data Sciences, 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 October session on Wednesday, October 21 will feature Cody Meissner, MD, and Norma Terrin, PhD. They will speak about the promise of COVID-19 vaccines in controlling the pandemic.

Abstract

The discussion will cover approaches to SARS-CoV-2 vaccine development; emergency use authorization (EUA) vs. biologic license application (BLA); acceptable safety and effectiveness; unanticipated serious adverse reactions that occurred following introduction of previous vaccines; and vaccine trial sample size justification.

Faculty

Dr. Meissner is Professor of Pediatrics at Tufts University School of Medicine and Head of the Pediatric Infectious Disease Service at Tufts Medical Center. He is a Consultant to the Committee on Infectious Disease and an Associate Editor of the Red Book for the American Academy of Pediatrics. He has served as a member of the Advisory Committee on Infectious Diseases (ACIP) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and continues to advise CDC Work Groups. He presently serves as a member of the National vaccine Advisory Committee (NVAC) and as a member of the Vaccines and Related Biologic Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) for the Food and Drug Administration. He serves as a member of the Massachusetts Vaccine Purchasing Council. He has published over 250 papers on various aspects of infectious disease.

Dr. Terrin is the Scientific Director of the BERD Center at Tufts Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) and Professor at Tufts University School of Medicine. She has collaborated with clinical investigators, including infectious disease researchers, throughout her career, and she served as Statistics Editor at Clinical Infectious Diseases for 12 years.

Details

Date: Wednesday, October 21, 2020, 2:00-3:00PM

Location: Zoom video conference. \

 

 

Seminars & Workshops
Disseminating Research Results to Participants and the Public – Session 3

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.

In this asynchronous, online workshop, 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.

Details

Date: Access course materials at any time from December 2 through December 9, 2020.

Location: I LEARN course management system

Audience: 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 asynchronous training, participants must be able to access the Internet. Participants will be asked to log onto the I LEARN course management system to access all training materials.

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

Enroll in Dissemination of Research Results to Participants and the Public.

 

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.

Seminars & Workshops
Center for Quantitative Methods and Data Sciences Seminar: Karin Knudson, PhD

The Center for Quantitative Methods and Data Sciences, 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 the fourth Wednesday of the month from 2:00-3:00PM.

The first session on Wednesday, September 23 will feature Karin Knudson, PhD, Senior Data Scientist with DISC. She will speak about the estimation of ataxia severity and disease classification from wearable sensor recordings.

Abstract

Wearable sensor data offer the potential for rich and interpretable descriptions of behavioral characteristics of ataxia and other neurodegenerative diseases. High quality behavioral biomarkers are important for understanding disease progression, assessing efficacy in clinical trials, and supporting early diagnosis and targeted interventions. In this talk we present methods for using accelerometer and gyroscope time series data from wearable sensors in order to accurately distinguish patients with ataxia from healthy controls and to estimate disease severity. We combine information from an autoregressive hidden Markov model variant and time-frequency analysis to create a flexible, extensible, and meaningful quantitative description of movement and to perform severity estimation and disease classification with short periods of data collection.

Faculty

Dr. Knudson is a Senior Data Scientist with the Tufts Data Intensive Studies Center (DISC). Her research has involved the development and application of methods from machine learning, Bayesian statistics, and compressive sensing, particularly to neural data. Before joining Tufts, she was a Research Fellow in the Department of Neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, and was previously the Chair of the Department of Mathematics, Statistics, and Computer Science at Phillips Academy. She completed her PhD in Mathematics at the University of Texas at Austin.

Details

Date: Wednesday, September 23, 2020, 2:00-3:00PM

Location: Zoom video conference.

 

 

Seminars & Workshops
Disseminating Research Results to Participants and the Public

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, October 7, 2020, 10:00–11:30 noon (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.

Seminars & Workshops
Research Database Development Part 3: Advanced REDCap Features

Overview

Are you involved in building a REDCap database for your research project?

Building an appropriate database for your study is critical to ensuring successful data collection and analysis. Learn how to build your database in this three-part Research Database Development course presented by Tufts CTSI. There are no pre-requisites required for any of the three course registrations, but participation in all three courses is encouraged as they build on each other.

Part 3: Advanced REDCap Features

This two-hour session will begin with a demonstration of commonly used advanced REDCap features, Informatics Project Coordinator at Tufts CTSI, followed by an interactive conversation answering participants’ real-life REDCap questions.

Topics covered include:

  • Complex piping and calculations within REDCap forms
  • Establishing workflows with the Survey Queue and Alerts and Notifications sections
  • Understanding how Action Tags can be used to help guide data collection
  • Ensuring high-quality input by establishing Data Quality rules

After attending this session, participants should be able to:

  • Identify use cases for advanced REDCap features
  • Implement commonly-used advanced features in REDCap projects

Details

Date: Friday, August 28, 10:00AM-noon

Location: online via Zoom

Registration

Members of any Tufts CTSI-affiliated institution are welcome to attend.

To receive the Zoom link, please register here.

Instructor

Rachael Huebner, MPH is the Clinical Data Manager at Tufts CTSI, providing data management support and training to researchers. Prior to joining Tufts, she worked in data management for industry-sponsored clinical trials after receiving her MPH from Boston University School of Public Health.

Tufts CTSI Professional Education & Expectation 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 was 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.

 

Seminars & Workshops
Research Database Development Part 2: Building a REDCap Database

Overview

Are you involved in building a REDCap database for your research project?

Building an appropriate database for your study is critical to ensuring successful data collection and analysis. Learn how to build your database in this three-part Research Database Development course presented by Tufts CTSI. There are no pre-requisites required for any of the three course registrations, but participation in all three courses is encouraged as they build on each other.

Part 2: Building a REDCap Database

This two-hour session will consist of a guided tutorial, followed by a discussion on building REDCap databases for your own research. Participants should be prepared to discuss their research projects. Instructors will work with you to create REDCap accounts prior to this session.

Topics covered include:

  • Introduction to REDCap
  • Creating projects, forms, and fields
  • Exporting data

After attending this session, participants should be able to:

  • Describe the differences between classic and longitudinal projects, and identify when to use each
  • Create projects, forms, and fields in REDCap
  • Export data from REDCap to Excel

Details

Date: Thursday, August 27, 10:00AM-noon

Location: online via Zoom

Registration

Members of any Tufts CTSI-affiliated institution are welcome to attend.

To receive the Zoom link, please register here.

Instructors

Rachael Huebner, MPH is the Clinical Data Manager at Tufts CTSI, providing data management support and training to researchers. Prior to joining Tufts, she worked in data management for industry-sponsored clinical trials after receiving her MPH from Boston University School of Public Health.

Tufts CTSI Professional Education & Expectation 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 was 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.

 

Seminars & Workshops
Research Database Development Part 1: Basics & Best Practices

Overview

Are you involved in building a REDCap database for your research project?

Building an appropriate database for your study is critical to ensuring successful data collection and analysis. Learn how to build your database in this three-part Research Database Development course presented by Tufts CTSI. There are no pre-requisites required for any of the three course registrations, but participation in all three courses is encouraged as they build on each other.

Part 1: Basics & Best Practices

This two-hour session will begin with an interactive lecture presented by Rachael Huebner, MPH, Clinical Data Manager at Tufts CTSI, followed by a workshop in which participants will practice building a simple database in Excel. Participation will be required for the workshop portion.

Pre-requisite: none

Topics covered include:

  • Database development best practices
  • Determining which data to collect
  • Choosing variable types
  • Naming variables
  • Assigning numbers to variables
  • Using Excel to create a database

After attending this session, participants should be able to:

  • Recognize database creation best practices
  • Identify the clinical and demographic data needed to answer a study question
  • Effectively name and code variables
  • Create an Excel sheet appropriate for study data collection

Details

Date: Wednesday, August 26, 10:00AM-noon

Location: online via Zoom

Registration

Members of any Tufts CTSI-affiliated institution are welcome to attend.

To receive the Zoom link, please register here.

Instructors

Rachael Huebner, MPH is the Clinical Data Manager at Tufts CTSI, providing data management support and training to researchers. Prior to joining Tufts, she worked in data management for industry-sponsored clinical trials after receiving her MPH from Boston University School of Public Health.

Tufts CTSI Professional Education & Expectation 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 was 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.

 

Seminars & Workshops
Foundations of Team Science Workshop

Are you an investigator interested in learning practical skills for working on team-based research projects?


Contemporary biomedical and health research grants often involve more than a single principal investigator (PI) or working with the lab down the hall. Whether focused on a public health strategy or a novel treatment, scientists increasingly find they need to work as part of a team with collaborators from different disciplines, institutions, and communities.

To help researchers succeed in a team-based environment, Tufts Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) and the Tufts University Office of Research Development are offering a workshop on team science fundamentals. Developed with the assistance ofthe Tufts Technology Services Design Practice, the intensive four-hour training provides an evidence-based framework for effective collaboration planning. Participants will gain practical skills for building cohesive teams and strategies that are adaptable to diverse research domains and settings.

By the end of this interactive symposium, event participants should be able to:

  • Understand the importance of team science skills to successful research outcomes
  • Understand the team science competencies needed for building new research teams
  • Use tools and strategies for:
    • Formulating shared goals and vision
    • Understanding individual contributions, opportunities for collaboration, and gaps within the team
    • Creating a collaboration plan.

Details

Wednesday, September 30, 2020, 10:00 –11:30AM, and
Wednesday, October 7, 2020, 10:00am –noon.

Location: Online via Zoom (a link will be emailed to those who register).

This workshop is open to faculty and research staff at any level. The curriculum is designed to be useful to new and experienced investigators, including seasoned PIs interested in developing program- or center-level proposals.

This will be a two-part workshop for a total of three-and-one-half hours. Registrants are expected to attend both parts A and B, and complete a short (20-30 minute) homework assignment between the sessions.

This is the first workshop in a series that Tufts CTSI will be offering on Team Science. Participants will be able to join any or all at no cost.

Registration

To attend, please register here by September 23, 2020.

Agenda – Part A, September 30

  • 10:00AM: Welcome: Defining Team Science and the Need for a Team-Based Approach
  • 10:15AM: Team Science Competencies and Strategies Overview
  • 10:30AM: Individual Collaboration Readiness
  • 10:45AM: Milestone Brainstorm
  • 11:00AM: Prepare for Part B Grand Challenge Scenario
  • 11:15AM: Wrap-up

Agenda – Part B, October 7

  • 10:00AM: Review and Introduction to Grand Challenge Scenario
  • 10:15AM: Breakout Groups: Shared Visions Statements and Milestones
  • 11:15AM: Report Out
  • 11:25AM: Collaboration Plan Demonstration
  • 11:45AM: Wrap-up

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.

Seminars & Workshops
Scientific Manuscript Writing Workshops – Spring 2020

Overview

Ready to transform your research into a manuscript suitable for a peer-reviewed publication?

Find out what editors want and gain confidence in your writing at this Spring’s Scientific Manuscript Writing Workshop.

