October 2022
Issue 2
Letter From the JCTS Editor: New Opportunities
As we are all slowly getting closer to the colder season, the memory of two major hurricanes that caused major destruction and uprooted lives is still fresh. That one of these also affected usually spared coast areas seemingly far away from the usual storm tracks like Nova Scotia tells us that conditions are changing and that more areas are becoming vulnerable. However, it is emblematic for the way we experience news cycles that in spite of the tremendous suffering these events caused they already seem distant and have almost stopped being reported in the news media. However, the need to harden our infrastructure and to ensure that medical facilities can still function under extreme conditions is getting more urgent and this should not be forgotten. There are surely important lessons to be learned for the future.
This year is proving to be a banner year for JCTS. At the end of August we surpassed the number of manuscript submissions that we received in 2021 and we are working hard to be responsive and to get back to our authors in a reasonable timeframe. I also want to highlight a couple of thematic issue initiatives that JCTS has launched. Earlier in the year we publicized two calls for thematic issues, one call addressing Innovations for Enhancing the Informativeness and Quality of Clinical Trials and one call for Advancing Translational Science through Real World Data and Real World Evidence. We are starting to receive submissions for these issues and the calls are open until the end of January 2023. In addition, we have recently publicized two additional theme opportunities. One of these is focused on Well-Being in Clinical and Translational Science, an area increasingly in focus. The themed issue seeks to provide a venue for identifying and improving health and well-being concerns across different stages of the translational science workforce. The second opportunity focuses on Decentralized Research and the opportunity to realize the promise of virtual clinical trials. This themed issue will cover the current state of knowledge around decentralized trials and what is needed to accelerate the migration of research to patients' homes. These calls will be open to the spring of 2023. Information on these calls is provided on our web site.
As I hope readers will note from these four calls, JCTS is very interested in promoting advances representing the frontier of new ways of doing research as well as highlighting emerging focus areas. We warmly encourage colleagues who might be interested in any of these areas to consider contributing manuscripts. We hope that collectively, papers constituting these themes will provide useful insights and experiences that will help breaking new ground. It is a very exciting time to see the strong growth of translational science and JCTS aspires to be a welcoming home for researchers in this critically important area.
Finally, I want to highlight the upcoming Translational Science 2023 meeting that will take place in Washington DC in April next year. While it seems a bit in the future, it will soon be around the corner and it is time to start thinking about abstracts and contributions. The organizing committee is well under way with the planning and it promises to be a very rewarding and exciting program – please look at the ACTS website for news and updates.
Lars Berglund, M.D., Ph.D., FAHA
Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Clinical and Translational Science (JCTS)
Translational Science 2023: Call For Poster Proposals
Translational Science: Innovating Translational Science For Research is still accepting poster proposals! Don't miss your chance to showcase your original research to an audience of key thought leaders.
Poster proposals are due Monday, November 14. Please visit our website to learn more about the submissions portal, best practices, and more. We look forward to receiving your scientific session ideas and posters submissions!
News From the Hill: October 21, 2022
Congress spent the month of October in recess, with Representatives and Senators on the campaign trail ahead of the November elections. One of the last actions by Congress was to pass a Continuing Resolution to keep federal agencies operating at their current level until December 16th so legislators can continue to work to finalize the Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 spending bills by the end of the year. Presently, Congress plans to use the Lame Duck session following the election to finalize FY 2023 appropriations and to pass any critical outstanding bills.
Read more on the ACTS Advocacy page.
Member Highlight: Dr. Rebecca Jackson
Ohio State mourns the loss of physician scientist Rebecca Jackson
Dr. Rebecca Jackson, a longtime physician scientist at The Ohio State University, will be remembered by so many people, for so many things, that it's futile to try to name them all - but her impact on understanding and improving women's health would likely top an impressive list of accomplishments.
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.
ACTS members receive a 50% discount on the site—use code ACTSMEMBER to save!
Translational Science Today
Female faculty members from MUSC and College of Charleston receive $2.4M grant to tackle gender disparities in innovation.