NCATS Director of Clinical Innovation
Mike's Blog
3D in DC
By: Michael Kurilla, M.D., Ph.D., NCATS Director of the Division of Clinical Innovation
November 1, 2022
While the first in-person CTSA Annual Program meeting in three years was well attended (nearly 400 participants), a recap of my update is presented here, especially for those unable to attend. I unfortunately must start off with some less than pleasant news. Becky Jackson, the long serving PI of the Ohio State University CTSA passed away last month. Becky was a Professor of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism as well as Associate Dean for Clinical and Translational Research. She was the Max Morehouse Chair of Cancer Research and was the founding Director of the Ohio State University Center for Clinical and Translational Science. Lee Nadler, who is far more articulate than I could ever be, said it best, “Becky was a brilliant, world-class investigator in women’s health, outstanding and committed physician, passionate educator, national education leader, outstanding collaborator, and one of my best friends. How Becky navigated her disability, cared for her challenged daughter, accomplished her leadership role locally, national, and internationally has always been beyond ability to comprehend. She made me a better person and a better leader. She made us all better.” Becky is emblematic of what we all aspire to be.
As of the end of FY22, the CTSA program is 63 hubs strong with 11 hubs successfully recompeting last year. As far as our FY23 budget is concerned, we are currently operating under a continuing resolution (CR) through 12/16. Neither chamber has passed their respective appropriations bill, but somewhat unusual this time around, the House and Senate have suggested CTSA increases that are similar (3.1% vs 3.2%). There are many new faces within the CTSAs with 11 new UL1, 12 new KL2, and 19 TL1 PIs. Most satisfying is the many younger faces moving into key leadership positions which bodes well for the future of the CTSA program. DCI has also expanded, as the program has grown with additional staff and filled key leadership positions within the division.
External validation is always appreciated and the CTSA can boast many honors and awards with elections to national societies including the National Academies (both Sciences and Medicine) as well as garnering the AAMC top three spots for innovation. Mid-career individuals are being recognized as rising and emerging leaders and even as genius (MacArthur Foundation). Finally, as recognition of the excellence represented in the KL2 program, 3 scholars (1 current and 2 former) were named in the 40 under 40 leaders in health by the National Minority Quality Forum. There may be more deserving individuals, so please, make us aware of similar honors coming out of your hubs.
NCATS is slowly dipping its toes into the R grant pool (something that many have requested). We’ve started small with an R03 program. This opportunity needs to be highlighted to the community. Across NIH, many entities come to the CTSA program as a source of funds to advance their programs which speaks well of the CTSA program. We made our first award under our revised consortium-wide activities (R2D2), ENACT: Translating Health Informatics Tools to Research and Clinical Decision Making. Two aspects of this award need to be emphasized: 1) centralized versus federated is not an either/or proposition, rather we regard them as complementary; 2) just as NCATS is disease agnostic, we are also common data model (CDM) agnostic; it’s what investigators can do with your CDM that matters.
And speaking of informatics, N3C continues to grow in size and community. Publications are taking off and even more importantly, N3C is seen as a resource for policy and guidance documents, internationally. Most significantly, even the White House approached N3C to address a public health question regarding Paxlovid rebound. On the therapeutics side, the CTSA convalescent plasma studies were released, ACTIV-1 released impressive topline data on immunomodulators, and ACTIV-6 has reported out 3 off patent drugs for COVID outpatients. Finally, and most importantly, CTSAs are having an impact as shown in the numerous CDC and WHO documents that reference CTSA efforts. These are the key stories that individuals outside of the academic community want to hear and we at NCATS want to relate more widely.
Anytime you’re afraid to try something new… just remember, amateurs built the ark, professionals built the Titanic.
- David Drake
This Mike's Blog was featured in November 2022's Ansible. Subscribe to receive upcoming Ansible newsletters.