R&D January Newsletter

Memo from Dr. Robert Trestman

One of Carilion’s core values is Curiosity, a characteristic that is at the heart of research. It drives questions like: “How can we improve the health of our communities?” and “How do we improve the care we provide?” This core value is now coupled with Carilion’s Vision 2025, which includes a focus on patient-centered research- research that can make a meaningful difference in the lives of those in our care. 

This is happening at a time when Carilion is growing our academic ties to Virginia Tech and Radford University. It is happening at a time when our research partnership with the University of Virginia is maturing. It is also happening at a time when the budget of the National Institutes of Health has grown by $2.5 billion. 

Carilion has invested in building our research and development infrastructure over the past decade. We are now positioned to grow impactful research quickly across our enterprise. The year ahead promises to be a great one!

Fast Facts from the Human Research Protections Office (HRPO)

⇒HRPO is comprised of 3 distinct components: 

• Institutional Review Board (IRB)
• Education & Outreach
• Quality Assurance & Improvement Activities

⇒ Their mission is to protect the rights and welfare of Carilion research participants

Upcoming synchronous, virtual training sessions sponsored by the HRPO

• Thursday, February 9^th: Everything you’ve ever wanted to know about drafting your IRB application! 
• Thursday, March 16^th: The consent process 
• Thursday, April 18^th: Waivers of consent and HIPAA authorization 
• Thursday, May 11^th: QA/QI versus research 
• Thursday, June 8^th: Promptly reportable events 

All sessions will be held from 12:00 pm -1:00 pm via Teams. To sign up or for any research and ethics training needs, please get in touch with Trish Winter at pjwinter@carilionclinic.org.  She is available for 1:1 consultations or to schedule an individual or group training session.

Consent Templates Have Been Updated!

The main changes to the consent templates include the following items:

1. Video/audio recording & photography 
2. Future research contact  Clinicaltrials.gov
3. Legally Authorized Representative (LAR) Consent Process & Documentation

Please always access the latest IRB information on the IRB website:

https://www.carilionclinic.org/irb/forms#consent-templates

Congratulations!

Robin Dair was promoted to Financial Services Manager, Clinical Trials. Robin joined the Department of Research and Development six years ago after a successful career in corporate finance. During her time at Carilion Clinic, Robin has streamlined many of our financial reporting processes by working closely with Carilion Clinic Accounting/ Finance. In her new role, she will expand her responsibilities into other areas of our research portfolio. Leigh Gaylord, financial analyst, will report to Robin.

New Employees
 

Amy LB Frazier, DVM - Scientific Writer/Grants Facilitator

Amy started her position as a Scientific Writer/Grants Facilitator in December 2022. She is a certified Editor in the Life Sciences, earned a Bachelor of Science in general and molecular biology from Vanderbilt University, and received a Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine from the University of Tennessee. After a stint in private veterinary practice (birds, herps, and other pocket pets), she completed a postdoctoral fellowship in gene therapy at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center and participated in research into various inflammatory diseases at a biotech start-up outside Seattle. Thereafter, Amy joined St Jude Children’s Research Hospital, first as a research associate in a virology laboratory focused on HIV/AIDS and then as a member of the Scientific Editing Department, where she collaborated with physicians and researchers from all over the globe. Altogether, Amy has been a medical and scientific editor and writer (either in-house or freelance) for almost 30 years. During non-work hours, Amy volunteers to raise and train puppies for careers as service dogs.

Carilion Clinic TriNetX Virtual Training Schedule

Carilion offers instructor-led, focused training for an in-depth, step-by-step learning experience building patient cohorts and delving into Analytics. The facilitator will be Dee Myers. Please get in touch with HART@carilionclinic.org with the subject of 'TriNetX Training' for training outside of the scheduled sessions. If you haven’t taken a class or need a refresher, this is your opportunity to do so!  Let Dee Myers know which date you prefer and she will send a meeting invitation.

• Feb 8 from 10-11:30am
• Feb 22 from 1:30-3pm
• Mar 7 from 10-11:30am
• Mar 23 from 1:30-3pm

Research Position Openings

Current opening in Research & Development:

Clinical Research Coordinator (Research and Development)
https://jobs.carilionclinic.org/job/Roanoke-Clinical-Research-Coordinator-Research-and-Development-VA-24013/958372900/ 

Clinical Research Coordinator (Cardiology)
https://jobs.carilionclinic.org/job/Roanoke-Clinical-Research-Coordinator-%28Cardiology%29-VA-24014/987389300/

Collaborative Undergraduate Biostatistics Experience 

The Collaborative Undergraduate Biostatistics Experience (CUBE) is an 8-week training program designed to give motivated, underrepresented undergraduate students in STEM the opportunity to engage in a full-time (~40 hours/week) collaborative data science experience, along with related professional development activities. CUBE is aimed at promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in the STEM fields. 

The CUBE program is built on the following four pillars: 

1. 1) training in introductory biostatistics
2. 2) training in R programming
3. 3) professional development (PD)
4. 4) a collaborative research project addressing research questions in various disciplines.

This is being offered by Virginia Tech's Center for Biostatistics & Health Data Science. Applications are now being accepted. Click here for more information.