PQHS Department Events

Contact information for updates and questions:  Maita Diaz - mxd235@case.edu

Update from SOM Grants and Contracts

This is a reminder that the SOM Grants and Contracts pre-award office reviews and submits all proposals for the SOM. A Funding Proposal (FP) is required in SPARTA with each grant submission, discretionary and special project account request, research or service agreement, and NIH RPPRs. Only final versions of the proposal will be routed for signatures prior to any submission. 

Most importantly, we are required to submit proposals to their office at 5PM three business days prior to the submission date. It does not count holidays. 

Why are they doing this, especially if no sign-off is needed? By submitting proposals, the university is accepting fiduciary responsibility and is confirming that CWRU complies with all applicable requirements and regulations. 

What are they looking for:
1.    The proposal is compliant with CWRU and sponsor policies
2.    We have provided accurate and valid administrative, fiscal, and programmatic information 
3.    All foreign components and conflicts of commitment have been identified and disclosed. 
4.    All attachments are in the current sponsor format. 
5.    All Key personnel have current FCOI disclosure – we are finding out that in the new Sparta, the only time you will see that a KP has not completed their COI is when we try to route the proposal.  

Please communicate with your grant managers as soon as you know you are submitting a proposal so preparations can start as early as possible. We encourage all PIs to send their final draft to their grant managers five (5) days before the submission date to give us time for unforeseen circumstances. 

Project Collaborations
Putting in a proposal with a collaborator? Please contact your grant manager and they will start the process by sending the collaborator form to either your collaborator or their administrator. We need the form signed by your collaborator and sent back to the department before we provide any necessary information and documents.
 

Congratulations!
Holly Hartman, PhD, was recently elected to the Steering Committee of the Women Faculty of the School of Medicine (WFSOM) – which provides professional development opportunities for women faculty in the SOM, advocacy for women in academic medicine at CWRU and its affiliates, and networking among women to promote academic, professional an personal growth.

Learn more here: https://community.case.edu/wfsom/home/

Office of Grants and Contracts
Erin Fogarty, Director of the Office of Grants and Contracts and Asst Dean for Research Administration has resigned, and her last day was Friday, June 3.
•    The search for her replacement is ongoing but, in the meantime, Jon Donze will be interim director. 

Sparta:
•    An updated Sparta system went live on July 11.

Changes in requirements from the NIH have generated a lot of frustration.

• Maita and the PQHS Grants team will put together a best practices document.
• Stay tuned.  But in the meantime:
• For Other Support documentation, do not go over 12 calendar months 
• Where Adobe digital signatures are required, do not use /typed/ or wet ink signatures.
• To make sure the signature is recognized, go to Tools in Adobe and “certify.”

 More guidance to come. 
 

COVID-19 and Monkeypox updates from the CWRU Administration

COVID-19

Vaccines
As shared earlier in August, all members of the campus community must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 (including booster if eligible)—or have received a medical or religious accommodation. We recognize that some of you may not have had access to approved vaccines during the summer; our COVID-19 vaccine website provides information about how to schedule on-campus appointments.

Masks
Case Western Reserve continues to require masking on university shuttles and Safe Ride vehicles, as well as in clinical patient-care settings. Masks are not required elsewhere on campus, including classrooms.

Meanwhile, the university strongly encourages the use of high-quality, well-fitting face masks (such as N95s, KN95s, KF94s, and FFP2s) to reduce transmission risk in crowded settings, or for individuals who are at increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19. Proper use of a N95 respirator/mask greatly reduces infection risks, adding to the protections afforded by up-to-date vaccinations.

Members of the campus community can secure such masks by contacting the Office of Procurement at customecareteam-pds@case.edu.

If you have other questions about aspects of the university’s approach to COVID-19 this semester, please visit this page on the COVID-19 website.

Symptoms and Testing
If you are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19, please stay at home (or in your residence hall) and take a rapid antigen test as soon as possible; if the result is negative, please take a PCR or rapid antigen test within 24 to 48 hours.

Members of the campus community can get free rapid antigen and PCR tests from vending machines located around campus. The volume of PCR testing is particularly high as the semester begins, so we ask for your patience as staff work to process the results.

Full link for vending machines map is here: https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/1/viewer?mid=15xwCX-le_zeWLIHnT08MX_1fXaqZF3EP&ll=41.51358570000007%2C-81.606043&z=16

If you test positive, please report your test result to University Health and Counseling Services (UHCS) by logging into myhealthconnect.case.edu and sending a secure message. If your test is negative, you do not need to report it.

Students should isolate in place while awaiting a reply with specific isolation instructions. You may leave your residence hall room wearing a high-quality, well-fitting mask—such as an N95, KN95, KF94, or FFP2—to use the restroom or to pick up meals. Students who need immediate medical advice should contact UHCS at 216.368.2450. For on-campus students with questions about isolation logistics, please call 216.513.6602; students isolating off-campus should contact 216.368.2450 during UHCS clinic hours.

Faculty and staff also should isolate themselves while awaiting isolation instructions from UHCS. For medical advice, they should contact their primary care provider.

For additional guidance regarding next steps, please visit this page on the COVID-19 website.

Monkeypox
Earlier this month University Health and Counseling Services (UHCS) posted information and FAQs about monkeypox, a virus that so far has accounted for 36 cases in Cleveland and 123 in Ohio. It is transmitted primarily through close, intimate contact, but also can be transferred through linens or skin contact with open sores.