This three-session workshop will review the process of constructing scientific papers that are logically organized, concisely written, and attentive to reader and reviewer expectations.

You will prepare and present the main sections of a research paper in the IMRAD (introduction, methods, results, and discussion) format, and will receive constructive critiques and written comments. By the end of the sessions, you will have a more polished draft that can stand up to rigorous peer review.

The workshop will be led by Robert J. Goldberg, PhD, a senior researcher who brings with him a wealth of writing and submission expertise from many years as a mentor, journal editor, and medical school writing course director.

Dates and Location

All sessions will take place online via Zoom (a link will be provided to those who register), on Mondays from 2:30pm-3:30PM.

  • Session I (Monday, May 4): Effective Scientific Writing & Review of Examples & Group Review: Introduction
  • Session II (Monday, May 11): Group Review: Data & Figures
  • Session III (Monday, May 18): Group Review: Data & Figures (Version 2)
  • Optional request for one-on-one feedback, but must submit the best version of your manuscript by June 18th for detailed feedback.

Registration and Requirements

Any post-graduate clinical, health services, or public health investigators who have original research intended for publication and peer feedback for writing support are welcome to apply.

Participants are strongly encouraged to attend all three workshop sessions.

Registration for this course is now full. If you would like to be added to the waitlist, please email training@tuftsctsi.org

Registration is on a first come, first served, basis and priority is given to members of Tufts CTSI partner institutions. Once the course is full, additional registrants will be put on a waitlist and invited to the next opportunity. We will confirm your enrollment as soon we finalize the registration list.

Enrolled seats will be prioritized to faculty members who commit to attending and completing all assigned prework. You do not have to have actual study results ready to get the essential work done, but this course will directly benefit those who already have some elements of a work in progress on the introduction, methods, or results section of a paper.

To facilitate effective peer review experiences, we prioritize manuscripts addressing original scientific projects in the areas of clinical and public health research. Class attendance is critical to this peer review-based format. You will be expected to provide thoughtful reviews of attendees drafts and actively engage in classroom discussion. This course is not intended for basic science researchers. Basic science researchers seeking individualized feedback on their manuscript are encouraged to submit a service request at https://informatics.tuftsctsi.org/pims/request.htm.

Details

Learning Objectives

By the end of this workshop series, you will be able to:

  • Discuss the core components of a successful scientific manuscript.
  • Identify strategies and next steps for completing a full manuscript for peer review submission.
  • Anticipate reviewers’ concerns in discussing and presenting your research in writing and how to best respond to any concerns raised.

Workshop Faculty

  • Instructor: Robert J. Goldberg, PhD, Professor, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Department of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences
  • Guest instructor: Nicholas Moustakas, MA, Research Development Specialist, Tufts CTSI

Course Participation

By enrolling in this course, you are agreeing to complete all pre-work assignments, including submitting your draft of the assigned section by the Wednesday prior to peer reviews, and preparing thoughtful comments on colleagues’ drafts for discussion during the session.

Pre-work Deadlines

Submit all drafts to training@tuftsctsi.org by the due dates specified below.

  • Thursday April 29
    • Submit your Introduction section by April 29th (1 or 1 ¼ pages OR three paragraphs; double-spaced)
  • Monday, May 4, Session 1
    • Readings:
      • Welch HG (1999) Preparing manuscripts for submission to medical journals: the paper trail. Eff Clin Pract 2:131–137
      • Example article for critical review: To be emailed ahead of time
      • Example article for critical review: To be emailed ahead of time
    • Review/prepare comments for peers’ introductions
  • Thursday, May 7
    • Submit three – five tables or figures, with a brief description of each
  • Monday, May 11, Session 2
    • Review/prepare comments for peers’ drafts
  • Thursday, May 14
    • Submit updated three – five tables or figures, with a brief description of each
  • Monday, May 18, Session 3
    • Review/prepare comments for peers’ drafts
  • Thursday June 18
    • Final Day to submit Manuscripts for feedback

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.

 

Seminars & Workshops
Research Database Creation: Basics and Best Practices 2020

Overview

Are you involved in building a database for your research project?

Building an appropriate database for your study is critical to ensuring successful data collection and analysis. Learn how to build a database in this 90-minute Tufts CTSI workshop, Research Database Creation: Basics & Best Practices. This session will begin with an interactive lecture presented by Rachael Huebner, a Clinical Data Manager at Tufts CTSI, followed by a workshop in which participants will practice building a simple database in Excel.

This workshop is a prerequisite to a subsequent workshop, Research Database Creation: Building a REDCap Database.  Please note, in this workshop, we will not be using REDCap, but we will be learning the fundamentals required for database creation, which will inform our second session where REDCap will be used.

After attending this event, you should be able to:

  • Recognize database creation best practices
  • Identify the clinical and demographic data needed to answer a study question
  • Effectively name and code variables
  • Create an Excel sheet appropriate for study data collection

Details

Date: Thursday, March 12, noon-1:30PM

Location: ONLINE ONLY

This workshop is a prerequisite to a subsequent workshop, Research Database Creation: Building a REDCap Database.

Registration

This workshop is designed for research assistants, clinical research coordinators, investigators, residents, and fellows who will be creating or working with databases for research projects.

To attend, please register here by March 5.

Tufts CTSI Professional Education & Expectation 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 was 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.

 

Seminars & Workshops
Research Database Creation: Building a REDCap Database 2020

Overview

Are you involved in building a REDCap database for your research project?

REDCap is an online application that can be used to create research databases. It has many advantages over Excel, and is often the preferred tool for database creation. Learn how to create REDCap databases for your research projects in this 90-minute Tufts CTSI workshop, Research Database Creation: Building a REDCap Database.

This session will consist of a guided tutorial, led by Rachael Huebner, Clinical Data Manager at Tufts CTSI, in which participants will build a simple database in REDCap.

To attend this event, participants must attend the first workshop in this series, Research Database Creation: Basics & Best Practices.

After attending this event, you should be able to:

  • Describe the differences between classic and longitudinal projects, and identify when to use each
  • Create projects, forms, and fields in REDCap
  • Export data from REDCap to Excel

Details

Date: Thursday, March 26, noon-1:30PM

Location: Tufts Center for Medical Education, Room 514 (Computer Lab), 145 Harrison Avenue, Boston

To attend this event, participants must attend the first workshop in this series, Research Database Creation: Basics & Best Practices.

Registration

This workshop is designed for research assistants, clinical research coordinators, investigators, residents, and fellows who will be creating or working with databases for research projects.

Space is limited.

To reserve your seat, please register here by March 19.

Tufts CTSI Professional Education & Expectation 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 was 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.

 

Seminars & Workshops
Applying Implementation Science Frameworks to Your Research Plans and Ongoing Studies

Do you have a grant proposal or protocol for an intervention involving hospitals, schools, and local communities?

If you’d like to hone your research aims and strategy to show a clear roadmap for successful translation in real-world settings, join Tufts CTSI on Wednesday, June 24 for a two-part interactive online workshop: Applying Implementation Science Frameworks to Your Research Plans and Ongoing Studies.

Apply by Monday, June 22 for one of 12 seats for researchers working in translational research.

Overview

In this two-part series, all applicants commit to up to two ½ hours of learning time and complete the following:

  • Part 1, Pre-work online course (approx. 1 hour), complete by June 23: Prepared by the workshop instructors, this short course provides an overview of two common implementation frameworks used in grant proposals, RE-AIM (the Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance Framework) and CFIR (the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research), and how the CFIR framework, combined with ERIC (Expert Recommendations for Implementing Change) strategies, can be used in planning for protocol implementation or problem solving. You will learn what these frameworks are, when to use them, and how to best integrate them into a grant proposal or ongoing study.
  • Part 2, Live online workshop (90 minutes), June 24, 2020, 10:00-11:30AM:  Those who complete the Part 1 assignment will be invited to an interactive live meeting (Zoom) where you will meet with the instructors and colleagues in real time to review the frameworks through case examples and discussions on potential challenges in your proposal or protocol. Participants will be required to ensure audio/video quality of their live online meeting participation and login 10 minutes prior to the session.The workshop agenda may include:
    • Introductions and Overview
    • Review of the Implementation Science Frameworks/Q&A
    • Case Discussions: Examples of Implementation Science Frameworks in a Grant Proposal and Ongoing Study
    • Workshops: Participant Challenges and Cases

Instructors

  • Sara C. Folta, PhD, Director, Integrating Underrepresented Populations in Research, Tufts CTSI; Associate Professor, Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy: Dr. Folta and colleagues implemented, evaluated, and nationally disseminated the StrongWomen – Healthy Hearts program for cardiovascular disease prevention among midlife and older women.
  • Denise Daudelin, RN, MPH, Director, Research Process Improvement, Tufts CTSI; Assistant Professor of Medicine, Tufts University Public Health and Community Medicine: Ms. Daudelin is an Investigator who has worked with hospitals, emergency medical service agencies, primary care practices, and researchers to develop measures of health care quality and achieve improvements in health care delivery and research.

Case Discussions: Examples of Implementation Science Frameworks in a Grant Proposal and Ongoing Study

  • Amy LeClair, PhD, MPhil: Study to evaluate the implementation of patient navigation to reduce disparities for women with breast cancer.
  • Alysse Wurcel, MD, MS: Proposal to develop, implement, and measure the impact of changes to the HIV testing polices at Tufts Medical Center to increase the number of people with substance use disorder who successfully receive HIV testing.

Who should attend

Any research faculty, especially early career faculty, are welcome to apply. Faculty with a draft grant proposal that contains an implementation science framework are strongly encouraged to attend (and may submit a copy of their proposal). Faculty experiencing challenges with an existing protocol are also encouraged to submit a summary of their protocol for feedback.

Registration

Space is limited to 12 participants. Apply here by Monday, June 22.

 

 

This workshop 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.

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
Dialogue Facilitation Training

Do you want to be a part of building a culture of communication?

Strong communication skills are important to support the academic and community-based work we do. That is why we are offering a training to teach participants how to facilitate and cultivate productive conversations.

You are cordially invited to a Dialogue Facilitation Training by Jonathan Garlick, DDS, PhD on Wednesday, January 22, 2020, 2:00-5:00PM at Tufts CTSI, 35 Kneeland St. 8th Floor Large Conference Room, Boston.

This interactive event will provide a general level of training to teach you the skills needed to facilitate a structured dialogue and improve communication.

The objectives of this training are to:

  • Promote open and inclusive dialogue
  • Teach participants to recognize how they can be a part of better conversations about potentially divisive issues
  • Encourage active listening and participation in dialogue.

*Complimentary refreshments will be provided.

Once you are trained, we have two upcoming opportunities for you to use your new facilitation skills:

  • Dialogue on Diabetes Research, February 5, 6:00-8:00PM at Roxbury Community College
    Pre-dialogue prep for facilitators: January 29, 4:00-5:00PM at 35 Kneeland St., 8th Floor Large Conference Room, Boston
  • Breaking the Silence Dialogue on Diversity in Research, March 6, 5:15pm-7:45PM on the Tufts Health Sciences Campus, Boston
    Pre-dialogue prep for facilitators: March 2, 4:00-5:00PM at 35 Kneeland St., 8th Floor Large Conference Room, Boston

Details

Dialogue Facilitation Training
Wednesday, January 22, 2:00-5:00PM
35 Kneeland Street, 8th Floor Conference Room, Boston

This event will provide an excellent opportunity for investigators and community members to network across the Tufts CTSI partnership to pursue collaborative translational research interests.

