Congratulations to the 27 Principal Investigators (PIs) selected by Clinical Science Research and Development for the Fall 2023 funding cycle. Applications were released on Tuesday, February 13, 2024, in eRA Commons Just-in-Time (JIT).
Seven PIs were selected for Career Development Awards and 20 PIs for Merit Awards. Cngratulations to these applicants whose innovative studies will improve the lives of Veterans!
Career Development Award Selectees
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Abplanalp, Samuel Joseph, PhD, Los Angeles, ''A Multimethod Approach of Social Disconnection in Schizophrenia: Leveraging Digital Phenotyping, Social Network Analyses, and Neuroimaging''
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Frank, Brandon Edward, PhD, Boston, ''Combining Machine Learning Methods and Scalable In Vivo Biomarkers for the Early and Accurate Detection of Alzheimers Disease in Veterans''
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Jaber Taha, Sausan Mousa, PhD, Baltimore, ''Effects of Exercise Training on Blood Microclots, Tissue Oxygenation, and Mitochondrial Health in Veterans with Post COVID Conditions''
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Na, Peter, MD, West Haven, ''Understanding the role of modifiable environmental and psychosocial factors in moderating genetic risk for substance use disorders in Veterans''
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Powell, Victoria Diane, MD, Ann Arbor, ''Ketamine-assisted integrative treatment for Veterans with chronic low back pain and comorbid depression''
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Rustagi, Alison Silvis, MD, PhD, San Francisco, ''Lung cancer screening for Veterans: measuring real-world benefit and harms''
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Wu, Karin C., MD, San Francisco, ''Modulation of the gut microbiome by dietary fiber to improve calcium absorption and bone health in older men''
Merit Award Selectees
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Bouvet, Michael, MD, San Diego, ''BCCMA: VA Colorectal Cancer Clinical & Computational Collaborative (VA-5C): NIR-labeled antibodies to target and label colon polyps and cancer for improved diagnosis and surgery.''
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Coburn, Lori A., MD, Nashville, ''The Role of CCL11 in Inflammatory and Sporadic Colorectal Cancer''
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Gepner, Adam D., MD, Madison, ''Load-Dependent Arterial Stiffness to Optimize Blood Pressure Management in Older Veterans (LOADED BP)''
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Green, Michael Daniel, MD, PhD, Ann Arbor, ''Repositioning Immunotherapy in Veterans with Lung Cancer''
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Harris-Love, Michael, DSC, Aurora, ''BCCMA: Recovery of Aged Muscle After Disuse Atrophy (REMEDY): Exercise and Monitoring with Post-Hospitalization Muscle Atrophy to Sustain Intrinsic Capacity and Strength (EMPHASIS)''
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Herbst, Ellen, MD, San Francisco, ''Contingency Management for Veteran Smokers With or at Risk for Cancer''
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Ho, Gordon, MD, San Diego, ''Computational Cardiac Mapping Techniques to Guide Ablation of Arrhythmogenic Substrate Underlying Ventricular Tachycardia''
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Hung, Adriana, MD, Nashville, ''Genetic of Kidney Disease and Hypertension in MVP II''
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Maltzman, Jonathan S., MD, PhD, Palo Alto, ''Immune control of chronic viral infection in solid organ transplantation''
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Moreau, Kerrie, PhD, Aurora, ''Improving Cardiovascular Health in Veterans with PTSD by Treating Trauma-Related Nightmares With NightWare''
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Parker, Krista Schendel, PhD, Mather, ''Driving Performance after Stroke: Impact of Cognition, Lesion Site, and Driver-Assist Features''
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Pennington, David L., PhD, San Francisco, ''Personalized Approach Bias Modification to Reduce Heavy Drinking and Improve Cognitive Control in Veterans with Mild to Moderate Traumatic Brain Injury''
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Prasad, Bharati, MD, Chicago, ''Targeted Treatment of Obstructive Sleep Apnea with Dronabinol: Proof of Concept and Phase II Clinical Trial''
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Razjouyan, Javad, PhD, Houston, ''Constructing a Clinical Gulf War Illness (GWI) Case Definition Using Natural Language Processing and Advanced Machine Learning Algorithms''
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Singh, Satish K, MD, Boston, ''BCCMA: VA Colorectal Cancer Clinical & Computational Collaborative (VA-5C): Project #2 - Artificial Intelligence and Multispectral Imaging of Colorectal Polyps.''
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Sponheim, Scott R., PhD, Minneapolis, ''Deviant Synchronization of Neural Functions in Schizophrenia''
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Stout, Daniel, PhD, San Diego, ''Identifying clinically relevant neural circuit mechanisms of cognitive control training for PTSD''
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Tashjian, Robert Z., MD, Salt Lake City, ''Determining Genetic Variants Associated with Rotator Cuff Tearing, Tear Progression and Tendon Repair Healing''
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Trinity, Joel Douglas, PhD, Salt Lake City, ''BCCMA: Recovery of Aged Muscle After Disuse Atrophy (REMEDY): Integrating multimorbidity, multi-omics, physiology, and biomarkers to define hospital acquired muscle atrophy and recovery (ANTICIPATE)''
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White, Donna Lorraine, PhD, Houston, ''Neurological Disease Among 1990-1991 Gulf War and Era Veterans in a Large National Cohort: Onset, Patterns of Occurrence and Association with Deployment Characteristics''
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Finalizing JIT February
The 180-day deadline for most Spring 2023 applications in eRA JIT was Monday, February 12, 2024.
