August 2022
Issue 1
Letter From the President
I just returned from Bangkok, Thailand where I attended the World Psychiatric Association World Congress meetings. The meeting was set for Thailand a couple of years ago, but had to go virtual. Finally, the in-person meeting was scheduled. I love Bangkok. It is vibrant, exciting, economical and beautiful. I have been going to Bangkok a couple of times a year for about 20 years to work with colleagues at Chulalongkorn University, but have not traveled there since 2019, due to, of course, the pandemic. But once the conference planners made the decision to have an in-person meeting, I was all in. I was also keen on inviting the students in my lab to submit abstracts so they would be able to meet luminaries in the field of psychiatric epidemiology; I thought they deserved to have their first international conference where they would also be able to assist with attendees’ visits to our Bangkok HealthStreet site. That seemed like a wonderful opportunity for them. It was incredible to see their excitement at being in a new country, and meeting the President and VP of the University, and the Dean of the College of Public Health Sciences. They learned that our community engagement model was exceptionally robust and worked in Asia, and that community needs were similar all over the world—there is depression, diabetes, hypertension and drug use. At the conference, I was reminded that we are all interested in the same things: improving translational science, bringing interventions from the bench to the bedside (and out to the community), ensuring our research is ethical, overcoming stigma, improving diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging, hearing from people with lived experience, and maybe most importantly, including the next generation of scientists in all we do. It was wonderful to see this generation of scientists meeting their peers, and challenging the field with their astute questions and new ideas. They look forward to their next international conference to continue to learn from scientists everywhere and expand their world view so they can bring their insights back to their local lab. One thing is for sure: across the world, the field is in good hands, so we need to continue to support our trainees to give them the broadest educational experience possible.
Linda B. Cottler, PhD, MPH, FACE
ACTS President
Informatics SIG
The Informatics Special Interest Group (SIG) was established in 2022 as a forum for the cross-institutional exchange of information on current approaches to the integration of informatics into clinical and translational science research programs. It also promotes best practices of integrating modern informatics methods in translational science journals and forums, specifically the Journal of Clinical and Translational Science (JCTS) journals thereby increasing the scalability and rigor of translational science, its trainees and investigators.
The Informatics SIG will also serve as a resource promoting team science by connecting the informatics community to the broader spectrum of clinical and translational stakeholders (e.g. trainees, CTSA/CTR principal investigators, clinical research coordinators, and the community) and reciprocally promoting clinical and translational domains and community priorities to informatics and data science colleagues through activities such as the development and maintenance of professional networks and online materials.
SIG membership is open to all ACTS members. If you would like to join the Informatics SIG, please contact info@actscience.org.
Upcoming Virtual Roundtable
Join us on Wednesday, September 21 at 1:00PM CT for a virtual roundtable: "Building Your Team Science Toolbox."
In this highly interactive second installment of the ACTS Professional Development Roundtables, you will discuss team science competencies, map them to collaboration challenges we have experienced, and hear from team science experts Wayne McCormack, PhD and Jeni Cross, PhD, about new developments in the field.
This virtual roundtable is free for members, $10 for non-member early career investigators, and $15 for non-members.
Save the Date: Translational Science 2023
ACTS and its partners are looking forward to connecting in Washington, DC for Translational Science 2023, taking place April 19-21, 2023.
Additional details, including information on abstract and scientific programming submissions, as well as registration, will be available in the coming months.
Journal of Clinical and Translational Science: The Official Journal of ACTS and CR Forum
- Gold Open Access: fully compliant with Open Access Mandates
- Articles funded by the NIH will be manually sent to PubMed Central
- Articles appear with their final citation details as soon as they are published online
- Prestigious editorial board listing
- Global dissemination of your paper
- Metrics, Altmetrics and Kudos to monitor submissions
Want to receive alerts when new articles are published? Click the 'Add Alert' (🔔) icon here, then login or register for a Cambridge Core account to receive daily, weekly, or monthly updates.
Member Highlights
Do you know someone who deserves to be recognized for outstanding or groundbreaking work? Is your institution embarking on an exciting project? Send ACTS your story to be highlighted in future versions of ACTS Connection.
Submit stories here.
Career Center
The ACTS Career Center is the premier resource for connecting those in the field of translational science with career opportunities. Visit today to find a wealth of resources to help achieve your career goals.
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Translational Science Today
CTSC Facilitates First Research Equity, Diversity, and...
Valerie Boebel Toly, PhD, RN, CPNP, FAAN, Associate Professor, Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing and The Arline H. and Curtis F. Garvin Professor of Nursing, Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing discovered the Clinical and Translational...
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