This month features several outstanding educational opportunities, including two symposia sponsored by the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC. We encourage everyone to take advantage of these events to learn, connect, and engage with colleagues across the research community.

September 23-24: Precision Therapeutics for Schizophrenia: Integrating Computational Phenotyping with Next-Generation Pharmacology convenes scientists, clinicians, and healthcare leaders spanning circuit neuroscience to late-stage clinical development, advancing the shift toward personalized care. The two-day meeting will address three thematic areas: next-generation pharmacology for schizophrenia, computational approaches to patient stratification, and mechanistic neuroscience. We hope the event will have the right people at the table to drive collaboration and outcomes for patients. 

October 30- ACRP Virginia Chapter Annual Fall Symposium.  The ACRP Virginia Chapter will host its annual full-day event this fall, providing the opportunity to earn up to 7 educational contact hours featuring a dynamic lineup of educational sessions, panel discussions, and focused roundtables on the latest developments, challenges, and opportunities in clinical research. Key Considerations Under ICH E6 (R3) will be presented by ACRP’s new CEO, David M. Vulcano, MSW, MBA, CIP, RAC, FACRP.

🎊 Celebrating Milestones

 Please join us in congratulating our colleagues celebrating their anniversary at Carilion!

10-Year Anniversary

Diedre (Dee) Myers- 7/25

Happy Anniversary and thank you for being part of the team! Carilion’s 2025 Medical Laboratory Science program.

Current Open Positions

Grant Funded Department of Medicine Clinical Research Unit - Clinical Research Coordinator III (Roanoke, Virginia)

Clinical Research Coordinator IV - Oncology (Roanoke, Virginia)

Clinical Research Coordinator IV (Roanoke, Virginia)

Effort Certification Reminder

Effort Certification is a quarterly, required process for employees whose pay is charged to or cost‑shared on a sponsored project (i.e., grant or clinical trial). Timely completion is important to ensure compliance with sponsor and federal requirements. 

Each quarter, you’ll receive a Workday task asking you to review and certify that your effort reasonably reflects the work you performed during the reporting period. Rest assured that the information has already been reviewed and vetted by your Sponsored Project Manager and can be certified as‑is. If something doesn’t look right, please contact your Sponsored Project Manager immediately.

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.

• Sept 9, 1:30 – 3pm
• Sept 23, 10:30am - noon

TriNetX User Agreement:  https://redcap.link/v5pw9j7j

For more information visit:https://redcapweb.carilionclinic.org/redcap/surveys/?s=dcUCIpMAzk8BqKH2

* Carilion Clinic Research and Development is honored to partner with a growing list of prestigious national and statewide research centers and healthcare organizations. Find out more about our collaborative research initiatives; explore our unique public-private partnerships with the Virginia Tech Carilion (VTC) School of Medicine, Virginia Tech, Fralin Biomedical Research Institute, Radford University Carilion, and others. Connect with our team to discuss opportunities to collaborate with our experts or become a participant.

Professional Membership Dues

CRCs, CRAs, and other research support staff within the Office of Research Operations and Strategic Initiatives (OROSI) may request reimbursement for eligible professional membership dues, including memberships with organizations such as the Association of Clinical Research Professionals (ACRP), by submitting an expense report through Workday.

Support Your Growth with Certification Reimbursement | Inside Carilion

When creating the expense report, use the following:

• Business Purpose: Dues, Memberships
• Company: CP01
• Cost Center: Consult with your manager about the cost center
• Expense Item: Professional Membership

The expense report will route to Vera Hollen, Grants Management Director, for approval.

This process applies to research support staff within the OROSI. Research staff hired directly by individual departments should work with their department regarding professional membership expenses, as departments may cover these fees at their discretion.

Certification Reimbursement

Certification expenses are handled differently from professional membership dues. Under Carilion's certification reimbursement policy, certifications that are required for an employee's job role are eligible for reimbursement through Human Resources.

Employees should follow the current Certification Reimbursement guidelines available through the Employee Center. Human Resources General Knowledge - Certification Reimbursement

Unable to Pay Up Front?
Employees who are unable to pay the certification expense in advance can use the link provided within the Certification Reimbursement guidance to submit an HR inquiry through Employee Center for assistance.

Remember the Difference:

Professional membership dues → Workday Expense Report

Required job certification → HR Certification Reimbursement process

Keeping these two processes separate will help ensure reimbursement requests are submitted through the appropriate channel and routed correctly.

Carilion investigators interested in cancer research funding are invited to attend an upcoming American Cancer Society (ACS) Extramural Discovery Science Southeast Region webinar highlighting current research funding opportunities.

The webinar will provide potential applicants with information about ACS funding opportunities ahead of the December 1, 2026 application deadline. Virginia is part of the ACS Southeast Region, making the September 17 session particularly relevant for Carilion principal investigators and research teams considering future ACS applications.