Registration

To attend, please complete our registration form.

 

Seminars & Workshops
Diversity in Research Topic Selection Workshop

Would you like to help to determine the topics and questions to be discussed at an upcoming forum on diversity in research?

Tufts CTSI, Tufts Medical Center, and Tufts University are hosting Breaking the Silence: Diversity in Research on Friday, March 6.

We need your help to develop prompting discussion questions for facilitators to use at this event.

We are looking for people with different values, opinions, and ideas to come together on Thursday, December 12 from noon-1:30PM for a workshop led by Jonathan Garlick, DDS, PhD. The goal of this workshop is to bring together members of the Tufts community to develop questions and topics to foster meaningful discussions that enrich and personalize the topic of diversity in research for all who attend Breaking the Silence.

This Topic Selection Workshop is an opportunity for you to help us jumpstart respectful dialogue, break down stereotypes, inspire curiosity, build empathy, and enable participants to link their health and well-being to their personal and civic responsibilities. To sign up, please register here.

What is Breaking the Silence?

Breaking the Silence is a symposium series developed by Tufts University Associate Provost and Chief Diversity Officer Joyce Sackey, MD. Previous topics include discrimination against Muslims; racism against black lives; and weight bias and health. March 6, 2020 is the fourth Breaking the Silence event, hosted by Tufts Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI), the Institute for Clinical Research and Health Policy Studies (ICRHPS), and Tufts University. This event will include a keynote speaker, a panel discussion, facilitated small-group discussions, and dinner. Details will be available soon.

What is a Topic Selection Workshop?

The Breaking the Silence event will include facilitated discussions to enrich the take-home messages from the keynote speaker and panel discussion. To do this, we must personalize the topic of diversity in research for all participants. The Topic Selection Workshop will bring together diverse voices to discuss, narrow down, and select questions that will be important and interesting to deliberate.

Who is leading the Topic Selection Workshop?

Jonathan Garlick, DDS, PhD, is Tufts CTSI’s Scientific Communications Program Director. He is also a stem cell researcher, a clinician, a professor of dental medicine, and Senior Fellow in Civic Science at Tufts University’s Tisch College of Civic Life. Dr. Garlick’s experience in supporting dialogue across Tufts will guide the question selection process.

The mission of Tufts CTSI’s Scientific Communications Program is to improve the public’s understanding of the purposes and value of clinical research and to build and maintain trust among diverse participants in the face of perceived risk, uncertainty, and conflicting beliefs, values, and interests. Tufts CTSI’s Scientific Communications Program and the Breaking the Science event are intended to foster respectful dialogue on contentious topics, break down stereotypes, inspire curiosity, build empathy, and enable participants to link their health and well-being to their personal and civic responsibilities.

How can I attend the Topic Selection Workshop?

The Diversity in Research Topic Selection Workshop is:

Thursday, December 12, noon-1:30PM
Dental Alumni Lounge
Tufts University School of Dental Medicine
1 Kneeland Street, 15th Floor
Boston

This event is in-person only. Lunch will be provided.

Space is limited! To reserve your seat, please register here by Tuesday, December 10.

 

 

This workshop 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.

Seminars & Workshops
Research Database Creation: Building a REDCap Database

Overview

Are you involved in building a REDCap database for your research project?

REDCap is an online application that can be used to create research databases. It has many advantages over Excel, and is often the preferred tool for database creation. Learn how to create REDCap databases for your research projects in this 90-minute Tufts CTSI workshop, Research Database Creation: Building a REDCap Database.

This session will begin with a lecture presented by Rachael Huebner, a Clinical Data Manager at Tufts CTSI, followed by a workshop in which participants will practice building a simple database in REDCap.

To attend this event, participants must attend the first workshop in this series, Research Database Creation: Basics & Best Practices.

After attending this event, you should be able to:

  • Describe the differences between classic and longitudinal projects, and identify when to use each
  • Create projects, forms, and fields in REDCap
  • Export data from REDCap to Excel

Details

Date: Tuesday, November 12, 2:00-3:30PM

Location: Tufts Medical Center, IS Training Room, Ziskind Building, 1st Floor, Room 114A

To attend this event, participants must attend the first workshop in this series, Research Database Creation: Basics & Best Practices.

Registration

This workshop is designed for research assistants, clinical research coordinators, investigators, residents, and fellows who will be creating or working with databases for research projects.

Space is limited. To reserve your seat, please register here by October 24.

Tufts CTSI Professional Education & Expectation 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 was 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.

 

Seminars & Workshops
Research Database Creation: Basics and Best Practices

Overview

Are you involved in building a database for your research project?

Building an appropriate database for your study is critical to ensuring successful data collection and analysis. Learn how to build a database in this 90-minute Tufts CTSI workshop, Research Database Creation: Basics & Best Practices. This session will begin with an interactive lecture presented by Rachael Huebner, a Clinical Data Manager at Tufts CTSI, followed by a workshop in which participants will practice building a simple database in Excel.

This workshop is a prerequisite to a subsequent workshop, Research Database Creation: Building a REDCap Database.

After attending this event, you should be able to:

  • Recognize database creation best practices
  • Identify the clinical and demographic data needed to answer a study question
  • Effectively name and code variables
  • Create an Excel sheet appropriate for study data collection

Details

Date: Tuesday, October 29, 1:00-2:30PM

Location: Tufts Medical Center, IS Training Room, Ziskind Building, 1st Floor, Room 114A

This workshop is a prerequisite to a subsequent workshop, Research Database Creation: Building a REDCap Database.

Registration

This workshop is designed for research assistants, clinical research coordinators, investigators, residents, and fellows who will be creating or working with databases for research projects.

The workshop is now full. To add your name to the waitlist, please register here.

Tufts CTSI Professional Education & Expectation 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 was 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.

 

Seminars & Workshops
Training for New Mentors, Fall 2019

Tufts CTSI offers Mentor Training for individuals who mentor junior faculty in research. These interactive, two-hour sessions are funded by Tufts CTSI.

This session is for faculty members who recently obtained their first funding who are mentoring individuals at the fellow or junior faculty level.

Registration

Admission to the training is by application only. Please apply here by Monday, October 21.

Facilitators

  • Karen Freund, MD, MPH, Professor and Vice Chair of Medicine, Tufts Medical Center; Professor of Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine; Harry and Elsa Jiler Clinical Research Professor, American Cancer Society
  • Jill Maron, MD. MPH, Executive Director, Mother Infant Research Institute; Vice Chair of Pediatric Research, Floating Hospital for Children; Associate Professor, Tufts University School of Medicine

Details

Training for New and Recent Mentors
Thursday, October 31, 3:00-5:00PM
8th Floor, 35 Kneeland Street, Boston

 

Seminars & Workshops
Training for Experienced Mentors, Fall 2019

Tufts CTSI offers Mentor Training for individuals who mentor junior faculty in research. These interactive, two-hour sessions are funded by Tufts CTSI.

This session is for faculty members with more than five years of experience mentoring junior faculty.

Registration

Admission to the training is by application only. Please apply here by Monday, September 16.

Facilitators

  • Gordon Huggins, MD, Director, Molecular Cardiology Research Institute (MCRI) Center for Translational Pharmacology and Genomics, Tufts Medical Center; Associate Professor, Tufts University School of Medicine
  • Sawkat Anwer, DMVH, PhD, Distinguished Professor and Associate Dean for Research, Tufts University Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine; Professor of Biomedical Sciences, Tufts University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences

Details

Training for Experienced Mentors
Tuesday, September 24, 3:00-5:00PM
8th Floor, 35 Kneeland Street, Boston

 

Seminars & Workshops
Scientific Manuscript Writing Workshops 2019

Overview

Ready to transform your research into a manuscript suitable for a peer-reviewed publication?

Find out what editors want and gain confidence in your writing at this fall’s Scientific Manuscript Writing Workshop.

This four-session workshop will review the process of constructing scientific papers that are logically organized, concisely written, and attentive to reader and reviewer expectations.

You will prepare and present the main sections of a research paper in the IMRAD (introduction, methods, results, and discussion) format, and will receive constructive critiques and written comments. By the end of the sessions, you will have a more polished draft that can stand up to rigorous peer review.

The workshop will be led by Robert J. Goldberg, PhD, a senior researcher who brings with him a wealth of writing and submission expertise from many years as a mentor, journal editor, and medical school writing course director.

Dates and Location

All sessions will take place at Tufts CTSI, 35 Kneeland Street, 8th Floor, Boston, on Mondays from 10:15AM-11:45AM.
  • Session I (Monday, October 21): Effective Scientific Writing & Review of Examples
  • Session II (Monday, November 4): Group Review: Introduction
  • Session III (Monday, November 18): Group Review: Methods/Results
  • Session IV (Monday, December 2): Group Review: Discussion
  • Optional one-on-one request for feedback

Registration and Requirements

Any post-graduate clinical, health services, or public health investigators who have original research intended for publication and peer feedback for writing support are welcome to apply.

Participants are required to attend all four workshop sessions.

Register here by Wednesday, October 16. Remote participation may be available.

Registration is on a first come, first served, basis and priority is given to members of Tufts CTSI partner institutions. Once the course is full, additional registrants will be put on a waitlist and invited to the next opportunity. We will confirm your enrollment as soon we finalize the registration list.

Enrolled seats will be prioritized to faculty members who commit to attending and completing all assigned prework. You do not have to have actual study results or references ready to get the essential work done, but this course can benefit those who already have some elements of a work in progress on the introduction, methods, or results section of a paper.

To facilitate effective peer review experiences, we prioritize manuscripts addressing original scientific projects in the areas of clinical and public health research. Class attendance is critical to this peer review-based format. You will be expected to provide thoughtful reviews of attendees drafts and actively engage in classroom discussion. We ask participants to come open-minded and show positive responses to constructive feedback.

This course is not intended for basic science researchers. Basic science researchers seeking individualized feedback on their manuscript are encouraged to submit a service request at https://informatics.tuftsctsi.org/pims/request.htm

Details

Learning Objectives

By the end of this workshop series, you will be able to:
  • Discuss the core components of a successful scientific manuscript
  • Identify strategies and next steps for completing a full manuscript for peer review submission
  • Anticipate reviewers’ concerns in discussing and presenting your research in writing and how to best respond to those concerns

Workshop Faculty

  • Main instructor: Robert J. Goldberg, PhD, Professor, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Department of Quantitative Health Sciences
  • Guest instructor: Nicholas Moustakas, MA, Research Development Specialist, Tufts CTSI

Course Participation

By enrolling in this course, you are agreeing to complete all pre-work assignments, including submitting your draft of the assigned section by the Wednesday prior to peer reviews, and preparing thoughtful comments on colleagues’ drafts for discussion during the session.

