The Institute for Translational Medicine, or ITM, helps you live your best life by making research breakthroughs happen and getting those discoveries into the real world to improve your health as soon as possible.
“We work with communities to hear what disease areas they care about the most and how best they think we can work together to tackle them. These partnerships cover everything from working with the public to design a trial to collaborating to spread the news of discoveries to those who need it the most. This core works with the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) and other industry, nonprofit, and government stakeholders – as well as anyone who wants to join the movement in making health research the new normal.”
- From chicagoitm.org/community-and-collaboration
The ITM is a partnership between the University of Chicago and Rush in collaboration with Advocate Health Care, the Illinois Institute of Technology (Illinois Tech), Loyola University Chicago, and NorthShore University HealthSystem that’s fueled by almost $35 million in grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). We’re part of a network of more than 60 NIH-supported sites across the country working to slash the time it takes to develop and share new treatments and health approaches. We work with you and for you to make participating in health research easy, so that together we improve health care for all.
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The New Normal Campaign mobilized quickly to launch as an emergency response to COVID-19, and you and your teams can now use the tool to connect with people interested in joining health research like yours.
Join the movement today:
- Sign up for TNN Match as a VIP here
- Submit your new studies using these steps
- Submit your COVID-19 studies for free science writing resources and fast-tracking by sending your consent form to sara@chicagoitm.org
- If you submitted a pre-launch study, check your inbox and respond to fact-checking requests. You’ll be receiving on shortly if you haven’t already.
- Explore the campaign site here
- Explore the COVID-19 page here
- Read the story here
- Watch this video for what’s in it for researchers
- Share this video with community partners for what’s in it for them
- Follow TNN on social @bethenewnorm
This project is supported by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) of NIH through Grant Numbers UL1TR002389, KL2TR002387, and TL1TR00238 that fund ITM.
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The ITM launched a new Pilot Award program in 2017 that offers researchers more money, new resources and collaboration opportunities with stakeholders ranging from industry to community members.
Since 2007, the ITM has awarded more than $7 million in its Pilot Awards to help accelerate innovative research. And the impacts have been huge. Researchers have explored creative projects, used their data to secure millions of dollars in federal funding, launched companies and more.
The ITM is now thrilled to build on that success with a NEW Pilot Award program that offers:
- Up to $60,000 in funding.
- ITM resource support for study design, networking, and more.
- Video production and communications support to share research findings and impacts.
For more information, click here.
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The ITM administers the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Career Development (K12) Awards, including the Paul Calabresi and Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) K12 Award programs. This funding opportunity is open to all ITM institutions, including researchers at UChicago, RUSH, Loyola University Chicago, NorthShore University HealthSystem, the Illinois Institute of Technology, and Advocate Health Care.
Since the programs began, the ITM has awarded more than $6.8 million to more than 50 junior investigators at multiple ITM institutions, and many alumni have gone on to secure major grants and scale their projects to improve people’s health.
The prestigious K Awards support young researchers for up to two years. Those holding an MD, PhD, or MD/PhD who are interested in clinical, translational, and/or oncology research are encouraged to apply for:
- Salary support for up to $75,000 (CTSA) and up to $100,000 (Oncology), plus fringe benefits.
- Travel funds.
- At least 75 percent protected time to focus on a clinical/translational research program of your choice.
- Exclusive mentoring and educational opportunities from senior faculty.
- Monthly Career Seminars.
- City-wide and national networking.
For more information, click here.
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Parent announcements are broad funding opportunity announcements allowing applicants to submit investigator-initiated applications for specific activity codes.They are open for up to three years and use standard due dates.
Not all NIH Institutes and Centers participate on all parent announcements. Before submitting your application, make sure the NIH Institute or Center that might be interested in your research is listed as a participating organization in the announcement.
For more information, click here.
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The Essentials of Patient-Oriented Research (EPOR) gives you a crash course in how to conduct clinical trials. Get insider tips from senior researchers and learn how to create and run a successful study. You also get the benefit of National Institutes of Health (NIH) educational materials and national video sessions thanks to the ITM’s membership in the NIH’s Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) consortium.
For more information, click here.
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The Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) gives you a front-row seat to the issues scientists can face and the best ways to handle them. RCR addresses everything from conflicts of interest to the ethical treatment of animals to intellectual property.
For more information, click here.
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Take advantage of two free monthly seminars that are open to everyone and cover a variety of topics for every skill level: the Center for Research Informatics (CRI) Seminar Series, which provides training in informatics research tools and techniques, and the Computational Life Sciences Seminar Series, which highlights research in the fields of bioinformatics and computational life sciences, fosters collaborations, and provides a broad audience for feedback on current research.
For more information, click here.
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Enjoy a free lunch and learn from renowned local and international experts. These sessions are open to everyone and supported by the ITM and the University of Chicago Department of Pathology.
For more information, click here.
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Advanced CBPR classes give you the roadmap and skills to involve community members in all stages of the research process, giving both academic researchers and the general public equal input in everything from study design to the best ways to recruit trial participants. This free, six-session course is held each Fall, Winter, and Spring quarter to put researchers at the forefront of community partnerships and transparent research.
For more information, click here or contact Chartay T. Robinson at Chartay_T_Robinson@rush.edu.
