February 2019

Dear Colleagues:

I am delighted to add my congratulations in regard to three recent leadership announcements that are significant for UCSF research: Brian L. Black, PhD, director of the Cardiovascular Research Institute; Harold Collard, MD, associate vice chancellor of clinical research and director of the UCSF Clinical & Translational Science Institute; and Tejal Desai, PhD, inaugural director of the UCSF Engineering and Applied Sciences Initiative: Health Innovation Via Engineering. Details are below, and I look forward to working with them in support of our collective mission. I also welcome Jeanna Julo, BA, CCRP as our inaugural UCSF Clinical Trials Quality Improvement & Compliance Officer. Please read on for more about these appointments and other useful updates from our research community.

Regards,
Vice Chancellor Lindsey Criswell

New Faces, New Roles

Brian L. Black, PhD, is the next director of the Cardiovascular Research Institute (CVRI) in the School of Medicine, effective March 1. Dr. Black has been part of CVRI leadership for the past twelve years and has served as interim director for the last seventeen months. His experience as a leader and an internationally recognized basic scientist will support CVRI’s continued success.

Harold “Hal” Collard, MD, is now associate vice chancellor of clinical research and director of the UCSF Clinical & Translational Science Institute (CTSI). He has served as CTSI’s interim director since July 2018. Dr. Collard will work closely with the UCSF clinical research community to develop innovative programs and activities as well as support greater efficiency and effectiveness.

Tejal Desai, PhD, is the inaugural director of the UCSF Engineering and Applied Sciences Initiative: Health Innovation Via Engineering (HIVE). This new and exciting initiative will provide transformative research opportunities across UCSF schools and departments to connect, collaborate, and address unsolved challenges at the intersection of engineering and health.

OSR and CTSI leadership have successfully recruited Jeanna Julo, BA, CCRP, as the inaugural Clinical Trials Quality Improvement & Compliance Officer (QICO). This new position is a result of the Industry-Sponsored Clinical Trials Process Improvement Task Force. Jeanna will be responsible for quality improvement of cross-unit administrative operations supporting UCSF externally funded clinical trials, reporting to Winona Ward, director of the Office of Sponsored Research, and with programmatic responsibility to CTSI.

UCSF Research and Academic Building at ZSFG

The long-planned project for a new UCSF Research and Academic Building (RAB) at ZSFG took a big step forward with last month's announcement of the project architect and design-build team. Design of the new facility is now under way with formal avenues for input from the UCSF community at ZSFG. Learn more about the RAB project and progress.

Four UC Health Campuses and USC Join UCSF Profiles in One System

The UCSF Profiles team is excited to announce that its popular campus research networking tool now incorporates UC Davis, UC Irvine, UCLA, and UC San Diego as well as University of Southern California.

  • Search across the UC Health enterprise or within any of the campuses with the option to filter by people, concepts, publications, and more. From the homepage, click “Search Options” to see the list.
  • See other UC/USC co-authors and researchers in your networks.

Have you updated your Profiles page? UCSF Profiles pages are viewed by the NIH, industry, major media outlets, and more.

Upcoming Events:

  • Faculty Research Lectures in Clinical, Basic, and Translational Science – Selected for this prestigious award by the Academic Senate Committee on Research, the 2019 recipients are:
    • Donna Ferriero, MD, MS (Clinical Science) – February 19
    • Carol Gross, PhD (Basic Science) – March 15
    • Kathy Giacomini, PhD (Translational Science) – May 9
  • Parnassus Research-in-Progress Series (PRIPS) – PRIPS is an ongoing schedule of Tuesday talks (4-5 p.m. in HSW-303) featuring trainees from across UCSF labs and schools, with the aim of bringing researchers together at the Parnassus campus. Upcoming event dates: February 26 Alexis Combes (Krummel lab); March 5 Catherine Tan (Chang lab) and Raymond Liu (Roybal lab); March 12 Carolyn Sangokoya (Blelloch lab) and Marlys Fasset (Ansel lab). Please contact Tiffany Criger to be added to the listserv.
  • Save the Date! Get to Know Diversity Supplements – The Research Development Office, in partnership with HDFCCC and Differences Matter, invites you to learn about NIH Diversity Supplements and resources at UCSF to help you prepare your application. March 12 from 2-5 p.m. at Mission Bay Byers Auditorium.
  • PREMIER Symposium: Autoantibodies – The Power of Triangulation – Guest speaker Antony Rosen, MBChB, BSc from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine will present. March 19 from 8-10:45 a.m. at Parnassus, N-225.
  • SFBayCRN 5th Annual Meeting – Join the UCSF practice-based research annual meeting, hosted by the San Francisco Bay Area Collaborative Research Network (SFBayCRN) and CTSI Community Engagement & Health Policy Program. Theme: Building Capacity to Address the Health Needs of Diverse Communities. April 26 with abstracts due February 22.
  • Save the Date! 2019 Clinical Trials Day Celebration – Clinical Trials Day is an annual celebration of the great contributions of Clinical Research Coordinators (CRCs) to UCSF’s research efforts. Mark your calendars for May 13. This event is open to all UCSF CRCs and clinical research support staff.

Highlighted Funding Opportunities:

  • New Year... New Strategies... OnPAR – OnPar provides innovative and exceptional research applications with a second opportunity for funding.
  • Pivot Funding Opportunities Database – Pivot allows researchers to search funding opportunities, save results, set automated funding alerts, and identify potential collaborators. It is one of the most comprehensive searchable funding opportunities databases available and free to all UCSF faculty, staff, trainees, and students.
  • Limited Submission Opportunities – Limited submission opportunities (LSOs) are extramural funding opportunities that limit the number of applications that UCSF may put forward to a given sponsor or that require internal coordination. The calendar of recurring and current LSOs is available on the Research Development Office website.
  • National Science Foundation Mid-Scale Research Infrastructure Solicitation – This is a new opportunity with $60 million total funding for the program. Proposed projects must directly enable advances in STEM education research in one or more domains supported by NSF. Preliminary proposals due February 19.
  • ImmunoX Hellman Family Clinical-Translational Research Development Award – Young investigators will have the opportunity to embed into one of the UCSF CoLabs to rapidly translate clinical insights into molecular-level understanding of disease. Applicants can apply for up to $100,000 over 1-2 years. Apply by February 28.
  • ImmunoX CoProject Pilots – ImmunoX CoProject Pilots (fewer than or equal to 12 specimens) fund a series of standard assays that immune profile clinical specimens through the UCSF CoLabs infrastructure. Funds for ImmunoX CoProject Pilots can also be used to develop new assays for use within the UCSF CoLabs. Data acquired will be generated and stored in a common portal called the ImmunoX Data Library, and the data generated can be used by the investigator to apply for a full CoProject proposal or as preliminary data towards another grant. Apply by February 28.
  • Resource Allocation Program – The Resource Allocation Program is still accepting applications for the 2019 spring cycle. Apply by March 11.
  • Pilot Award for Research on Prevention and Treatment of Opioid Use Disorders – CTSI is offering a new pilot award (up to $40,000) to support research projects focused on the prevention and treatment of opioid disorders. CTSI is particularly interested in projects that will generate preliminary data needed to develop clinical trials or population-based community interventions. Apply by March 11.