Pre-work Deadlines

  • Monday, October 21, Session 1
    • Readings:
      • Welch HG (1999) Preparing manuscripts for submission to medical journals: the paper trail. Eff Clin Pract 2:131–137
      • Example article for critical review: To be emailed ahead of time
      • Example article for critical review: To be emailed ahead of time
  • Wednesday, October 30
    • Submit your Introduction section (1 or 1 ¼ pages OR three paragraphs; double-spaced)
  • Monday, November 4, Session 2
    • Review/prepare comments for peers’ drafts
  • Wednesday, November 13
    • Submit your Methods and Results sections (3-5 pages + up to 3-5 figures, include subheadings; double-spaced)
  • Monday, November 18, Session 3
    • Review/prepare comments for peers’ drafts
  • Wednesday, November 27
    • Submit your Discussion section (3-4 pages, include subheadings; double-spaced)
  • Monday, December 2, Session 4
    • Review/prepare comments for peers’ drafts

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.

 

Seminars & Workshops
Scientific Grant Writing Workshops: Page One

Overview

Planning to submit a scientific research grant proposal in early 2020? Need useful feedback on your research objectives?

Tufts CTSI invites 10-15 motivated researchers with developed biomedical, clinical,or translational research project ideas to sign up for Developing Your Page One: a Writing Workshop Series for Researchers. This popular four-session grant writing course is designed to help you develop the critically-important Page One (or Specific Aims) section of your grant proposals through peer review, grantsmanship training, and expert support. You will receive feedback and revise your Page One three times during the program.

By the end of the series, you should be able to:

  • Apply strategies for developing clear and compelling specific aims
  • Practice constructive and effective peer review
  • Explain the importance of aligning your Page One with the funding agency’s mission and priorities, and of adapting it for reviewers’ areas of expertise
  • Describe the NIH-style grant submission process.

The workshops will be facilitated by Susan Lewis, Associate Director of Tufts University’s Office of Research Development (ORD), and Anna Dalby, Research Development Specialist, Tufts ORD.

Details

All sessions are scheduled for 9:30-11:00AM, except the final session. Session 4 is three hours long and begins at 9AM.

  • Session 1 (Thursday, October 10, 2019): Overview of Page One and Funding Agencies
  • Session 2 (Thursday, October 17, 2019): Peer Review, Round 1
  • Session 3 (Thursday, October 24, 2019): Clarity, Concision, and Coherence in Writing
  • Session 4 (Thursday, October 31, 2019; 9AM-noon): Peer Review, Round 2, Next Steps

All sessions will take place at Tufts CTSI, 35 Kneeland Street, 8th Floor, Boston.

Participants must attend all four sessions and must submit a draft of their Page One by September 26, 2019.

Registration

Apply here by September 26, 2019.

The timeline of this program may best serve researchers targeting a proposal submission in early 2020; however, anyone currently writing aims for NIH or a similar grant is welcome to apply.

Priority will be given to faculty from Tufts CTSI partner and collaborator institutions. Once the course is full, additional applicants will be put on a waitlist. We will confirm your enrollment as soon as we finalize the registration list.

Still formulating a research concept? Need some advice? Submit a service request here.

Tufts CTSI Professional Education & Expectation 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 was 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.

 

Seminars & Workshops
Health Research at Tufts: Stakeholder Orientation

Overview

Are you curious about how nutrition research is done at Tufts? Interested in finding new ways to participate and contribute throughout the research process?

Join us for an engaging and hands-on event at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (HNRCA) at Tufts University to help demystify the research process! Learn about how research moves from idea to impact on health. Through group discussion and hands-on experiences of basic science labs, we are opening the doors to some of the Tufts health research facilities to find out how community members can work with researchers to address health research. The workshop will consist of:

  1. An overview ofthe research process
  2. A discussion of how Tufts CTSI is engaging with the community throughout the research process
  3. Visiting labs where clinical research is conducted

Details

Monday, June 3, 2019, 2:00-5:00PM
Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (HNRCA)
711 Washington Street, Boston MA, 02111
Mezzanine Conference Room

In order to participate fully in the tours, please plan to attend for the entire event from 2:00-5:00PM.

Registration

This event is open to all, including individuals and members of community organizations who are interested in learning more about how health research is conducted, and in meaningful partnerships between the community and academia. Space is limited. Please register here by May 29.

Schedule of Events

Tufts CTSI Professional Education & Expectation 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 was 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.

 

Seminars & Workshops
The Odyssey of OHDSI: Using Health Care Data for Research

How can we use health care data to generate reproducible scientific evidence or reliable clinical predictions? What innovative tools are available to allow us to efficiently work with our own data and in collaboration with others?

Join Tufts CTSI on May 6-8 at The Odyssey of OHDSI: Using Health Care Data for Research on the Tufts Health Sciences Campus in Boston to find out!

Observational Health Data Sciences and Informatics (OHDSI, pronounced Odyssey) is a rapidly expanding multi-sector research collaborative dedicated to uncovering the value of health data through large-scale analytics. The OHDSI community includes dozens of academic, corporate, and governmental institutions that use health data for research in the US and around the world. The community conducts methods research to identify best practices and builds state-of-the-art open source tools that implement those methods.

This exciting three-day workshop led by principal developers Marc Suchard, MD, PhD, University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA); Martijn Schuemie, PhD, and Jenna Reps, PhD, Janssen Research and Development, will teach you how to use OHDSI tools on data that conforms to the OHDSI community’s OMOP Common Data Model (CDM). In addition to implementing best practices, these tools are designed to simplify research processes by eliminating data wrangling and standardizing the parts of complex multistep processes that don’t require thoughtful consideration while informing many parts that do.

Day one will briefly cover OHDSI and how it supports research. Most of the day will cover how data are represented by vocabularies in the OMOP CDM and how to use the ATLAS toolset to define cohorts. Day two will give researchers, statisticians, and data analysts a hands-on introduction to using either of the two most mature OHDSI analytic tool sets. These will be taught in two tracks. The first will cover tools for population-level effect estimation. The second will cover tools for developing patient-level prediction models. Day three will guide participants through every step of conducting a study using the methods and tools covered in Day 2. Each session will build incrementally on the last so participants in later sessions will benefit most if they understand material covered in earlier sessions.

This will be a highly practical, hands-on training, perfect for any researcher, statistician, analyst, methodology specialists, or staff who uses health care data for research. Attendees should have basic R experience and understanding of observational data, as well as prior experience analyzing observational data such as electronic health records, before attending this session, and are encouraged to attend all three sessions.

Course Faculty

  • Christian Reich, MD, PhD
    VP Real World Analytics Solutions, IQVIA
  • Jenna Reps, PhD
    Senior Epidemiology Informaticist, Janssen research and Development
  • Martijn Schuemie, PhD
    Director, Epidemiology Analytics, Janssen Research and Development
  • Anthony Sena
    Associate Director of Epidemiology Analytics, Janssen Research and Development
  • Marc Suchard, MD, PhD
    Professor, Department of Biomathematics, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles

Learning Objectives

After completing this workshop series, you should be able to:

  • Relate key OMOP CDM and vocabulary principles to PHDSI’s standardization process
  • Define cohorts, conduct cohort studies, or develop patient-level prediction models using OHDSI tools
  • Identify and access educational and other resources needed to become more fully proficient at using these tools in your research work.

After completing Day 1, you should be able to:

  • Navigate OMOP CDM and vocabularies to define populations and outcomes.
  • Discuss the structure of the OMOP CDM and how the OHDSI community uses it to support observational research.

After completing Day 2, you should be able to:

  • Track 1:
    • Demonstrate how OHDSI tools can be utilized to design and implement a comparative cohort study in observational healthcare data
  • Track 2:
    • Describe the patient-level prediction model process
    • Develop models using the OHDSI Patient-Level Prediction framework
    • Identify key elements to develop and validate prediction models using the OHDSI tools.

After completing Day 3, you should be able to:

  • Discuss basic study design and statistical concepts and procedures

Details

Monday, May 6, 2019, 10:00AM-5:00PM

OMOP-CDM, Vocabulary, Cohort Definitions
Tufts University School of Dental Medicine, Rachel’s Auditorium, 14th Floor
1 Kneeland Street, Boston

Tuesday, May 7, 2019, 9:00AM-5:00PM

Track 1: Population-level Effect Estimation (Cohort Method)
Tufts University School of Dental Medicine, Dental Board Room 1533, 15th Floor
1 Kneeland Street, Boston

Track 2: Patient-level Prediction
Tufts University School of Dental Medicine, Rachel’s Auditorium, 14th Floor
1 Kneeland Street, Boston

Wednesday, May 8, 2019, 9:00AM-5:00PM

OHDSI Tools and Hands-On Your Data
Tufts Center for Medical Education, Room 216A, 2nd Floor
145 Harrison Avenue, Boston

Registration

This workshop is intended for people who want to learn how health data are represented using OHDSI’s data standards and those who want to use OHDSI tools to define research cohorts, conduct cohort studies, or develop patient-level prediction models using OHDSI tools. The series is perfect for any researcher, statistician, analyst, methodology specialists, or staff who uses health care data for research.

Each session will incrementally build on the skills gained in the previous session(s). Though not a prerequisite, participants who have attended or already understand the material covered in previous sessions will gain the most from subsequent sessions.

To reserve your space, please register here by April 29.

 

Tufts CTSI Professional Education & Expectation 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 was 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.

Seminars & Workshops
Advancing Good Patient Recruitment Practice in Clinical Trials, featuring Industry Experts from BBK Worldwide

We know you know.

Study after study shows that recruiting and retaining study participants is one of the weakest links in clinical research.

Energize yourself with this interactive 60-minute seminar and learn how to adopt a patient-centric mindset for clinical research. Understanding the principles and standards that guide the recruitment, enrollment, and retention of patients in clinical trials is critical to success. As long as research teams focus on what specific tactics will break through the wall of difficult recruitment, this problem will persist. For 95% of studies, solving this enrollment problem is well within reach once we focus on the why instead of the what.

Join our guest presenters from BBK Worldwide, Bonnie A. Brescia, Founding Principal and Corporate Development Officer, and Aaron Fleishman, Director of Market Development, for the first of three sessions that focus on how patient experience drives successful patient recruitment, engagement, and retention.

Participation in every session in the series is not necessary; attendees will gain insights and techniques to advance their thinking, build skills, and improve performance in patient recruitment in each session. Subsequent events will drill down into the key concepts presented in this initial event.

For 35 years BBK Worldwide, The Patient Experience Company, has been at the forefront of the patient recruitment industry. Backed by efficacy data and market research, BBK is redefining what it means to be patient-centric within the clinical research industry by educating consumers, engaging participants, and unburdening sites. To learn more about BBK Worldwide visit www.bbkworldwide.com.

