Featured Research Program
The Cleveland VA Medical Research and Education Foundation (CVAMREF) is a VA-affiliated Non-Profit Corporation (NPC) established to support research and education within the VA Northeast Ohio Healthcare System. In 1988, Congress authorized the Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers to establish nonprofit research and education foundations which allowed VA investigators to access non-VA funded research opportunities. Currently there are nearly 80 VA NPCs across the nation.
The primary mission of CVAMREF is to advance the success of VA research through the efficient and flexible administration of grants and contracts. CVAMREF currently manages approximately 140 studies including federal (non-VA), industry and private foundation studies. The CVAMREF employees over 45 people comprising of research nurses, statisticians, coordinators, project managers, recruiters and regulatory specialists.
Out of the currently managed CVAMREF studies there are a total of 36 active clinical trials, 20 of these are being conducted through the Cleveland VA Clinical Research Center (CRC). CVAMREF has extensive experience in coordinating VA sites for large multi-center, governmental and pharmaceutical trials. We have expertise in leadership roles in trial development, VA central IRB submission for multiple sites, CRADA and budget development and approval, and coordinating technology to be utilized in clinical trials. As a lead site for a large industry sponsor, CVAMREF successfully actively participated in and managed 19 other VA sites that resulted in over 1,100 enrolled VA patients nationwide. Additionally, the VA Northeast Ohio Healthcare System was not only the top VA site for enrollment within VAs but was also one of the top recruiting sites in the US for the entire study.
If interested in submitting a non-VA funded grant or working on a sponsored project please reach out to Jeffrey Moore, Executive Director (Jeffrey.Moore5@va.gov) and Marcie Denallo, Grants and Contracts Administrator (Marcie.Denallo@va.gov) for more information.
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Research Forums
Research forums will be held monthly at the VA in Room K119. Our last forum for this year is listed below. If you are unavailable to attend in person, you will have the option to view the presentation via Teams.
Monday, December 12th, 2022 @1:30PM
Whole Health and You: Self Care
presented by, Rosalie C. Diaz, Pys.D. Whole Health Program Director.
Microsoft Teams meeting; Join on your computer, mobile app or room device
Click here to join the meeting
Meeting ID: 221 162 779 126 and Passcode: UbhoJB
Or call in (audio only) +1 872-701-0185,29808236#
CERNER Inventory Survey
On November 17, a CERNER VA Millennium Follow-up email was sent to each Human Study Principal Investigator and Study Coordinator via email. The follow email is important for determining which CERNER/VA EHR applications your project needs in order to conduct research after CERNER'S go live date in 2023. You will receive weekly email reminders until the survey is completed. If you have any questions regarding the survey, please contact Candice Toney via email candice.toney@va.gov
Research Staff Updates
Monica O’Loughlin, IRB Administrator, will be retiring on December 31. Monica has been a valued member of our Research Team since she started as the IRB Program Assistant in 2009. She quickly moved up the ranks to the position of IRB Administrator. In her tenure, Monica has led the IRB through the changes brought on by the 2018 Common Rule and the transition to using VAIRRS/IRBnet. In addition to bringing a wealth of knowledge on all things related to human subject's research, Monica shows her caring attitude and quick sense of humor as she approaches all aspects of the day. In retirement, Monica is looking forward to having more time to garden, travel and spend with her grandchildren. Thankfully she is not disappearing completely. Monica has graciously agreed to support the IRB in a contractor status for four months.
Jaqueline Charles has been selected as the new IRB Administrator.
Heba Alhmidi has moved from the IRB office to the Research Compliance Office, as Research Compliance Auditor.
We are working with HR to fill these positions as quickly as possible. We will keep everyone updated as these important activities progress.
IRB Updates
IRB Meeting Schedule for 2023
| January 12, 2023 |
**February 16, 2023** |
| March 9, 2023 |
April 13, 2023 |
| May 11, 2023 |
June 8, 2023 |
| July 13, 2023 |
August 10, 2023 |
| September 14, 2023 |
October 12, 2023 |
| November 9, 2023 |
December 14, 2023 |
The IRB meets the second Thursday of each month form 12:00pm to 2:00pm
**Third Thursday of the month**
VAIRRS Updates and Tips
For each of your projects in IRBNet, automatic e-mail notifications are sent to alert you to actions regarding your project. These notifications, as well as messages created in the Send Project Mail tool, are also logged in the Messages & Alerts page for each project. All messages and alerts directed to you, across all of your projects, are aggregated in the My Reminders section.
If you have questions, reach out to VHACLEVAIRRS@va.gov.
Some recent VA ORD webinars on VAIRRS include:
IRBNet Basics for Investigators (va.gov)
Best Practices on How to Track and Locate Approved Documents in IRBNet (va.gov)
Upcoming VA Research Funding Deadlines
The next round of VA Grant submissions will take place in March 2023. This will include BLR&D and CSR&D Merit and CDA applications as well as RR&D SPiRE applications.
If you are considering submitting an application, please reach out to Christine.Hendricks@va.gov for additional information.
Office of Research & Development
VA ORD offers webinars on a wide range of topics including but not limited to human subjects research, research safety, technology transfer and VAIRRS implementation.
Upcoming webinar: HRPP Bimonthly Updates in VA Research
December 14, 2022 at 3:00pm
Objective(s):
The purpose of this webinar is to update the VA research community on various topics related to human subjects protections, including:
- The CDC TPOXX Expanded Access Program for Monkeypox - Informed consent and other related human subjects protections issues,
- Commercial IRB issues and answers, and
- ORD questions and answers from VA Facilities on human subjects protections issues and ORD policies.
Click the ink below to pre-register for the webinar.
HRPP Bimonthly Updates in VA Research: December 2022
Previous Webinars can be found at:
https://www.research.va.gov/programs/orppe/education/webinars/default.cfm
Stay Connected
VA Northeast Ohio Healthcare System
Cleveland Research Website
Office of Research & Development
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