For stations and PIs with applications still in JIT past the 180-day deadline, please ensure that a JIT extension waiver has been submitted into the JIT extension area of eRA JIT. Thank you for continued vigilance in completing JIT.
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March 7, 2024, is the recommended submission date for the Spring 2024 round for CSRD and BLRD. Submitting by this date ensures applicants will have 2 business days to correct errors identified by the system.
The last possible submission date is March 11 at 6 p.m. local time. Applications cannot be submitted after this date. If an application is submitted on this date and errors are identified by either Grants.gov or eRA Commons there may not be enough time to correct the errors, resubmit and have the application received and verified by eRA.
If the application is accepted by eRA with no errors, please do not withdraw the application during the 2-business day examination window unless there is sufficient time to resubmit by the March 10 submission deadline.
A recent JAMA Network Open publication by Dr. Jasmohan Bajaj (Gastroenterologist at Richmond VA Medical Center and Virginia Commonwealth University) and colleagues evaluated 177,422 Veterans with a diagnosis of dementia for undiagnosed cirrhosis and possible hepatic encephalopathy as a cause of cognitive impairment. Dr. Baja and colleagues report that the 5 to 10% of Veterans with dementia may have undiagnosed cirrhosis that could impact hepatic encephalopathy and may be the cause of their cognitive impairment. The study suggests that clinicians treating patients with dementia should investigate whether the cognitive impairment could be due to hepatic encephalopathy to avoid missing treatable cognitive impairment. The findings from this study may improve clinical care of Veterans with undiagnosed cirrhosis as a cause for their cognitive impairment. The link to the article is https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2814346.
We are very excited to share the news that a Career Development Awardee (CDA) track will be included at the 32nd annual conference of the National Association of Veterans' Research and Education Foundations (NAVREF). The conference will be held September 15-19, 2024, with the CDA track scheduled for September 17-19. ORD funded CDA awardees will be invited to attend this event to be held at the Ritz Carlton in Crystal City, VA, outside Washington, DC. Attendees will have the opportunity to participate in breakout sessions on topics such as getting the most out of the CDA, observing a mock study section, developing a merit application, working with the non-profit, networking with other CDAs from around the country, and meeting with senior ORD leadership. Each attendee will also present a poster. The theme of the conference is “Passing the Torch.” Mark Roltsch and Eric Schwinder from CSRD are leading a planning committee that includes representatives from NAVREF, ORD, and the field. Please be on the lookout for information about registering for this fantastic opportunity. Space will be limited. Ideas for breakout sessions that would be valuable for CDAs are welcome and should be sent to vhacadereview@va.gov.
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Please distribute widely to interested parties. Application instructions may be found at: https://www.research.va.gov/funding/diversity.cfm.
The Office of Research and Development, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committee announces two funding opportunities:
- SUPPORT FOR DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION TRAINING FOR VETERANS AFFAIRS FIELD RESEARCH EMPLOYEES
Applicants can request up to $5,000 to support training or education in topics related to diversity, equity, and inclusion. The education or training should be focused on raising awareness of perpetual, institutional, and other barriers that may influence workplace culture, recruitment, and retention. Funds must be expended by September 30, 2024. Training must be completed within a year of the award.
Applications must be submitted to the mailbox VHACOORDDEIWG@va.gov with the subject line “DEI Training” by April 3, 2024. Please include applicant and station name in the subject line
- LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT FOR VA EMPLOYEES AFFILIATED WITH AN ORD PROGRAM/SERVICE
Applicants can request up to $8,000 to support participation in a leadership development course or program (excludes attendance to meetings and conferences). The professional development training must be organized by an accredited institution or federal agency and focus on leadership skill development (e.g., Graduate Health Administrative Training Program, Partnership for Public Service leadership development programs). Funds must be expended by September 30, 2024. Training must be completed within a year of the award.
Applications must be submitted to the mailbox VHACOORDDEIWG@va.gov with the subject line “Professional Development Training” by April 3, 2024. Please include applicant name and station name in the subject line.
Please direct any questions to VHACOORDDEIWG@va.gov
Calling Oncologists...
The CSRD Data Monitoring Committee that provides data and safety monitoring for CSRD-funded projects, is seeking new members -- oncologists and biostatisticians, neurologists, and others. For more information, please contact DMC Manager Dr. Tamara Paine.at Tamara.Paine@va.gov.
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Career Development: VHACADEReview@va.gov
Clinical Trials: clin-review@va.gov
General Mailbox: VHABLRD-CSRD@va.gov (Please note this is a shared mailbox that should be used for general questions that will be triaged by staff to the appropriate individual.)
Just-in-Time Mailbox: VHACOBLCSRDJIT@va.gov
Scientific Portfolio/Program Managers: BLR&D and CSR&D Contact Information (va.gov)
Newsletter: Lucindia.Shouse@va.gov
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