Learning Objectives

After attending this event, participants should be able to do the following on their own:

  • Apply six key principles of patient recruitment to any clinical study
  • Analyze a protocol from a recruitment perspective
  • Consider metrics and mechanisms for reporting on recruitment, engagement, and retention
  • Assess recruitment plans as “living documents”

Details

Wednesday, April 24, 2019, 3:00-4:00PM
Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Room 114, 145 Harrison Avenue, Boston MA

During this 60-minute session, BBK will combine a formal presentation with group exercises, and Q&A time. Upon registration, participants will receive a mock protocol synopsis for a quick review prior to the session. This protocol will be used during the exercise portion of the session.

Registration

This seminar is ideal for professionals involved in all aspects of clinical research (whether academic-, industry-, or government-sponsored) and regardless of therapeutic area, large or small molecules, devices or diagnostics, rare or common conditions.

Tufts CTSI and Tufts network partner organizations:

  • Program management and research teams
  • Principal investigators
  • Study coordinators
  • Medicine and life sciences students
  • IRB administrators

Intermediate Level: appropriate for individuals who already have a basic understanding of why and how clinical trials are conducted.

To reserve your space, please register here.

 

Tufts CTSI Professional Education & Expectation 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 was 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.

Seminars & Workshops
Brown Bag Lunch: Developing Recruitment and Retention Plans

Need guidance on developing your recruitment and retention plan?

Join us for an hour-long workshop, Developing Recruitment and Retention Plans. This session will take place during lunch hour, so please feel free to bring your lunch.

Recruitment and retention are critical to the success of a research study; however, generating a plan that considers cost, target audience, best practices, and retention of participants can be challenging during the study development phase of research. This workshop, led by Sara Folta, PhD, Director of Integrating Underrepresented Populations in Research and C. Phillip Oettgen, Project Manager of the Recruitment and Retention Support Unit (RRSU) seeks to raise awareness about the key elements and major considerations of a recruitment and retention plan.

After attending this event, participants should be able to do the following on their own:

  • Describe how to set realistic recruitment goals for research studies
  • Explain how to identify and best reach different target audiences, including underrepresented populations
  • Recognize realistic expectations and knowledge of resources
  • Discuss challenges to retention and key strategies to improve it.

Details

Thursday, March 14, noon-1:00PM
Tufts CTSI, 35 Kneeland Street, 8th Floor Conference Room
Boston MA

Registration

This program is open to research coordinators and investigators in clinical and non-clinical fields. Any research team members interested in recruitment and retention are welcome.

To attend, please register here.

Tufts CTSI Professional Education & Expectation 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 was 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.

Seminars & Workshops
Plain Language for Health 2019

Plain Language for Health: Writing and Design for Health Research and Practice is for motivated individuals and teams working to communicate health information in ways people can understand.

The two-day workshop on Thursday, March 28 and Friday, March 29, 9:00AM-4:00PM, features training with health literacy and plain language experts from Tufts University School of Medicine and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, and an evening networking reception sponsored by CommunicateHealth.

Speakers from Tufts Clinical and Translational Science Institute at Tufts Medical Center (CTSI) and Multi-Regional Clinical Trials Center of Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard (MRCT) will lead interactive discussions on how to apply principles of health literacy and plain language to health research and informed consent. The workshop will teach actionable skills and techniques to improve community engagement, build transparency and trust, and connect with patients, research participants, and the community.

Presenting Sponsors

  • Tufts CTSI, accelerating the translation of research into clinical use, medical practice, and impact on health
  • Public Health and Community  Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine (TUSM), preparing health professionals to eliminate health inequities, reduce the burden of disease and injury, promote mental and physical health, and prevent global threats to the environment

Contributing Sponsors

  • Multi-Regional Clinical Trials Center (MRCT), engages diverse stakeholders to define emerging issues in global clinical trials and creates ethical and actionable solutions
  • CommunicateHealth, award-winning communications firm specializing in health behavior change
  • Tufts Health Literacy Leadership Institute (HLLI), internationally known for health literacy professional development and leadership to eliminate health disparities and improve population health

 

Seminars & Workshops
Advancing Confidence and Connection in Public Speaking

Need help finding your voice and engaging your audience? Want to improve your communication skills to convey complex information to others?

Join Tufts CTSI for an exciting two-part workshop, Advancing Confidence and Connection in Public Speaking. In two 90-minute interactive sessions, Bridget Kathleen O’Leary, MFA, Visiting Artist in Directing at Tufts University School of Arts and Sciences, will lead guide attendees through the process of finding confidence in their own voices.

Part One of the workshop will teach you how to pitch your research to audiences large and small through increased confidence and audience engagement techniques.

Part Two will help you to deliver dry information in a clear and engaging way, creating a narrative flow and conversation with an audience.

After attending Parts One and Two of this workshop, participants should be able to:

  • Recognize how voice and speech impact efficient communication
  • Practice elements of relaxation, resonance, and expressiveness during public speaking
  • Recall techniques to command the attention of, and engagement, with their audience
  • Identify techniques to communicate ideas and objectives with clarity and authenticity

Participants are expected to attend both 90-minute sessions and should bring to Part Two a 2-3 minute sample piece (lecture, presentation, pitch, or persuasive argument).

Details

Part One: Tuesday, March 12, 3:30-5:00PM, 8th Floor Large Conference Room, 35 Kneeland Street, Boston MA

Part Two: Friday, March 15, 2:30-4:00PM, 8th Floor Large Conference Room, 35 Kneeland Street, Boston MA

Registration

Please register here.

Tufts CTSI Professional Education & Expectation 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 was 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.

Seminars & Workshops
Museum of Science-Tufts CTSI Forum Collaboration: Topic Selection Workshop

Would you like to help to determine the topics and questions to be discussed at upcoming Museum of Science/Tufts CTSI public forums on health research?

Tufts CTSI and Museum of Science, Boston are planning four public forums on important topics in health research. At each forum, we will invite the public to engage in interactive and facilitated discussions as they work together to make decisions or solve a problem.

We need your help to choose a topic for deliberation at the first forum, to be held at the Museum of Science in fall 2019.

We are looking for people with different values, opinions, and ideas to come together at an all-day Topic Selection Workshop on Friday, March 1 to select a forum topic that will help inform local researchers about the needs, concerns, and ideas of the community.

Workshop participants will hear lightning talks from community members and experts in the fields of addiction, precision medicine, and exercise/nutrition research and form small groups to discuss, narrow down, and select questions that will be important and interesting for the public to deliberate. By involving community partners and other stakeholders in the beginning of the process, we hope to leave this workshop with the topic of the fall 2019 forum and a plan to move forward to further engage the local community in science and research.

Speakers will include:

Details

Friday, March 1, 8:30AM-5:00PM (breakfast and lunch will be provided)
Tufts Center for Medical Education, Room 114 East
145 Harrison Avenue, Boston MA

Registration

Registration is required. Please register here by February 25.

Tufts CTSI Professional Education & Expectation 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 was 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.

Seminars & Workshops
Pfizer Oncology Drug Discovery and Development Workshop

Are you new to drug development research? Interested in learning more about obtaining FDA approval of an investigational drug product?

In this one-day drug development workshop, two groups will ‘role-play’ multidisciplinary drug development teams attempting to bring a new chemical entity from the idea stage all the way to review by the FDA. Each participant will be assigned a specific role on a typical oncology study team (i.e., project manager, discovery/pharmaceutical scientist, drug safety, regulatory, or market assessment specialist) and will serve as the expert in a particular component of the process.

The 3-D Oncology simulation relies on a computer program to generate ‘results’ from the scientific experiments and clinical studies that the team will conduct. For this program, Pfizer Oncology will have several medical facilitators available to participate.

This will be a great professional development opportunity for those new to drug development research or looking to learn more. Please note this program is not CME accredited.

Some key take home messages from the program include:

  • The oncology drug development process is complicated and time consuming.
  • The oncology drug development process is costly.
  • Drug development is competitive.
  • Drug development requires teamwork.
  • Drug development does not always produce viable products.
  • Managing both the science and regulatory environment is critical in the drug development process.

Details

Wednesday, March 20, 2019, 9:00AM-3:30PM
Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, 145 Harrison Avenue, Boston MA

Registration

Admission to the workshop is by application only. To apply, please register here by March 6, 2019.

We are recruiting 16-18 early career investigators, clinical and/or research fellows, and other research staff. Admission to the workshop is by application only and priority will be given to researchers and clinical fellows from Tufts CTSI partner institutions. A background in oncology research is preferred though not required. All must commit to being an active participant in the full session. Once registration is full, you may be placed on a waitlist.

Attendance and active participation in the full workshop (9AM–3:30PM) is critical to this group-based workshop format. You will be expected to actively engage with your assigned role, participate in group discussion, and respectfully work as an active member of your oncology study team.

Tufts CTSI Professional Education & Expectation 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 was 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.

Seminars & Workshops
To Resubmit or Not: Considerations and Next Steps When Your Proposal Isn’t Funded

Did you miss the payline for funding your NIH Proposal? Need help interpreting reviews and deciding when is best to revise and resubmit?

Join Tufts CTSI and the Tufts University Office of Research Development, part of the Office of the Vice Provost for Research, for this valuable one-hour seminar and panel discussion focusing on best practices for surviving peer review and successfully resubmitting an NIH proposal. Seasoned PIs will review reasoning and rationale behind changes they have made in response to study section review. Drawing on insights they have gained as applicants, reviewers, and mentors, they will delve into approaches to evaluating Summary Statements, tailoring responses, and rethinking aims. With expertise spanning the basic-to-clinical research spectrum, panelists will bring a wide range of perspectives on using critiques to improve a study whether in the lab or in the clinic. Topics will include:

  • Interpreting reviewer comments
  • Deciding whether to resubmit
  • Understanding what needs to be changed
  • Framing the Introduction and responding to specific criticisms
  • Avoiding common problems in resubmissions
  • Finding resources or collaborators to strengthen the research plan

Panelists will include:

  • Marta Gaglia, PhD, Assistant Professor of Molecular Biology & Microbiology, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences
  • Caroline Genco, PhD, Arthur E Spiller Professor & Chair of Immunology, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences
  • Cheryl London, DVM, PhD, Anne Engen and Dusty Professor in Comparative Oncology, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine

Details

January 24, 2019, 2:00–3:00 PM
35 Kneeland Street, Boston MA
8th Floor Large Conference Room

Registration

This program is open to all early career investigators, clinical and/or research fellows, and seasoned PIs from Tufts CTSI partner institutions. Any researcher considering their options for a recent unfunded proposal to NIH or similar funding agencies is welcome to attend.

Please register here by January 18, 2019.

Learning Objectives

After attending this session, participants should be able to:

  • Interpret common reviewer comments
  • Identify key factors to assess when considering a resubmission
  • Recognize items reviewers may look for in resubmitted proposals
  • Identify Tufts University and Tufts CTSI resources to help strengthen your application

Tufts CTSI Professional Education & Expectation 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 was 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.

Seminars & Workshops
Cardiac Cachexia Across Species

How can veterinarians and physicians collaborate to solve health problems?

Learn about a practical example of One Health, a multi-disciplinary approach to address a common and serious health condition, at Tufts Medical Center’s Medical Ground Rounds on October 5.