Southeast Region Webinar

Thursday, September 17, 2026
11 a.m.–12 p.m. EDT
Virtual via Microsoft Teams

Register for the Southeast Region webinar

Carilion investigators who may be interested in pursuing ACS funding are encouraged to participate and learn more about available opportunities, eligibility requirements and the upcoming application cycle. Please reach out to Melissa Mercure, PhD (mzmercure@carilionclinic.org) to discuss anticipated ACS applications.

Learn More About ACS Funding

Additional information about current American Cancer Society research funding opportunities and applicant eligibility requirements is available on the ACS Research Grants website.

• Sleep Disturbance Predicts Depressive Symptoms and Suicidal Ideation Among Psychiatrically Hospitalized Adolescents — Abhishek Reddy, Sethulakshmi Anil, Hunter Sharp, Anita Kablinger
• Digital Antecedents and Temporal Patterns of Adolescent Overdose Attempts — Abhishek Reddy
• Comparative Safety of Melatonin vs. Trazodone Initiation on 180-Day Suicidality Outcomes in Pediatric Major Depressive Disorder and Insomnia — H. Patel, K. Xing, A. Reddy, A. Kablinger
• Temporal Sequencing of Sleep Diagnoses, Depression, and Suicidal Behavior — K. Xing, H. Patel, A. Reddy, A. Kablinger

Congratulations to the entire research team! 

Dr. Ellie Savio-Galimberti Heads to AHA Scientific Sessions 

Congratulations to Dr. Ellie Savio-Galimberti, whose abstract, “Caloric Restriction Reverses Arrhythmogenic Remodeling and Impaired Calcium Handling in Obesity Cardiomyopathy,” has been accepted for presentation during the **Emerging Mechanisms in Cardiac Electrophysiology and Arrhythmias poster session at the American Heart Association's 2026 Scientific Sessions, November 9–11 in Chicago. 

Cheers to Dr. Savio-Galimberti on this exciting accomplishment! 

Dr. Dernbach Shares Expertise at Upcoming Educational Programs 

Dr. MR Dernbach will contribute to two upcoming professional and educational programs: 

• Dignity Disorders — Catholic Medical Association (CMA) 95th Annual Educational Conference, Catholic Social Teaching Forum; Phoenix, Arizona, September 9, 2026.
• Psychological Impact of Mass Exposures — Agents of Opportunity for Terrorism: Toxic Industrial Chemicals (TICs) and Toxic Industrial Materials (TIMs), American College of Medical Toxicology (ACMT) Virtual Course; September 8, 2026.
   

Department of Surgery Research on the National and International Stage

The Department of Surgery continues to demonstrate a strong commitment to research and scholarship. Faculty, residents, fellows, medical students, and research trainees are sharing their work at leading national and international conferences.

During Academic Year 2025–26, the department produced an impressive 46 publications and 56 presentations, reflecting the breadth of scholarly activity and research engagement across the department.

Congratulations to the Department of Surgery teams contributing to this work!

The Carilion Clinic Investigator Series:

Fall Speaker Session Featuring

Dr. Megan Whitham, MD

"Pregnant Patients Belong in Research: Moving from Protection to Responsible Inclusion"

September 23^rd, 12pm-1pm

REGISTER via Microsoft Teams

Dr. Megan Whitham is the Director of Research for Obstetrics and Gynecology at Carilion Clinic and an Assistant Professor at the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine. She is a board-certified physician in both maternal fetal medicine and obstetrics and gynecology whose research focuses on advancing maternal–fetal imaging and implementation science to improve early detection and management of pregnancy complications. She leads a multidisciplinary collaboration in developing ultrasound tools to evaluate placental microvascular function and identify early biomarkers of placental insufficiency.

If you or a colleague would like to be a future speaker in the series, please contact Andrea Mohr (abmohr@carilionclinic.org) for more details.

HRPO Lunch and Learn Series:

September Session (9/30): When Is IRB Review Needed? Human Subjects Research, Non-Human Subjects Research, QA/QI, and Case Studies

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR SEPTEMBER SESSION

The study, published in Implementation Research and Practice, evaluated Measurement-based Care Training for Resilient Implementation in a Clinical Setting (METRIC), a digital education platform designed to train clinicians in the use of patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs).

PROMs are standardized questionnaires that allow patients to report symptoms such as depression and anxiety. When used consistently, these measures can help clinicians monitor changes in symptoms over time and make more informed treatment decisions.

The METRIC program uses educational videos, patient simulations, guidance on interpreting symptom measures, and strategies for navigating common clinical situations. Researchers found that the digital platform provided a feasible and consistent approach to clinician education and could help support the long-term integration of measurement-based care into outpatient psychiatry.

“This work represents an important step toward making evidence-based measurement practices more sustainable in routine clinical care,” said Anita Kablinger, MD, CPI, vice chair for research in Carilion Clinic’s Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine and senior author of the study.

The research brought together investigators from Carilion Clinic, Virginia Tech, the University of Colorado, and The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and was funded by the Carilion Clinic Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine.