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The ITM and The Center for Health and the Social Sciences created the Committee on Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS), an independent academic unit within the University of Chicago’s Biological Sciences Division (BSD), to offer dynamic, multidisciplinary courses for all ITM members across Chicagoland. Courses are open to undergraduates, graduate-level trainees, postdoctoral fellows, junior and senior faculty and staff, and fellow CTSA institutes at Northwestern University and the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC).
For more information, click here.
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Career Scholar (K) Seminars are open to everyone at all six ITM institutions and offer you the chance learn about resources to accelerate your career and hear renowned researchers share how they got to be where they are today and ways they overcame obstacles. From external funding sources to incorporating informatics into your work, K seminars will connect you with the skills and tools needed to jumpstart your career. These monthly sessions are required for those recipients of the NIH Career (K) Development Awards administered by the ITM, but are open to anyone looking to advance their career.
For more information, click here.
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Everyone from religious leaders to educators to law enforcement come together through the Community Advisory and Review Council (CARC) to give ITM researchers feedback on their studies, recruitment plans and more—all while learning important health lessons from the research presented to share with their communities. Since 2007, CARC members have met at least eight times each year and given community input on more than 65 faculty research presentations.
Learn more about the Community Advisory Review Council here.
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“A collaborative approach to research that equitably involves all partners in the research process and recognizes the unique strengths that each brings. CBPR begins with a research topic of importance to the community and has the aim of combining knowledge with action and achieving social change…” - W K Kellogg Community Health Scholars Program
To learn more about CBPR quarterly seminars, contact: LaDawne Jenkins
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The division of clinical research administration within the Office of Research Affairs facilitates the administrative and financial aspects of clinical research across the RUSH System. Learn more here.
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For individuals who are not funded, we offer BERD funds for a maximum of 8 hours.
Please see current directions here.
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TRIO aims to accelerate the process of recruiting for clinical trials and providing design consulting for research studies. Through the community engagement coordinator, TRIO also assists in reaching patients from underrepresented groups on Chicago’s West side. This local office also feeds into a national Trial Innovation Network that offers consultations and services for multicenter clinical trials and studies.
Through TRIO you can:
- Network with other research professionals from the other six ITM institutions in Chicago
- Engage with Chicago’s West side community
- Get help with recruitment and enrollment
- Present your research design problems or other issues to a group of research professionals across Chicago ITM institutions and receive solutions that have helped some teams even quadruple recruitment
Receive free local consultation through design experts here at Rush. Be connected with a variety of resources from bioinformatics to IRB specialist input. Learn more about TRIO here or contact Amanda Kass.
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A new mobile-friendly tool is launching to help save you time and money in recruiting for your health research studies. This million-dollar platform does the heavy lifting by connecting you directly with potential participants. It matches your study with people who fit your basic inclusion/exclusion criteria to save you screening time. And it makes mass communication easy by offering templates you can customize in a few clicks for batch emails. From there, you can just enjoy reviewing interested volunteers and consenting them into your studies. This tool is part of a citywide public campaign to increase awareness of and participation in health research. Learn more about this campaign here.
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Are you an Investigator planning to apply for a major NIH research grant, transitioning into an independent investigator role, or fulfilling a departmental grant review requirement? If so, the ITM can help you put your best foot forward by participating in the R Studio. Senior experts – some who have been NIH reviewers themselves – will give you detailed feedback as you craft your application. This free program is open to all ITM faculty, trainees, and affiliates.
For Whom: Investigators applying for a major operating grant, transitioning into an independent investigator role or fulfilling a departmental grant review requirement. This free service is open to all University of Chicago faculty, RUSH University faculty and ITM affiliates.
When: Rolling admission. R Studio registrations must be received no later than 14 weeks before the grant submission deadline.
What: A team of senior experts will give the applicant detailed feedback on specific aims during one 90-minute session. Applicants may request specific reviewers.
Questions: Contact Sara Serritella, the ITM’s Communications Director, at serritella@uchicago.edu.
To Register: Visit https://form.jotform.com/41680780379161
For additional ITM Resources and opportunities available to you, click here.
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Tuesday Talks are a unique platform to enable peer-to-peer knowledge sharing of ideas and solutions for recruitment and retention problems.
Each Tuesday Talk is summarized in a report that includes the topic, discussion, insights generated and the potential solutions or opportunity spaces for solving the issues of recruitment and retention.
The idea of Tuesday Talks is to capture and spread any innovative methods and approaches that study teams are using and help speed up research projects through efficient teamwork. RUSH ITM sponsors the lunches for the in-person sessions. Reminders are sent out before each session.
Ellie Buebendorf, Dr. Melissa Crane, Dr. Rachel Boutte, William Cwik, Dr. Santosh Basapur and Dr. Raj C. Shah who are the ITM TRIO team at Rush conduct these sessions. Dr. Shah leads the Trial Recruitment and Innovation Office (TRIO) as part of Network Capacity Cluster for the ITM.
To participate in Rush Tuesday Talks, please contact:
- Ellie Buebendorf: Ellen_J_Buebendorf@rush.edu
- Dr. Melissa Crane: Melissa_M_Crane@rush.edu
- Dr. Santosh Basapur: Santosh_Basapur@rush.edu
- Dr. Raj C. Shah, MD: Raj_C_Shah@rush.edu