Lisa Freeman, DVM, PhD, DACVN, Director of Tufts CTSI One Health Program and Amanda Vest, MBBS, MPH, Medical Director, Cardiac Transplantation Program, will discuss their research collaboration for improved diagnosis and treatment of cardiac cachexia, a complex wasting condition recognized in as many as 20-50% of humans with systolic heart failure and in similar numbers of pet dogs with spontaneously-occurring heart failure.

This one-hour seminar will present current challenges in the clinic and research, and novel opportunities to identify cardiac cachexia earlier and to treat it more effectively through One Health methods.

After the seminar, participants will be able to:

  • Recognize similarities and differences in cardiac cachexia across species.
  • Describe the mechanisms underlying cardiac cachexia.
  • List methods for diagnosing cardiac cachexia.
  • Discuss the potential benefits of cross-species research in developing strategies for treating cardiac cachexia.

Details

Friday, October 5, 2018, 12:00-1:00PM
Wolff Auditorium, Tufts Medical Center, 800 Washington Street, Boston

You are welcome to bring your own lunch.

This Grand Rounds is designed by Tufts CTSI, an NIH-funded research services organization for the Tufts community and beyond.

Registration

Registration is not required.

Seminars & Workshops
Researcher Book Club

Overview

Want to make time for leadership training and discussion?

This fall, join Tufts CTSI’s inaugural researcher book club to foster your leadership skills.

Paul Beninger, MD, MBA, Assistant Professor of Public Health and Community Medicine and Director of the MD/MBA & MBS/MBA Program at Tufts University School of Medicine, will provide coaching over four book club lunches. The book club will encourage social reading, interactive exercises, and discussion on practical challenges you and your peers face. You will gain practical insights to manage your career and lay early foundations for critical soft skills expected for today’s leaders in team-based science.

Learning Objectives

After completing this book club program, you will have insights into:

  • Discovering your strengths and challenges as observed by yourself and others
  • Examining the triad of soft skills required in working relationships: teamwork and collaboration, negotiation and conflict resolution, and management and leadership.
  • Reframing management and leadership as a broad spectrum of skills to reflect upon and practice daily in the workplace

Dates and Location

Dates: Four 90-minute sessions on Tuesdays in fall 2018

Location: Tufts University’s Boston Health Sciences Campus

  • Session I, October 16, 2018, 12:00-1:30pm: Circle One – Self
  • Session II, October 30, 2018 12:00-1:30pm Circle Two – Other
  • Session III, November 20, 12:00-1:30pm Circle Three – Institutions & Job Knowledge
  • Session IV, December 11, 12:00-1:30pm Circle Four – Management and Leadership

Registration and Requirements

  • Registration Deadline: Register here by Monday, October 8, 2018
    Registration is first come, first served, and priority is given to researchers from Tufts CTSI partner institutions. Once the course is full, additional registrants will be put on a waitlist and invited to the next opportunity. We will confirm your enrollment as soon we finalize the registration list.
  • Target Audience: We are recruiting 12-15 early career clinical, biomedical, or public health researchers, including assistant-level professors, post-graduate scientists such as post-doctoral scholars, research fellows, clinical fellows or senior residents conducting or pursuing research. Priority will be given to researchers from Tufts CTSI partner institutions. All must commit to attending every session and completing assignments.
  • Assignments:
    • Readings:
    • Private Reflection Journal: You will be encouraged to start keeping a private journal and are invited to share your learnings with others in the the class throughout the course. Book chapters are in a workbook format and include guiding questions and practical toolbox skills and exercises that you may choose to use or reflect upon.

Expected Time Commitment

Class attendance is critical to this peer-led discussion format. You will be expected to actively engage in classroom discussion, be open-minded, and respectfully respond to any constructive feedback. 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 book club.

About Paul Beninger, MD, MBA

Dr. Beninger is Assistant Professor of Public Health & Community Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine, where he is the Director of the MD/MBA and MBS/MBA Programs. He has more than three decades of career experience as a regulator and member of the Senior Executive Service in the US Food and Drug Administration, as a manager and executive in the pharmaceutical industry, including pharmacovigilance, and as a member of the academic community.

Dr. Beninger began his career in drug development in 1987 at the US Food and Drug Administration, first as a reviewer and manager for drugs against HIV/AIDS and opportunistic infections and then as a division director for medical devices. He joined Merck & Company in 1995 and developed experience in regulatory affairs, medical affairs and drug safety in the areas of anti-infective drug and biological products, vaccines, anti-diabetic drug products and oncology drug products, before joining Genzyme as vice-president of pharmacovigilance in 2006; Genzyme was acquired by Sanofi in 2011. Dr. Beninger retired from Genzyme-Sanofi in April 2017.

Dr. Beninger trained in internal medicine and infectious diseases. He received his MD from the University of California, Davis, his BA from Claremont McKenna College in Claremont, California, his MBA from St Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and his graduate certificate in epidemiology from Tufts.

Dr Beninger has published and spoken extensively on regulatory science, drug and vaccine safety, and pharmacovigilance. He is a topics editor (pharmacovigilance and pharmacoepidemiology) for Clinical Therapeutics, and a fellow of the American College of Physicians and the Infectious Disease Society of America.

Seminars & Workshops
Scientific Manuscript Writing Workshops

Overview

Need to transform your ideas into a publishable manuscript? Finding it difficult to write alone?

 

Before the new academic year gets underway, spend just four lunch meetings with your colleagues to write the core sections of your manuscript. Commit to attending four 75-minute working lunches to work on your draft.

 

Optional service requests are available for one-on-one consultations on general English writing or basic science-specific writing styles.

 

Dates and Location (Late Summer and Early Fall)

Boston Health Sciences Campus, location TBD
  • Session I: Friday, July 6, 12:00–1:15PM
  • Session II: Friday, July 13, 12:00–1:15PM
  • Session III: Monday, September 17, 11:30AM-12:45PM*
  • Session IV: Monday, September 24, 11:30AM-12:45PM*

*September dates are subject to change.

Registration and Requirements

Twelve seats are available, and priority is given to faculty members who commit to attending and submitting their manuscript drafts prior to all four sessions. You do not have to have study results, findings, abstract, or references ready to get the essential work done, but it would be beneficial for you to have some elements of a work in progress such as the introduction, methods, or results section of a paper.

 

 

First assignment due by Monday, July 2, 2018.
  • Reading
    • Welch HG (1999) Preparing manuscripts for submission to medical journals: the paper trail. Eff Clin Pract 2:131–137
  • Submit the first draft in Microsoft Word to Sarah Jette. Minimum requirements:
    • One or two paragraphs for Introduction
    • Two to four paragraphs for Methods
    • Three to five tables or figures or data graphs that illustrate your data, even if you don’t have findings to date
  • Subsequent drafts and peer review are due two business days prior to each session.

 

Details

Tufts CTSI is excited to recruit up to 12 motivated biomedical and clinical faculty members to join an inaugural workshop series designed to get you started on efficient manuscript writing. Don’t miss this chance to get face time with Robert J. Goldberg, PhD and his advice on the elements of successful manuscripts such as navigating major journals, dealing with sample sizes, scientific writing style, and approaches to sentence composition.

 

The program is focused solely on hands-on writing exercises and peer review with expert coaching. The participants will incorporate class feedback and submit a new draft each session with a goal of polishing each section of their scientific manuscript in the IMRAD (Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion) format.

 

By the end of the series, you may have outlined subheadings of the Methods, Results (if applicable), and Discussion sections, and begun identifying the strengths and limitations of your study.

Workshop Faculty

  • Main instructor: Robert J. Goldberg, PhD, Professor, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Department of Quantitative Health Sciences
  • Guest instructor: Nicholas Moustakas, MA, Research Development Specialist, Tufts CTSI

Learning Objectives

By the end of this workshop series, you will be able to:
  • Discuss the core components of a successful scientific manuscript
  • Identify strategies and next steps for completing a full manuscript for peer review submission
  • Anticipate reviewers concerns in discussing and presenting your research in writing and how to best respond to those concerns

Expectation for Homework and Your Commitment

Registration is first come, first served, and priority is given to members of Tufts CTSI partner institutions. Once the course is full, additional registrants will be put on a waitlist and invited to the next opportunity. We will confirm your enrollment as soon we finalize the registration list.

 

Class attendance is critical to this peer review-based format. If your participation in these workshops needs to be approved by your supervisor or a person responsible for your time release, you may optionally provide the contact information when you register for the workshop program. You will be expected to provide thoughtful reviews of teammate drafts and actively engage in classroom discussion. We ask participants to come open-minded and show positive responses to constructive feedback.

 

Seminars & Workshops
Write a Winning NIH Aims Page & Narrative

Tufts CTSI is sponsoring a group viewing of a live webinar, Specific Aims & Narrative Sections: Grab NIH Reviewers’ Attention, Get Your Grant Funded, on Thursday, February 15, 1:00-2:30PM.

Presented by Principal Investigator (PI) Leader (formally known as PI Association), this 90-minute in-depth lecture will be available for viewing to researchers who join us in-person at the Tufts Boston Health Sciences Campus.

The webinar will include a lecture by Christopher Dant, PhD, an NIH-trained grant writer and former journal editor at JAMA. He worked as a senior writer and managed publications at Stanford’s Medical School and established and built the Clinical Publications Division at Genentech in California. Until recently, Dr. Dant served on the faculty at Dartmouth Medical School and Norris Cotton Cancer Center to deliver lectures on NIH grant writing and manuscript writing.

Details

Thursday, February 15, 2018, 1:00-2:30PM
Tufts CTSI
35 Kneeland Street, 8th Floor
Boston, MA

Registration

Space is limited. To attend, please register here by Friday, February 9.

 

Seminars & Workshops
A Team-based Approach to Data and Safety Monitoring Boards

What is a Data Safety and Monitoring Board (DSMB), and how can it improve your study?

IRBs and funding agencies often require DSMBs for intervention studies. Find out what DSMBs do and how best to collaborate with them at a two-hour Tufts CTSI seminar, A Team-based Approach to Data and Safety Monitoring Boards (DSMBs). Led by clinical study experts, this interactive training will consist of didactic lectures, discussions, and group activities for investigators and their clinical study teams, including research fellows, coordinators, research nurses, data managers, biostatisticians, regulatory personnel, and IRB members.

Instructors/Facilitators

  • Tamsin Knox, MD, MPH, Associate Professor, Tufts University School of Medicine; Associate Director, Tufts CTSI, Regulatory Affairs and Clinical and Translational Research Center (CTRC)
  • Farzad Noubary, PhD, Assistant Professor, Tufts University School of Medicine, Biostatistician, Tufts CTSI, BERD Center
  • Julie SantaCroce Burt, Clinical Research Coordinator, Tufts Medical Center

Training Outline

  • Introduction & Overview of DSMBs
  • Primacy of Data for Effective DSMB Review: Planning, Managing, and Reporting
  • Dealing with Different Types of Safety Events
  • Working with Biostatisticians
  • Break
  • Group Activity/Table Exercises

Learning Objectives

By the end of this seminar, you will be able to:

  • Describe roles and responsibilities in working with a DSMB
  • Locate DSMBs’ extended scientific expertise and support in the context of a disease, population, or intervention
  • Recognize the importance of engaging a DSMB in an early stage of your study design
  • Recognize DSMBs’ comprehensive approaches to safety monitoring as valuable steps for patient safety

Details

Tuesday, March 27, 9:00-11:00AM
Tufts Center for Medical Education, Room 221
145 Harrison Avenue
Boston, MA

Registration

Please register here to attend.