Learn More:
Read the full Carilion Clinic news release on EurekAlert for more about the study and its impact. Read the EurekAlert news release

Read the study: Assessing the Implementation of a Novel Digital Measurement-Based Care Training in Behavioral Health Using the Prism Framework. Implementation Research and Practice. Published June 16, 2026. doi:10.1177/26334895261456673

1. Stephens J, Biery N, Kieber-Emmons A, Hamadani R, Allen N, Greenberg G. Association of asynchronous virtual scribe services: patient experience in primary care. J Am Board Fam Med. 2026;39(1):165305. doi:10.3122/jabfm.2026.260173R0

2. Faulhaber JR, Baffoe-Bonnie AW, Oursler KK, Vasudeva SS. Update in human immunodeficiency virus and aging. Clin Geriatr Med. 2026;42(3):559-578. doi:10.1016/j.cger.2025.09.005

3. Andrew Hartley (VTCSOM), Michael Greenage, Justin White, and Tracey Criss (senior author) Use of Electroconvulsive Therapy for Treatment-Resistant Schizophrenia in a Patient Unable to Tolerate Clozapine Due to Clozapine-Associated Hyponatremia: A Case Report Case Reports in Psychiatry, 2026. Article ID 6269931 https://doi.org/10.1155/crps/6269931 

4. Rasimas JJ, Carter GL, Dernbach MR (In Press). Psychiatric Issues in the Critically Poisoned Patient. In: Brent J, ed. Critical Care Toxicology (3rd edition).

Beginning this fall, Dr. Kablinger and Dr. Stephanie DeLuca will lead TBMH 5104: Foundational Knowledge for Leading Clinical Trials Research, a course within the new certificate program.

The Clinical Research Graduate Certificate is designed to prepare Virginia Tech graduate students for key roles in clinical research operations while building a comprehensive understanding of how clinical research is conducted and managed in accordance with regulatory and ethical standards.

Students may choose from two specialized tracks:

• Management – Focuses on clinical data oversight, biomedical research study management, and effective communication. The track prepares students to lead, coordinate, and optimize clinical research operations across scientific, regulatory, and public domains.
• Pharmaceutical Clinical Trials – Focuses on drug development, pharmacology, and clinical applications, providing students with an understanding of the therapeutic development pipeline from discovery through clinical trials.

The certificate addresses an important educational need by providing specialized preparation for students pursuing careers in the growing field of clinical research.

Expanding Clinical Research Leadership Education 

Additional opportunities to advance clinical research education are also underway. An upcoming Surgery Grand Rounds in January will focus on physician leadership in clinical research. 

Similar presentations and educational opportunities can be developed for other departments based on their specific interests and needs. Departments interested in exploring future clinical research education topics or formats are encouraged to reach out to Dr. Anita Kablinger for additional information. 

These initiatives represent continued efforts to strengthen clinical research knowledge, professional development, and collaboration across Carilion Clinic and Virginia Tech.” 
 

What’s changing?

Under the new policy, NIH will no longer accept letters that simply endorse an application or express general enthusiasm for a proposed project. Instead, applicants should include Letters of Collaboration only when documenting a collaborator’s commitment to participate in the project or provide specific resources or materials that contribute to its success. Examples include collaborators outside the application team or commitments related to Material Transfer Agreements.

The change also eliminates the need for letters from individuals already listed as Senior/Key Personnel or Other Significant Contributors, since their roles are already documented through required biosketches. Likewise, letters from trainees or laboratory staff working under the PI—including graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and technicians—should not be included.

New format requirements

Letters of Collaboration are intended to be brief and focused. Each letter must:

• Be no more than 100 words.
• State only the collaborator’s intent to participate or provide resources as described in the application.
• Avoid endorsements, evaluations of the proposed science, or additional project descriptions.

To help applicants, NIH has provided the following recommended template for all applications except fellowships:

“If the application submitted by [Organization Name and with PD/PI Name] as Program Director/Principal Investigator entitled [Grant Application Title] is selected for funding by NIH, it is my intent to collaborate and/or commit resources as detailed in the application.”

When does this take effect?

NIH has announced that the transition from Letters of Support to Letters of Collaboration will occur when Forms J are implemented for FY2027 applications. The timing of this change is important. While NIH Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 begins on October 1, 2026, the new requirement is not tied to the start of the fiscal year. Instead, it will take effect with the implementation of NIH Forms J. Additional guidance, including the Forms J application instructions and implementation timeline, will be released by NIH before the new forms become available.

Once Forms J are implemented, applicants should follow the new instructions even if an individual Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) still references Letters of Support. The Forms J application instructions will supersede older NOFO language, and applications that continue to include traditional Letters of Support after the Forms J implementation may be returned without review.

What Carilion investigators should do now

Rather than requesting narrative endorsement letters, ask collaborators to provide the NIH-recommended statement—or similar language confirming their specific role or resource commitment.

If you have questions about how this policy may affect an upcoming NIH submission, please contact Melissa Mercure (mzmercure@carilionclinic.org) for assistance with application preparation and compliance.