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Terri Talks
Vol. 3 12312019
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Turning into 2020
2019 saw many changes and hopefully improvements for CSRD investigators. Directed focus on priority research topics including suicide prevention, mental health, and precision oncology encouraged innovative applications we were honored to approve for funding. New funding mechanisms especially in the lane of mentored career development highlight our strong interest to support applications from psychiatrists, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and military Veterans. Other specific highlights include CSRD scientists serving as expert consultants for the clinical rollout of esketamine for depression and clinical application of genetic screening for oncology. As we move into 2020, we will continue to focus on translation of clinical research to application in healthcare. We can hardly wait to see what novel, meritorious ideas our scientists come up with next. Happy 2020 to all, Terri
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The number of clinical trial Letters of Intent (LOI) submitted for the Spring 2020 funding round was 62. Of that number, approximately half were approved. While reasons for disapproval are highly individualized, they include a topic not being in the CSRD purview or a proposal actually being a standard Merit. The breakdown of approvals, disapprovals, and withdrawals is included below:
Spring 2020 Clinical Trial LOIs |
Submitted: 62 |
Approved: 32 (51.61%) |
Disapproved (other Service): 6 (9.68%) |
Disapproved (standard Merit): 6 (9.68%) |
Disapproved (portfolio overlap, etc.): 14 (22.58%) |
Withdrawn: 4 (6.45%) |
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Spring 2020 Career Development LOIs |
CDA-1 for Psychiatrists: Submitted, 2; Approved, 2 |
CDA-1 for U.S. Military Veteran Scientists: Submitted, 1; Pending, 1 |
CDA-2: Submitted to CSRD and BLRD: 47; Approved, 38 (19 CSRD, 19 BLRD); Disapproved, 8 (4 CSRD, 4 BLRD); Transferred to RRD, 1 |
ORD remains committed to recruiting and training scientists from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) who have the potential to increase diversity in their scientist workforce and establish themselves as independent VA researchers. To enhance the existing program, which uses targeted Career Development Award support, a Core Recruiting Site will also be established in 2020. More details will follow. Anyone interested in learning more about these opportunities should contact: VHABLRD-CSRD@va.gov.
Changes are in the works for CSRD's centralized Data Monitoring Committee in 2020. The CSRD DMC is a service we provide for clinical trial oversight. The meeting schedule is changing from three times per year to two times per year. This translates to Principal Investigators, who have projects assigned to the DMC for monitoring and oversight, having to submit progress reports to the DMC only two times per year. PIs will still report Serious Adverse Events as they occur. We continue to thank the Hines CSP Coordinating Center for managing the DMC review meetings.
A brochure for the Mortality Data Repository to which ORD contributes may be accessed at <https://www.mirecc.va.gov/suicideprevention/documents/VA_DoD-MDR_Flyer.pdf>. This is the former "Suicide Data Repository" and is a rich resource for investigators..
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