 

Seminars & Workshops
Pediatric Clinical Trials Workshop

Seminar Info

Need a larger sample size for your clinical trial? Interested in increasing research participation from children with diverse backgrounds? Join Tufts CTSI and Children’s National CTSA on Wednesday, April 18, 2018, 8:00AM-5:00PM in Washington DC, Marriott Wardman Park, at an inaugural workshop, Challenges & Opportunities in Pediatric Clinical Trials, designed for pediatric investigators and their teams.

This free, one-day, immersive case-based workshop is the first CTSA hub-sponsored forum for all levels of investigators to reflect on the core competencies expected for today’s pediatric clinical studies. It will take place the day before the Association for Clinical and Translational Science’s Translational Science 2018.

Details

Wednesday, April 18, 8:00AM-5:00PM
Washington Marriott Wardman Park, Washington, DC, Madison Room
(*prior to ACTS Annual Meeting 4/19/18–4/21/18)

Seminars & Workshops
Issues of Trust in Research Participation

Seminar Info

Are you a researcher experiencing difficulties with recruiting research participants? Are you a physician, nurse, or staff member who refers patients to clinical trials?

Trust is a major barrier to patients considering enrollment in research trials. Explore the causes and results of mistrust and learn why “trust me” is not enough at Issues of Trust in Research Participation, a Tufts Medical Center Grand Rounds event. This hour-long seminar will be led by Robert Sege, MD, PhD, Co-Director of Tufts CTSI’s Stakeholder and Community Engagement Program, Chief Medical Officer & Director of The Medical Foundation at Health Resources in Action (HRiA), and Adjunct Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics at Tufts University School of Medicine. Dr. Sege will present a history of unethical studies conducted with vulnerable populations, and will discuss more recent controversies surrounding placebo-controlled trials at the beginning of the AIDS epidemic. Following his presentation, there will be a panel discussion on patient advocacy and community perspectives.

After attending this session, you should be able to:

  • Describe current and historical reasons for mistrust of medical research.
  • Recognize the need to examine issues of trust in the design and communication of clinical studies.
  • Understand patients who hesitate to enroll in clinical studies and trials.
  • Utilize Tufts CTSI expertise to better communicate with participants and research teams.

Details

Friday, February 2, noon-1:00PM
Wolff Auditorium, Tufts Medical Center
800 Washington Street, Boston

You are welcome to bring your own lunch.

 

Seminars & Workshops
Expert Feedback on Changing Policies for NIH-Funded Studies

Seminar Materials

Seminar video (mp4)

Seminar slides (PowerPoint)

NIH Clinical Trial Requirements

Annotated Form E (PDF)

Seminar Info

Are you an NIH grant applicant, awardee, researcher or research administrator?
Feeling unprepared to grasp all regulatory changes scheduled to take effect in 2018?

Join us on December 5 at a seminar entitled Expert Feedback on Changing Policies for NIH-funded Studies. You will gain in-depth insights into recently announced requirements for NIH clinical trials grants and how the changes will affect you. Anyone planning to apply for an NIH grant early next year is strongly encouraged to attend.

This two-hour interactive seminar will feature joint presentations from regulatory experts representing the Tufts Health Sciences Institutional Review Board (IRB) and the Tufts University and Tufts Medical Center research administration offices. The expert panel will highlight the following topics, and current Tufts IRB-specific responses to the changes and recommendations for addressing potential roadblocks. Each topic will include a short presentation, followed by panel responses and audience Q&A.

Have questions? Please submit your inquiries when you register or email us at training@tuftsctsi.org. We will try to address all questions during the session!

Seminar Topics

  • Introduction & Review of New Requirements
  • NIH Policy Definition of Clinical Trials
  • Good Clinical Practice (GCP) Training
  • Single IRB: What Investigators Need to Know
  • ClinicalTrials.Gov
  • Other Changes to Note, Discussion, and Closing Remarks

Speaker Panel

  • Andreas Klein, MD, Director, Regulatory Affairs, Tufts CTSI; Tufts Medical Center; Chair, Tufts Health Sciences Institutional Review Board
  • Kathleen Benoit, Senior Research Administrator, Tufts University, Office of the Vice Provost for Research (OVPR)
  • Frederick M. Frankhauser, JD, MBA, RPh, Director, Grants & Contracts, Tufts Medical Center
  • Marcia Izzi, MPH, Business Finance Manager, Tufts CTSI
  • Meghan Coughlin, MS, Research Administrator, Office of Research Administration, Tufts Medical Center

After attending this session, you should be able to:

  • Identify tools and resources for determining if your study is a clinical trial and what actions are required for an NIH grant proposal, IRB applications, and study reporting
  • Outline financial and administrative prerequisites needed to collaborate with other institutions under the single IRB requirement
  • Describe the importance of engaging Tufts IRB in the early stage of proposal development

Details

Tuesday, December 5, 2017, 1:00-3:00PM
Jaharis Family Center for Biomedical Education and Nutrition Sciences, Behrakis Auditorium
150 Harrison Avenue, Boston MA 02111
Or via live, interactive webcast (a link will be provided to those who register).

Registration

Please click here to register to attend.

 

This seminar is sponsored by Tufts CTSI.

 

Seminars & Workshops
Managing Yourself Before Managing Others

Is your team working together effectively?

The success of all organizations depends upon how well members work. As research becomes more interdisciplinary, skills that promote collaboration are at a premium; but few of us have the time or opportunity to develop the skills necessary for successful teamwork, such as:

  • Delegation
  • Collaboration
  • Speaking clearly/succinctly
  • Engaging in conflict constructively
  • Listening
  • Prioritizing work
  • Creating focus
  • Building relationships

Take a break from your busy schedule to reflect on your own challenges with respect to working on a team. Give yourself the time to improve your non-technical skills and gain actionable information for making real change. Join Tufts CTSI for Managing Yourself Before Managing Others, a half-day workshop that will provide you with a self-assessment tool and peer feedback on an adaptive skill you hope to acquire or further develop.

Led by Cheryl D. Vaughan, PhD, EdM, Managing Director of Boston Biomedical Innovation Center (B-BIC) Skills Development Center, this workshop is customized to support the development of team science skills at Tufts CTSI and its partners. It was offered previously at the Science of Team Science (SciTS) Conference.

By the end of this workshop, you will be able to:

  • Compare biological immunity to behavioral immunity
  • Describe the Immunity to Change (ITC) method and how it works
  • Identify factors that hinder progress toward a self-improvement goal
  • Consider the challenges faced by teams trying to make meaningful change

Open to all faculty (academic or physician scientists) and their senior staff.
Limited to 20 participants. Participants must be able to attend the entire session.

Details

Wednesday, September 20, 9AM-1PM
Tufts University School of Dental Medicine, 1 Kneeland Street
14th Floor, CE Classroom (1415)

Lunch will be served.

Registration

Please register here by September 13.

 

Seminars & Workshops
Pfizer Investigator Training Program (iTP)

Acclaimed training program begins April 18, 2017

Tufts CTSI will host Pfizer’s acclaimed Investigator Training Program (iTP) on April 18-19, 2017.

This unique, two-day, free-of-charge program will empower clinicians 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.

Led by clinical trial experts, this interactive training will consist of didactic lectures, discussions, and group activities. 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.

Attendees will receive a certificate of attendance after completing this International Conference on Harmonisation (ICH)/Good Clinical Practice (GCP) program. This workshop is approved for 16.5 contact hours towards maintaining an Association of Clinical Research Professionals (ACRP) certification. Contact hours are applicable to CCRCs, CCRAs and CPIs at an entry-level knowledge base.

This is a popular training, and class size is limited, so please pre-register by no later than April 7. You will receive an official email invitation from Pfizer if you are admitted to the program.

Please note: registration is a two-step process. Once you pre-register with Tufts CTSI, you will receive a formal registration form from Pfizer. You must be registered with Pfizer in order to attend this training and receive certification.

Details

Tuesday, April 18, 7:30AM-5:00PM
Wednesday, April 19, 8:30AM-3:30PM
Registration and continental breakfast begin at 8:00AM.

Tufts Center for Medical Education, Room 114
145 Harrison Avenue, Boston MA

Contact

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

 

Seminars & Workshops
Mentor Training

Tufts CTSI offers Mentor Training for individuals who mentor junior faculty in research. These interactive, two-hour sessions are funded by Tufts CTSI.

Admission to the training is by application only.

Our Spring 2017 Mentor Training will be on Wednesday, March 29 from 2:00 – 4:00PM. It will be led by Karen Freund, MD, MPH, Vice Chair for Faculty Affairs and Quality Improvement, Tufts Medical Center, and Professor of Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, and Gordon Huggins, MD, Investigator, Molecular Cardiology Research Institute (MCRI) Center for Translational Genomics, Cardiologist, Preventive Cardiology Center, and Associate Professor, Tufts University School of Medicine.

For more information, please view the Mentor Training web page.

Details

Mentor Training
Wednesday, March 29, 2:00-4:00PM
(Location to be announced)

 

Seminars & Workshops
Engaging Stakeholders in Community-Based Participatory Research Partnerships

Seminar slides (PDF)

Interested in identifying potential stakeholders in local communities? what are some effective models of academic-community partnerships in translational research?

Join us for for Engaging Stakeholders in Community-Based Participatory Research, a seminar led by Carolyn Rubin, EdD, MA, Tufts CTSI’s Director of Addressing Disparities in Asian Populations through Translational Research (ADAPT) and Assistant Professor at Tufts University School of Medicine, Department of Public Health and Community Medicine.

Dr. Rubin will discuss how researchers and communities can collaborate to identify and address community priorities in translational science.

In this interactive, 90-minute seminar, you will learn what community-based participatory research (CBPR) is, and why you might pursue it.

By the end of this seminar, participants will be able to:

  • Describe the definition and benefits of CBPR
  • Identify strategies for building authentic, long-term partnerships
  • Reflect on your (or your institution’s) relationships with local communities and potential next steps toward CBPR.

Details

Tuesday, February 7, 9:30-11:00AM
Tufts Center for Medical Education, Room 114 East
145 Harrison Avenue, Boston MA

Or via live, interactive webcast (a link will be provided to those who register).

Registration

All are welcome to attend. Please register here by Tuesday, January 31.

