March 2023
Issue 2
Letter From the JCTS Editor: An Exciting Start
This time of year is a time of promise as well as of change. We are getting close to the end of winter, everyone is working hard to realize the goals of the new year, and for our soon to graduate medical students, this month’s Match Day is a time of celebration and of looking forward to an exciting future. For all of us in the Translational Science world, the planning for the coming TS23 meeting is almost complete and there is barely a month left before we all have a chance to meet up in Washington, DC. The work of the Planning Committee is almost done and they have worked hard to put together a very interesting and rich agenda with something to offer for all aspects of translational science.
In the last month, we finalized two JCTS thematic issues – Health and Social Drivers in the Criminal Justice System and Adaptive Capacity and Adaptive Capacity and Preparedness in Clinical and Translational Science. Both of these issues, now fully available on our web site, consists of 11 articles, in each case framed by an introductory editorial. We thank the organizers of these issues as well as the colleagues that were interested in contributing and the many reviewers who provided thoughtful comments and advice. We now have several other opportunities to contribute to thematic issues and for some of these, we are getting closer to the official deadlines. For those still considering a submission or working on a manuscript to meet these deadlines, I encourage you to get in touch with us to discuss the possibility of being included in these issues. Last month we also launched a novel thematic focus on Integration of Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) with Clinical and Translational Science and this call will be open to July this year. We hope this interesting theme will attract interest and contributions. We encourage those who might have an interest in developing novel thematic issues to bring such ideas to us for discussion. We are always interested in highlighting all areas relevant to clinical and translational science.
March is also the month of the International Women’s Day with a theme of Accelerating Equality and Empowerment. Although attention has been placed on gender equality in the medical and scientific areas in recent years, much still needs to be done. For several years, women have constituted the majority of applicants to medical schools and enrolled medical students nationwide, but there is less balance among faculty. In 2021, women constituted 48% of faculty at the Assistant Professor level but 28% at the Professor level. Attention to the need for role models and mentors remains critical and the role of the clinical and translational science community in this regard is an important one. An important factor, challenging for many of our early-career colleagues irrespective of gender, is the issue of work-life balance. This issue was brought to the forefront during the COVID pandemic and it is important that it does not lose attention – challenges remain and our future translational science workforce depend on our ability to recruit and retain a diverse faculty in a very demanding environment. We hope that the current thematic issue on Well-Being in Clinical and Translational Science might be of interest to highlight studies and avenues to address such issues.
In closing, we look forward to seeing you at the upcoming TS23 and to hear about and share exciting advances. Translational science can offer ideas and solutions to many critical societal challenges.
Lars Berglund, M.D., Ph.D., FAHA
Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Clinical and Translational Science (JCTS)
Translational Science 2023: Register Today!
There's still time to register for Translational Science: Innovating Translational Science For Research, taking place April 18-20 in Washington, DC!
This year's scientific line-up consists of sessions that focus on recent clinical trials, research studies, and topics that are top-of-mind for today's trainees, junior faculty, and senior scientists.
Register today and explore the full program!
Novel Clinical Trial Design in Translational Medicine
Cambridge Online Education and the University of Cambridge have partnered to offer Novel Clinical Trial Design in Translational Medicine, a cutting-edge overview from academia and industry of the latest innovations in clinical trial design and digital methodology.
In this course you will discover how recent developments in trial design, including adaptive platform designs, digital delivery and endpoints, are transforming therapy development in clinical science.
Visit University of Cambridge Online for more information.
44th Annual Meeting of the Society for Clinical Trials
Registration is now open for the 44th Annual Meeting of the Society for Clinical Trials “Championing High-quality Evidence to Optimize Human Health," taking place May 21-24, 2023 in Baltimore, MD.
The Annual Meeting of the Society for Clinical Trials is a multidisciplinary program with broad participation. The meeting brings together the clinical trials community from academia, the pharmaceutical and device industries, government agencies, medical groups and centers and clinical research entities.
More information can be obtained on the event website and the event flyer.
Advancing the Science of Effective Mentorship Conference
Join the University of Wisconsin-Madison for a free upcoming conference: Advancing the Science of Effective Mentorship: Future Directions for Sustainable Implementation and Evaluation of Mentorship Education for the Clinical and Translational Science Workforce, taking place April 12-13, 2023 in Madison, Wisconsin.
More information can be obtained on the event website and the event flyer.
Member Highlights
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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
Statewide institute receives $38M NIH grant to advance health research in Indiana
The Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (CTSI) has secured nearly $38 million in renewed funding from the National Institutes of Health for the next seven years - the fourth consecutive successful grant submission for the statewide research enterprise.