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CTSA Committee
The CTSA Informatics Steering Committee works to ensure the successful implementation of informatics support and research for all CTSA functions by sharing knowledge, expertise, and resources. It strives to set a national example in adoption and use of clinical research informatics and technology to support clinical and translational research.
The steering committee also recommends and incorporates the appropriate standards and best practices necessary for broad interoperability while maintaining privacy and confidentiality protections for human participants.
Activities of the CTSA Informatics Steering Committee:
- A symposium was held in late September in Rochester, Minnesota, to explore Clinical Data Repositories and Standards Implementation for CTSAs. Several CTSAs presented their status in development and utilization of clinical data repositories on the first day. On the second day, current standards activities in caBIG as well as ongoing activities at several CTSAs, including use of natural language processing techniques, were highlighted. CTSAs discussed common interests in adopting standards for describing clinical research across the consortium. View presentations and full-length recordings of both days.
- The Education Workgroup is working with the CTSA Education Steering Committee to plan a meeting in January focused on development of a curriculum for clinical and translational research training.
- Individuals from CTSAs who will be attending the American Medical Informatics Association Meeting next week in Chicago will meet to exchange ideas and pursue collaborations. A new group of those at CTSAs interested in development of systems to facilitate collaboration will meet for the first time.
- The CTSA Informatics Steering Committee is actively soliciting input from sites on a paper exploring the differences and required synergies between the fields of informatics and information technology (IT) for successful transformation of clinical and translational science.
- Additional workgroups focus on development of a searchable inventory of informatics and IT resources used at individual CTSAs to facilitate information sharing and collaboration and on development of novel approaches to meet user needs at CTSAs.
NCRR Launches CTSA Wiki
The National Center for Research Resources (NCRR) is pleased to announce the CTSA Wiki! The CTSA Wiki is an online, restricted-access, collaborative work environment. It enables members of the CTSA Consortium to interact directly with the content to develop, share, collect, and collate information, tools, and resources.
The goals of the wiki are to:
- Foster the goals of the CTSA Consortium.
- Save time and resources.
- Reduce the obstacles to collaboration.
You can get to the CTSA Wiki through the CTSAweb.org home page by clicking on the “Consortium Login” link on the top menu bar.
Access to the CTSA Wiki:
- A username and password are required to gain access to the CTSA Wiki.
- Usernames and passwords are provided to CTSA representatives based on participation in the CTSA Consortium through the various committees and workgroups. Please note: Providing usernames and passwords is still in progress.
- NIH staff can access the CTSA Wiki using their existing NIH usernames and passwords.
To learn more about wikis, visit the Wikipedia entry on wikis.
If you have questions regarding the CTSA Wiki, please contact Tim Newman, CTSA User Support Contractor, at newmantim@mail.nih.gov.
The CTSA Wiki is run on Confluence, a product of Atlassian.
Announcements
NIH Funds Four Community Engagement Supplements to the CTSA
The purpose of the Community Engagement supplements is to enable CTSA grantees to plan pilot projects to establish a cadre of community-based practitioners trained and qualified to participate in clinical trials supported by NIH or other organizations as part of the Community Engagement component of their grants.
Awarded project titles and institutions:
- Pilot Project for the DTMI CRA Program, Duke University
- CTSA/NCRA Community Engagement Supplement, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine
- Adapting the RAO Model to Four Types of Community-based Providers, Columbia University Health Sciences
- University of Rochester’s Research Associate Organization, University of Rochester
NCRR Awards CTSA Management Support Center Contract
NCRR is pleased to announce that it awarded Booz Allen Hamilton (BAH) the CTSA Management Support Center Contract on October 1, 2007. The CTSA Support Contract includes support for the public Web site, collaborative work space (CTSA Wiki), meeting logistics, committee management, teleconferences, Web meetings, and collaborative pilot project coordination.
Upcoming Committee Meeting Dates
Key: CTSA Consortium Meeting NIH Staff Meeting
| November 2007 |
| Mon |
Tue |
Wed |
Thu |
Fri |
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1 |
2
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5
Pediatrics
3:30 p.m.–5:00 p.m.
Rockledge II, Room 10091
Bethesda, MD |
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6
Administration
1:00 p.m.–2:00 p.m.
Call: 866-285-7778
Access Code: 2364694
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7 |
8 |
9 |
| 12 |
13
Evaluation
2:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m.
Democracy One
Bethesda, MD
View Link
Call: 877-239-6423
Access Code: 344907
NIH coordinator
Lori Mulligan |
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14 |
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| December 2007 |
| Mon |
Tue |
Wed |
Thu |
Fri |
3
Pediatrics
3:30 p.m.–5:00 p.m.
Rockledge II, Room 10091
Bethesda, MD |
|
4
Administration
1:00 p.m.–2:00 p.m.
Call: 866-285-7778
Access Code: 2364694
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5
Clinical Research Ethics
3:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m.
Democracy One, 9th Floor Conference Room 987
Bethesda, MD |
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6 |
7 |
| 10 |
11 |
12 |
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18 |
19 |
20 |
21 |
* Please note that the meetings and events listed in this
newsletter are provided for your information. If you wish to
participate, please contact the NIH coordinator.
Updated Information
on CTSAweb.org
CTSAweb.org has a new look! NCRR has refreshed the look and feel of the CTSA Consortium Web site. Please be sure to update links from your institution’s Web site to pages within CTSAweb.org.
Additional features:
We
hope you find this newsletter helpful and informative. If you
have any questions or comments, please direct them to Kameha
Kidd, Office of Science Policy and Public Liaison, NCRR.
