October 2024
Issue 1
Letter from the President
ACTS represents the individual clinical and translational researchers in the ~52 currently funded UL1 and UM1 CTSA institutions, their affiliate organizations and community partners. Of its many activities, one of the most important, in my view, is to serve as unified voice for advocating for continued CTSA funding. To accomplish this, both the ACTS Executive Committee and the Advocacy Committee work closely with our Washington Representative of the Health and Medicine Counsel (HMC) to support the congressional line item budget appropriation for NCATS. The good news is that there is broad, bipartisan support for NIH and NCATS. As it stands now, both the House and Senate bills level-fund the CTSA program. Continued work will be needed; there are many ways you can help with ACTS Advocacy efforts.
Three ways that ACTS members can help. First, I encourage you to attend “Hill Day” at the TRanslational Science 2025 meeting in Washington DC (April 15-17, 2025). “Hill Day” is a fun and engaging opportunity to visit Capital Hill and meet with your congressional representatives, senators and/or their staff to share the tremendous advances and impact CTSAs have had. As individual members and an organization, we need to work together to articulate a consistent message how CTSA infrastructure, training, community engaged partners have impacted the health of communities locally. Second, stay informed. ACTS posts “Hill Updates” from our Washington Representative here on our ACTS Web. Finally, work with your local state leaders to communicate the great work that your hub participates in!
Allan Brasier, MD
ACTS President
Translational Science 2025 Call for Poster Proposals Due October 21
Time's running out to submit your poster proposals for Translational Science 2025! ACTS is looking for submissions in AI, evaluation methods, community engagement and more. The last day for poster submissions is Monday, October 21. Don't miss your opportunity to have your work seen by more that 1,200 people at the premier meeting for translational research!
Translational Science 2025 will be held in Washington, DC from April 15-17, 2025, with pre-meeting activities happening on April 14. Start making your plans to connect with colleagues both new and old in our nation's capital!
JCTS Call for Papers for New Thematic Issue
The Journal of Clinical and Translational Science (JCTS) has just released a Call for Papers for an upcoming Thematic Issue: Advancing Evaluation Practices in Clinical and Translational Science/Research. Anyone with recent research in the field of evaluation methods is encouraged to submit by March 28, 2025. Visit the JCTS website to see all the open calls, and reach out to the editorial office with any questions.
News from the Hill
Congress returned to Capitol Hill on September 9th with only a handful of legislative days to complete work on key items and set up final activity for the lame duck session that will start in mid-November, after the elections. Most crucially, lawmakers need to pass a Continuing Appropriations Resolution (CR) to ensure the government stays open and operating past the October 1st start of the fiscal year. Recent funding cycles have seen brinkmanship and even government shutdowns. Congressional plans to quickly pass a clean CR so members could return to the campaign trail grew more complicated when the Speaker of the House, Congressman Mike Johnson (R-LA), announced surprise plans for a six-month CR that included polarizing policy riders.
Coming Soon: Translational Science 2025 Award Nominations
Do you know someone at your institution who deserves to be recognized for their work on a national stage? You'll soon have the chance to nominate your colleagues for the Translational Science 2025 Awards! These awards honor the most outstanding researchers, educators, and trainees across the discipline of translational science every year. Recipients will receive complimentary registration to Translational Science 2025 and a travel reimbursement of up to $500.
Award nominations for 2025 will open in mid-October. Visit our website to learn more about the awards on offer and their submission requirements*, and to meet our past award recipients.
*Please note that the awards listed on our website are proposed awards and are subject to change.
Special Interest Groups
ACTS offers its members the opportunity to participate in Special Interest Groups (SIGs) related to the field of clinical research and translational science. SIGs connect individuals who share similar goals and interests, providing a channel to network and participate in knowledge and resource sharing among peers.
Learning Library
The ACTS Learning Library is the centralized location for all ACTS educational offerings, including partner webinars and past Translational Science recordings. ACTS members receive complimentary access to webinars and recordings.
Translational Science Today
Researchers discuss the state of telemedicine and its future
University at Buffalo researchers discuss the impact of telemedicine on healthcare and what the future may hold for telehealth.