Infrastructure and Operations:

  • New Chemical Safety Policy – The updated Chemical Safety Policy was recently posted on the UCSF policies website. For UCSF laboratories, the policy covers training requirements, hazard communication, standard operating procedures, storage, waste, security, transportation, and other aspects of safe and compliant chemical use.
  • New Workplace Safety and Environmental Protection – The updated Workplace Safety and Environmental Protection policy was recently posted on the UCSF policies website. This broadly applicable policy addresses responsibilities for ensuring a safe and compliant workplace, including reporting hazards, and interfacing with regulatory agencies.
  • ULT Freezer Rebate: Save up to $6k! – Need a new freezer or want to upgrade your existing freezer? The Office of Sustainability is offering $2k - $5k rebates on Energy Star ULT freezers, with a bonus $1k for seismic bracing. Offers are available to most UCSF sites, while funds last. Email [email protected].

Training and Tools:

  • New! OSR "Clinical Trials Help" Email Address – This email address will provide faculty and staff with a single resource for all questions and concerns related to the clinical trial pipeline. Winona Ward, director of OSR, and Jeanna Julo, QICO, will review and triage all emails. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to utilize this important new resource.
  • IACUC Office Hours at Parnassus and Mission Bay – Are you a lab IACUC protocol writer? Do you need technical advice on animal procedures? Check the IACUC website for our upcoming weekly office hours.
  • New! BCHSI-Gladstone Training Workshops – UCSF Bakar Computational Health Sciences Institute, in partnership with the Gladstone Institutes, is offering a new series of training workshops covering a broad range of topics: programming, statistics, experimental design, sequencing, epigenomics, network construction, and pathway analysis. Trainings will be announced online and via the BCHSI opt-in newsletter.
  • 2019 BIOS Advisory Committee Retreat – The report and slide deck from the BIOS Advisory Committee Retreat are both available for review.
  • CTST Mentor Training Program – A comprehensive program designed to train faculty to be effective mentors, it consists of modules that provide core mentoring competencies. Complete information available on the Mentor Training Program website. Apply by March 1.
  • Enhancing the Incorporation of Patient Perspectives in Clinical Trials – This Clinical Trials Transformation Initiative public workshop, in collaboration with the FDA, is on March 18 in Silver Spring, MD. Both in-person and webcast attendance are available.
  • Master’s Degree Program in Clinical Research – A two-year course of study intended for scholars who wish to master clinical and epidemiologic research methods and pursue independent careers in clinical and epidemiologic research. Apply by March 18.
  • Discontinued! Protocol Builder Pro – Effective March 31, Protocol Builder Pro will no longer be available for the development of new protocol documents.
  • Advanced Training in Clinical Research Certificate Program – A four academic quarter (summer, fall, winter, spring) program providing detailed instruction in the methods of clinical and epidemiologic research and ongoing methodologic guidance as scholars begin to implement their research. Apply by May 13.
  • Common Rule Resources and New IRB Application – Learn more about the revised Common Rule as well as when you should and should not "convert" to the IRB's new application form.
  • LivingGreen Lab Certification – UC policy encourages greener labs. Help the environment while advancing healthy research with the LivingGreen Certification! Email [email protected].

Useful Links:

  • Bakar ImmunoX – Infrastructure for sharing technology and findings across fields, disciplines, and geographies via a series of CoLabs and CoProjects.
  • CTSI – Programs, services, and training for research spanning early translational research to community engagement.
  • Human Research Protection Program (HRPP) – IRB, Quality Improvement Unit (QIU), and GESCR updates and resources.
  • Innovation Ventures – Expertise and resources to transform innovation into impact and translate scientific discoveries for public use and benefit.
  • MATLAB – A computational platform for engineering, scientific, and mathematic applications.
  • NIH Updates – Updates on policies, resources, and guide notices relevant to UCSF researchers.
  • Research Advisory Board (RAB) – An advisory forum promoting dialogue between UCSF leadership and the research community.
  • Research Allocation Program (RAP) – An intramural grant program that provides coordinated, collaborative effort among UCSF funding opportunities.
  • Research Development Office (RDO) – Services and resources for UCSF research development.
  • Research Resource Program (RRP) – Support and services for cores and shared resource laboratories.
  • Sustainability – Discounts and programs to help researchers save money and be sustainable.