 

Seminars & Workshops
Civic Life and Health Research

Civic Life and Health Research seminar slides (PDF)

What is civic life, and why is it important to consider in clinical research? Understand the relevance of civic engagement to clinical and other health research at Civic Life and Health Research, a seminar by Peter Levine, PhD, Associate Dean and Lincoln Filene Professor of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Tufts University’s Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life. Get oriented to current research and debates about civic engagement in the US; challenge the frequent definition of civic engagement as professionals consulting stakeholders; and instead begin to see medical researchers and health professionals as citizens who should relate to other people as fellow citizens.

By the end of this seminar, participants will be able to:

  • Define the concept of civic life and related terms such as civic engagement, social capital, democratic participation, and community engagement from social science perspectives.
  • Value civic engagement as relevant to the clinical research process.
  • Explore differences in theory and practice depending on whether one thinks in terms of clients, patients, stakeholders, communities, publics, or citizens.
  • Illustrate exemplary actions that investigators can take that involve civic life.

Details

Wednesday, January 25, 9:30-11:00AM
Tufts Center for Medical Education, Room 216A
145 Harrison Avenue, Boston MA

Or via live, interactive webcast (a link will be provided to those who register).

Registration

All are welcome to attend. Please register here.

 

Seminars & Workshops
Mentor Training

Tufts CTSI offers Mentor Training for individuals who mentor graduate students or junior faculty in research. These interactive, two-hour sessions are funded by Tufts CTSI.

Admission to the training is by application only.

Our 2016 Mentor Training will be on Thursday, November 10 from 2:00 – 4:00PM. It will be led by Sarah L. Booth, PhD, Senior Scientist and Director of the Vitamin K Laboratory at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (HNRCA) and M. Sawkat Anwer, DMVH, PhD, Distinguished Professor and Associate Dean for Research at Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine.

For more information, please view the Mentor Training web page.

Details

Mentor Training
Thursday, November 10, 2:00-4:00PM
Tufts University School of Dental Medicine, Alumni Lounge
1 Kneeland Street, 15th Floor
Boston, MA

 

Seminars & Workshops
CTSA Shared Mentoring Workshop

Agenda

  • 8:00-8:50AM: Breakfast, networking, and registration
  • 8:50AM: Introductions
  • 9:00-10:30AM: Panel discussion, Getting to K and Beyond
  • 10:30-10:45AM: Break
  • 10:45-noon: Exploring Career Opportunities in Translational Science
  • 10:45-noon: One-to-One Mentoring Sessions

RSVP

To attend, please register here.

Details

CTSA Shared Mentoring Workshop
Friday, October 21, 8:00AM-noon
Tufts Center for Medical Education, Room 114
145 Harrison Avenue, Boston MA

This event is hosted by Tufts CTSI and co-sponsored by BU-CTSI, Harvard Catalyst and UMass CTSI.

Seminars & Workshops
Preparing for Patient-Centered and Stakeholder-Engaged Research

Need to incorporate stakeholder engagement into your study, but not sure where to start? Learn how to make your research patient-centered, and find out how engagement fits into your research process at Preparing for Patient-Centered and Stakeholder-Engaged Research. Thomas Concannon, PhD, Tufts CTSI’s Director of Stakeholder and Community Engagement and Assistant Director of Comparative Effectiveness Research, will share his expertise and explain several models for engaging with stakeholders.

By the end of this seminar, participants will be able to:

  • Define patient-centered comparative effectiveness research (CER)
  • Describe the potential value of using Stakeholder and Community Engagement (SCE) and CER frameworks in your research.
  • Identify how engagement fits into the research process based on the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), Deverka, and Concannon models
  • Discuss the potential value of establishing a partnership with patients
  • Explain how to make your research patient-centered

Details

Tuesday, October 25, 9:30-11:00AM
Tufts Center for Medical Education, Room 114 East
145 Harrison Avenue, Boston MA

Or via live, interactive webcast (a link will be provided to those who register).

Registration

All are welcome to attend. Please register here.

 

Seminars & Workshops
Stakeholder Engagement in Patient-Centered Comparative Effectiveness Research

Seminar slides (PDF)

What is stakeholder and community engagement (SCE), and why is it important? Learn the benefits, strategies, and methods at Stakeholder Engagement in Patient-Centered Comparative Effectiveness Research. This seminar, taught by Thomas Concannon, PhD, Tufts CTSI’s Director of Stakeholder and Community Engagement and Assistant Director of Comparative Effectiveness Research, will review previous patient-centered studies and assess the strengths and weaknesses of their engagement efforts, and their impact on research outcomes.

By the end of this seminar, participants will be able to:

  • Define stakeholder and stakeholder and community engagement (SCE)
  • State different methods for engaging stakeholders and community members in research
  • Outline a framework for SCE utilizing the 7Ps Framework and 6 Stage Model of Comparative Effectiveness Research (CER)
  • Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of SCE in the ACT UP and breast cancer screening guideline examples
  • Identify key lessons learned in the SCE process over time

Details

Wednesday, September 28, 9:30-11:00AM
Tufts Center for Medical Education, 145 Harrison Avenue, Boston MA

Or via live, interactive webcast (a link will be provided to those who register).

Registration

All are welcome to attend. Please register here.

 

Seminars & Workshops
Demystifying Cancer Clinical Trials

Want to learn about, or conduct, cancer clinical trials?

Tufts CTSI and the Cancer Center at Tufts Medical Center are hosting a free 20-hour course for fellows, faculty, research team members, and anyone interested in the process of conducting cancer-related clinical trials.

Documents

Session 1, October 14, 2016
Session 2, November 18, 2016
Session 3, December 16, 2016

Session 4, February 10, 2017

Session 5, March 24, 2017

 

Details

Demystifying Cancer Clinical Trials will take place on Fridays, from 1:00-5:00PM on the Tufts Health Sciences Campus in Boston:

  • October 14 (35 Kneeland Street, 8th Floor, Boston)
  • November 18 (Tufts University Center for Medical Education, Room 114, 145 Harrison Avenue, Boston)
  • December 16 (35 Kneeland Street, 8th Floor, Boston)
  • February 10 (35 Kneeland Street, 8th Floor, Boston)
  • March 24 (35 Kneeland Street, 8th Floor, Boston)

Course sessions will also be videorecorded and posted on Tufts CTSI’s I LEARN website.

Attendees are encouraged to review other courses on I LEARN prior to the start of Demystifying Cancer Clinical Trials.

Goals

At the conclusion of the course, participants will be able to:

  • Explain how to navigate investigator-initiated clinical trial processes in cancer.
  • Discuss how to work with pharmaceutical industries and other for-profit entities.
  • Define investigational new drug (IND) and investigational device exemption (IDE) studies and explain how IND/IDE clinical trials are conducted.
  • State the Principal Investigator’s responsibilities for leading a clinical trial as well as the responsibilities of the research team.

To Register

To attend, sign up here. Participants are encouraged to attend all five sessions.

 

 

Seminars & Workshops
Expert Feedback on NIH Rigor and Transparency Guidelines

Seminar Materials

Seminar Description

Do you have questions about recent changes to National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) grant applications regarding scientific rigor and transparency? Get the latest information at Expert Feedback on NIH Rigor and Transparency Guidelines, led by John Castellot, PhD, Tufts CTSI Navigator and NIH Study Section Chair, and Amy Gantt, MA, Tufts University Director of Research Development.

Faculty members who participated in recent NIH study sections will provide valuable feedback and advice on how to include scientific rigor and transparency in your next grant.

Susan Blanchard, Vice President, Research Administration, Tufts Medical Center, will also update participants on the new Department of Labor (DoL) overtime pay protections under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

By the end of this seminar, participants will be able to:

  • Describe specific feedback from faculty who served on NIH study sections
  • State how to apply the new guidelines to their grant proposals
  • Discuss how to include scientific rigor and transparency in their grant
  • Explain the implications of the Department of Labor overtime pay protections under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

This event is hosted by Tufts University and Tufts Medical Center. Faculty members from both institutions will participate in the discussion.

Details

Thursday, June 23, noon – 1:30PM
Jaharis Family Center for Biomedical Education and Nutrition Sciences, Behrakis Auditorium, 150 Harrison Avenue, Boston MA 02111
Or via live, interactive webcast (a link will be provided to those who register).

Registration

All are welcome to attend. Please register online.

 

Seminars & Workshops
Evaluating Scientific Journal Articles

View the slides for this seminar (PDF).

View the article that will be discussed during this seminar (PDF).

 

What makes a journal article successful?

Join us for Evaluating Scientific Journal Articles and learn the questions you should ask yourself, whether reviewing journal articles or writing your own.

By the end of this seminar you will be able to:

  • List the questions you should ask yourself when evaluating a scientific journal article.
  • Identify the specific, testable hypothesis of the paper.
  • Identify what type of study design was used.
  • Evaluate whether the results of the study were affected by bias.
  • Explain why this study was important, what it added to the literature, or how it changed health practice.
  • Appraise the compatibility of the conclusions of the study with the study objectives.

Details

Thursday, April 28th, 2016 1:00 – 2:30PM
Tufts Center for Medical Education, Room 114
145 Harrison Avenue, Boston

Or via live, interactive webcast (a link will be provided to those who register).

 

Seminars & Workshops
Planning for NIH and AHRQ Grant Application Changes

Seminar slides

Seminar handout

Do you know about the planned changes to policies, forms and instructions for National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) grant applications submitted in 2016? Beginning in January, these changes will impact how you develop and write your research strategy section. In addition, there are form and format changes to the SF424 application package.

Find out more information and specific details at Planning for NIH/AHRQ Grant Application Changes, led by Tufts University’s Zoya Davis-Hamilton, EdD, CRA, Senior Associate Director of Research Administration and Amy Gantt, MA, the Director of Research Development.

This seminar reviews upcoming changes to rigor and transparency in research, inclusion reporting, data safety monitoring, vertebrate animals, definition of child, research training, appendices, biosketch clarifications, font requirements and post-award changes.

The seminar is split into two sections, the first half will focus on the changes to the research strategy section of the application and the second half will focus on the administrative changes.

By the end of this seminar, participants will be able to:

  • Identify the changes to the NIH/AHRQ policies, instructions and forms
  • Explain which changes are required in January 2016 and which changes will be required in May 2016
  • State details on each area of change
  • Describe how to apply the new guidelines
  • Discuss how to include robust and unbiased results factoring.

This event was hosted by Tufts University and Tufts Medical Center.

 

Seminars & Workshops
Knowing Yourself & Knowing Others: Implications for Leadership and Team Participation

How well do you know yourself? Find out how your approach to the world influences your motivation, leadership, and team participation at Knowing Yourself and Knowing Others: Implications for Leadership and Team Participation.

This workshop by Laurel K. Leslie, MD, MPH, former Tufts CTSI Associate Director for Community Engagement and current Vice President of Research at the American Board of Pediatrics Research, was previously offered in the Women in Medicine/Science Lecture Series and as part of the Community Service Learning Series for medical students.

To learn more about yourself and your interactions with others at this interactive and fun event, please register.

Friday, January 15, 2016, 3:00 – 5:00PM
Tufts Center for Medical Education, Room 114
145 Harrison Avenue, Boston MA

Or via live, interactive webcast (a link will be provided to those who register).