ACTS Connection
ACT Connection: July 2019 Issue 1
Letter From the President
Translational Science 2020 (TS20). Your calendars should highlight April 14-17, 2020 for our 10th annual meeting. Our partner organizations (ACTS, CRF, AFMR, AAMC, PhRMA, NIH) spent a day together last month in a dynamic session to create a vision for 2020 that retains the best of our core activities and encourages innovation. Traditional activities such as Hill Day and Mock Study Sessions and themes that transcend years such as our Precision Medicine Learning Community will continue. In addition, our meeting content will be strengthened by inviting you to submit concepts for consideration as workshops, seminars or presentations. You will soon see a call from the co-chairs inviting proposals. Attendance is anticipated to hit an all-time high!
As I reflect on my first 3 months as ACTS president, volunteer activation leaves a very deep impression. The Board, the committees, the institutional initiatives, the annual meeting, advocacy and policy, our growing journal, all leave me with a sense of optimism about the trajectory of ACTS. Our fantastic staff have stepped up to provide additional support for daily activities and our strategic plan.
As I reflected in my column last month, clinical and translational research is a domain in which true team science thrives to deliver high impact research and clinical care improvement. The sheer magnitude of the team needed to succeed is clear. ACTS is home to all contributors to this common cause. Important members of the ACTS family are the special interest groups, or SIGs, volunteers who work to advance ACTS and team science. Dr. Lindsell has done a great job activating the SIGs during his year as President elect.
The SIGs are self-organized groups of clinical and translational stakeholders who are tackling common issues within their own institutions and across the clinical and translational science landscape. To now, ACTS has formal SIGs that are focused on:
Regulatory Science
Research Operations and Administration
Clinical Research Professionals
Evaluation
Community Engagement (PACER)
Research Education Administration
Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Research Design (BERD)
Each of these SIGs has a bidirectional focus. On the one hand, they are looking outwards to the broader clinical and translational research community to find the best ways to support, educate, create efficiencies, and build bridges in this complex, multi-perspective space. On the other hand, they are looking at how their own specialty operates, how it might best evolve to meet the broader needs of the community, and how it develops a robust workforce dedicated to and prepared for clinical and translational research. The work of our SIGs embodies the spirit of true team science: doing good science and making science better through collaboration.
A vital function of the SIGs is to predict how the clinical and translational research landscape is shifting as it relates to their specialties, and to manage and lead those shifts at the national level. Examples include working with the FDA on regulatory pathways in precision medicine, developing core competencies for training in biostatistics, and developing shared IT solutions for tracking trainees or for evaluation. We rely on our SIGs to bring much of this knowledge back to our community through the Journal of Clinical and Translational Science. Importantly, we rely on them to help plan and provide content for Translational Science where, in 2020, we hope to be fully engaged with all of you in our marvelously rich, diverse, team-focused community.
This month’s column is written jointly by ACTS President Fred Meyers, MD, and President- Elect Christopher Lindsell, PhD.
Special Interest Groups
Special interest groups (SIGs) are a great way to enhance your involvement in ACTS and expand your career network. SIGs offer opportunities to increase your leadership skills, help identify new trends and topics for the annual Translational Science meeting, and meet other ACTS members with similar interests and areas of specialization. Learn more about SIGs and how to join on the ACTS website.
Journal of Clinical and Translational Science
Volume 3 / Issue s1 of the Journal of Clinical and Translational Science is available online!
JCTS’s mission is to provide a forum for the rapid communication of topics of interest and relevance to the large and diverse community of clinical and translational scientists with the goal of improving the efficiency with which health needs inform research and new diagnostics, therapies, and preventive measures reach the public. The Association for Clinical and Translational Science has partnered with the American Physician Scientists Association (APSA) and the Clinical Research Forum (CRF) to support the growth and development of JCTS.
Submit your article today to be featured in future issues of JCTS! Please also visit the JCTS website for information on our themed issues related to Dissemination and Implementation as well as Rural Health.
Translational Science Today
National network addresses clinical research roadblocks
The Trial Innovation Network is designed to pave the way for investigators to perform multi-site studies in more efficient and cost-effective ways.
Do you know someone who deserves to be recognized for outstanding or groundbreaking work? Send ACTS your story to be highlighted in future versions of ACTS Connection. Submit stories to: info@actscience.org.
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