Letter From the President and President-Elect
We are living incredible lives. The extraordinary events of the past twelve months will shape our world for a long time to come, and it is our fortune to be a part of that shaping. For nearly a year, clinical and translational researchers have been working tirelessly to combat the pandemic. At the time of this writing, covidauthors.org reported 81,478 articles in PubMed related to COVID-19. Even if only a minority of these articles are original research, that is an astounding amount of knowledge generated in less than a year. While we overcome the immediate challenge of how to synthesize it, we should reflect on how we were able to accomplish so much in such a short time frame.
Beyond operational efficiencies and guidance for research in public health emergencies, what have we discovered about solving big problems? Imagine if we took what we learned about collectively impacting a common problem and applied it to health equity. I firmly believe that together we can reshape the future for a healthier, vibrant, whole population. That is a belief I share with the incoming President of ACTS, Dr. Karen Martinez-Gonzalez. Karen’s leadership in our community on the ACTS board has given her great perspective about the challenges and opportunities ahead, and her vision, which she describes below, embodies team science in pursuit of health for all. As I pass leadership to Karen at Translational Science 2021, I am excited to help her lead ACTS through another incredible year.
Christopher John Lindsell, PhD
ACTS President
With every new year, we review our last year and plan for the new year. As we enter 2021, with a sigh of relief for leaving 2020 behind, we inevitably think about the difficulties of the last year. As clinical and translational scientists, we were faced with the enormous task of addressing a worldwide public health emergency. We transitioned all our laboratories, research protocols and community-based projects to ensure the safety of our teams and participants. We also had to evaluate if our science truly addresses racism and health disparities. As an association, we had to look at novel ways on providing our members with the tools they needed to address all of these challenges. ACTS had to transition Translational Science 2020 to an all-online event in a matter of weeks. But we begin 2021 with a glimmer of hope. We see the triumph of science in effective vaccines for COVID-19. We are also clear that we want to build an inclusive ACTS where diversity can lead to clinical and translational science that addresses the health of all.
Personally, I begin 2021 preparing to assume the role of President of ACTS. I will specifically focus on two of our strategic goals—developing a compelling value proposition and recruiting new members. I will strengthen the ties with our current members to make sure that everybody can get involved with our association. We had an unprecedented 25 applications for Director-at-Large positions. The engagement and diversity of our TS2021 Planning Committee has provided the innovation needed for this year’s meeting. I will also work on bringing in new members, both institutional and individual, with a specific goal of increasing the diversity of ACTS in every sense of that word—in disciplines, in areas of research, in race/ethnicity, in sex and in geography. As President-Elect, I have already started working on a plan with concrete steps on how my vision for ACTS can be brought to action. I am eager to engage with all of you and discuss your vision for ACTS and for 2021.
Karen Martinez-Gonzalez, MD, MSc
ACTS President-Elect
Translational Science 2021: Secure Early Bird Rates
You won't want to miss this—Translational Science 2021 has gone virtual! Join us March 31—April 2, 2021 for a full line-up of educational content focused on breaking barriers and building bridges across clinical research and translational science.
Whether you're looking for insights to kick start your next research project, resources to advance your career, or time to explore new opportunities for collaboration, we've got you covered. Register by Friday, February 12 to take advantage of early bird pricing.
Journal of Clinical and Translational Science: Call For Papers
The Journal of Clinical and Translational Science is issuing a call for papers for a special themed collection. This themed collection will focus on Educational Innovations for Teaching Clinical and Translational Science. The intent is to enable the reader, including educators, faculty, aligned healthcare professionals, and trainees in the clinical and translational research community, to gain knowledge in the skills and tools required to be an effective educator of clinical and translational science (CTS) that impacts a range of both lay and scientifically grounded audiences and learners.
A summary submission (3-6 sentence summary of the topic and/or work) is highly encouraged. If duplicate efforts are identified, there is an opportunity to link authors together to develop a collaborative paper.
View the full call for manuscripts for this collection here. The deadline for summary submissions is February 1, 2021.
Career Center
New year, new career: the ACTS Career Center has got you covered! Take the next step in your career journey with the ACTS Career Center! and 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!
News From the Hill: December 28, 2020
Following months of difficult negotiations and a last-minute curve ball from the administration, Congress passed and the president signed, a comprehensive omnibus package to cap off the tumultuous 116th Congress and bring 2020 to an end.
Read more on the ACTS Advocacy page.
Translational Science Today
Applications open for clinical and translational science ...
Penn State Clinical and Translational Science Institute is now accepting applications for its 2021-2022 Translational Research Training Program (TL1) and summer 2021 Translational Science Fellowship Program. The Translational Research Training...
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news.psu.edu