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Response to pilot projects: ‘tremendous’ by Mary Helen Yarborough Public Relations Response to the MUSC Clinical Translational Science Award (CTSA) pilot program was so significant that the university has doubled its financial commitment. MUSC now is providing $400,000 to the CTSA program, officials said during a Town Hall meeting Nov. 13.   Officials report that in response to the Request for Applications (RFA) of pre-proposals issued in August, 240 investigators were involved with 100 applications. Of those, 23 projects were selected to advance to Round II, representing 149 faculty members, said Kenneth Tew, Ph.D., D.Sc., a CTSA leader and chair of the Department of Cell and Molecular Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics. “And believe me, reading 100 of these two-page applications involved a stretch of my knowledge base,” he explained.   The Round II RFA for full applications was issued Nov. 15 to the 23 teams selected to advance. Tew said the applications will be read and judged during the holidays and those selected for awards would be announced Feb. 1. Kathleen Brady, M.D., Ph.D., principal investigator (PI) of the CTSA planning grant, said that she would like to see the RFA become an annual affair for research collaborators.   In presenting the results of the first two phases of CTSA planning, the program’s leaders announced the pilot project grants first round finalists, and talked about what to expect for the next year.   Among plans are for the CTSA task force to formulate an external advisory board manned with international experts in translational health research, and potentially establishing a robust tissue sample bank system utilizing new software suite purchased through MUSC’s General Clinical Research Centers (GCRC) program.   As the new direction of National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding, it behooves medical schools’ researchers and clinicians to demonstrate their abilities to perform collaboratively and directly apply health discoveries from the lab to the patient. At MUSC, researchers, clinicians and stakeholders are stepping up.   “The level of enthusiasm generated around this funding mechanism, and the CTSA project as a whole, has had a major galvanizing effect towards paving the way for a full CTSA program at MUSC,” said Randal Davis, CTSA project manager.   MUSC recently scored among the highest in the nation, 11th of 60 applications, for the CTSA planning grant. MUSC received the planning grant while giving itself another year to pursue the full CTSA grant.   MUSC plans to submit an application for the CTSA designation in October 2007. To better its chances of securing the prestigious CTSA designation, MUSC seeks to collaborate with other medical schools in the region, Brady said.   “We are considering building a linkage with other institutions such as (the University of South Carolina) USC and MCG (the Medical College of Georgia),” Brady said. “It is unlikely that all three from this region would receive a CTSA designation. So it would be wise to collaborate.”   All three of the schools received the planning grant, though MUSC scored higher on the application.   MUSC’s pilot project program applicants have planned collaborations with leading health care centers and institutions, including the Centers for Disease Control, Clemson, Emory, Greenwood Genetics, Mayo Clinic, the Veterans Administration Medical Center, USC and the S.C. Research Authority.   Meanwhile, Brady proposed that MUSC develop a K-12 program, which is another federally-funded grant program for higher learning institutions, but she recommended MUSC start small.   “There is a sense of urgency,” Brady said. “It’s time to start with assignments and deadlines.”   Now that MUSC is entering its third phase of its CTSA planning, interest in participation has exceeded university officials’ expectations. Originally, MUSC committed $200,000 to the program, but “With such tremendous response, the university chipped in another $200,000 to cover the additional projects,” Brady said, giving the program $400,000. That's not counting the potential for $1 million in center pilot funds.   For CTSA planners and task force members, the maturing program has become a plan for action. “Don’t start with talking about what you would do, but actually doing it,” Brady directed.   Of the estimated $400,000 in the pilot project program, an applicant may have requested a project period of up to one year in length and a budget of up to $50,000, during the initial pre-proposal stage. The MUSC CTSA anticipates funding eight to 10 total projects.     For information, contact Davis at 792-0869 or e-mail ctsa@musc.edu. Selected CTSA Pilot Projects Circulating Stem Cells and Cytokine Profile in Better Survivors of ARDS/ALI .  Antine Stenbit Preliminary Investigation of the Co-occurrence of Age-related Macular Degeneration and Alzheimer’s Disease. Barb Rohrer Optical Biopsy Hand Tool for In Situ Early Oral Cancer Detection. Bruce Gao                Treatment of Spinal Cord Injury with Estrogen. Naren Banik                 Translating an Efficacious HPV Vaccine into the Control of Cervical Cancer. Anthony Alberg                Epistatic Interactions Between FCRL3, NF-KB1 and KM Genes in Lupus. Janardan Pandey Application of PET Technique to Determine Polymorphically Expressed ABCB1 Gene in BBB as Predictor of Atypical Antipsychotics Treatment Response. Jun-Sheng Wang Effects of Cryotherapy on Skin Temperature, Blood Flow and Systemic Inflammatory Biomarkers in Chronic Venous Disease. Teresa Kelechi              ACT Peptide and Activation of Regenerative Healing from Cardiac Injury. Robert Gourdie               Simple Two-Gene Molecular Prognostic Assay for Human Cancer. Michael Mitas                Role of Telomeres, Oxidative Stress and Insulin Resistance in Health Care Disparities. Arch Mainous              Building Bioinformatics Infrastructure to Support Translational Research. Jim Zheng                Oral Premalignant Lesions in Vaccines to Prevent Lesion Recurrences and Cancer. Rita Young          Prospective Application of Pharmacogenetics-Based Warfarin Therapy. Yusheng Zhu                Comprehensive Model of Factors Affecting Outcomes from Ischemic Stroke. Kit Simpson              Vitamin D Status and Markers of Immune Function at Birth. Sarah Taylor Prosthetic Fluid Diodes for Low Impediance Circulations. Tain-Yen Hsia Resting Metabolic Rate and Insulin Resistance During Pregnancy as a Predictor of Maternal Weight Gain and Neonatal Birth Weight. William Goodnight Autism Spectrum Disorders: Genetic Mechanisms and Treatment Strategies. Jane Charles Diabetes, Breastfeeding and Adiposity in Charleston Mothers and Their Infants. Kelly Hunt Treatment of Brain Tumors. Bernard Maria Pre-clinical Characterization of Pyridinium-Ceramide In Vivo. Ogretmen Besim                                             Friday, Nov. 17, 2006 Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Island Publications at 849-1778, ext. 201.