Federal officials announced last week that they would be distributing an additional 1.8 million vaccine doses for monkeypox, as well as 50,000 doses of a treatment commonly known as TPOXX. Case Western Reserve is working closely with city and county health officials to coordinate planning and secure resources.

Students who experience symptoms of monkeypox should contact UHCS at 216.368.2450 or schedule an appointment through myhealthconnect.case.edu. Faculty and staff with symptoms should reach out to their primary health care providers; if they have a confirmed case, they should notify UHCS promptly.

Grants Secured: An update on grants secured by the PQHS faculty. 

•    Jessica Cooke Bailey – NIH/NEI, RO1: Prioritizing diversity in polygeneic risk prediction of primary open-angle glaucoma, $676,000 in 2022 
•    Jonathan Haines, Will Bush and Scott Williams - NIH/NIA: Recruitment and retention for Alzheimer’s Disease Diversity Genetic Cohorts in the ASP (READD-ADSP), $6.6 million over 5 years / part of consortium that secured $46 million over 5 years 
•    Hao (Harry) Feng: CWRU Program for Autism Education and Research: Pilot award for research in autism spectrum disorders (ASD). $25,000 for 2022
•    Darcy Freedman: Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR): Nourishing Neighborhoods, Empowering Communities Study.  $1M over 4 years, plus $1.6M in in-kind matching funds from various sources
•    Darcy Freedman: Produce Perks Midwest/USDA GusNIP: COVID Release and Response:  Statewide Nutrition Incentive Program Evaluation.  $185K for 2022
•    Kristina Knight: SAMHSA Center for Mental Health Services: Cuyahoga County Youth Work Institute Mental Health Awareness Training:  $703K over 5 years
•    Siran Koroukian/through Case CCC Shared Resources/Cancer Population Analytics: Velosano: Healthcare Access and Equity in Patients and Survivors of Pediatric, Adolescent, and Young Adult Cancers Enrolled in Medicaid. $125K over 2 years
•    Daniel Tisch: Cleveland Department of Health: COVID-19 Public Health Partnership with CPDH. $449K through June 2022
•    Erika Trapl: Ohio Department of Health: Statistical Services for the 2022 ODH survey. $16K through September 2022

Monthly Faculty Meeting/Five Minute Fever
Get to know your faculty colleagues!  
The Five-Minute Fever faculty presentations given during our monthly PQHS faculty meetings can be found in PQHS Share Drive / PQHS Faculty Meetings and Presentations / 5 Minute Fever 2021-2022   
Link here:  https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/15Xan0dpGKuQUCQSOPsO-Zh3mIH5UGlGj?usp=sharing

NIH Grant Proposal Changes Went Live in January 2022

The SOM Office of Grants and Contracts (OGC) is reminding all PIs to use the new format for biosketches and other support pages when submitting NIH grant proposals. While NIH requires the new format for all grants submitted on and after January 25th, the SOM OGC is requiring all submissions to have the new formats for any submissions prior to Jan 25th. Any submissions with old formats will be returned to the PI for revisions.

You can view the following training video and slide presentation via this link:  https://case.edu/medicine/research/research-support/research-administration-updates-and-guidelines

Additional Guidance on completing your Other Support Page: 

• Question 1: Should I include pending proposals? What do I put down for direct cost?
• Answer: Yes, you should include any proposals that are submitted but not yet reviewed, or reviewed and still under the possibility of being funded. 

If you are the Contact PI of the project, declare the full cost of the total award. Otherwise, only include the portion of the project awarded to you.

• Question 2: Do I need to include my start-up package?
• Answer: Nope! 

For any questions or concerns, please contact your respective research portfolio manager. 

Update on purchasing supplies and equipment

Please make sure that all of your orders for equipment (especially computers) and supplies go through Alberto Santana (software and hardware), Cynthia Moore or Tuesday Gibson (for ICB). Additionally, procurement has recently started to restrict reimbursements for equipment purchased by faculty or staff so to avoid any issues, please contact the above-mentioned individuals and they will process your order for you.  

Also, do not have orders sent to your home address.  

There are exceptions (e.g. orders from the ascertainment team) but a justification needs to be included in the reimbursement request. A sentence or two will suffice. 

 For questions, please contact Maita Diaz (368.0291 / mxd235@case.edu) 

Contact :  Nital Subhas: nxs164@case.edu

501 Series Resumes and runs throughout the year, with a break in July and August

Date/Time:    Fridays, 9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
      

Location:    Generally, 501 will be held in BRB 105 but for 10/21, the location will be WRB 1217.

Note – the expectation is that students and faculty will attend in person if possible

Zoom option:    Check the calendar invite for the Zoom link and passcode.  

Topics:         Vary each week

Presenters:   Vary each week

 PhD program directors send out invitations as PhD trainees first defend their proposal, and then defend their dissertation as the culmination of their program.

PQHS DEI Learning Group

Formed by the PQHS Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee, this learning group meets the second Thursday of each month.

The group will be discussing articles relevant to diversity issues in population health research, learning how to include diverse perspectives in our research, and building new collaborations and networks together.

This group is a safe space for anyone who wants to expand their knowledge and skills related to DEI and is for people who are both new to DEI topics in research and those who have been working in this space already. 

Date/Time:  Second Thursday of the month, Noon – 1:30 pm  

Location: Hybrid via Zoom & In Person (Bioenterprise Building -11000 Cedar Ave Cleveland, OH
44106 - 4th Floor Conference Room #459B)

Topics: Vary each month 
Contact: Rebecca Miller, rdm124@case.edu

Join Zoom Meeting - the Zoom information is always the same

https://cwru.zoom.us/j/92774709123?pwd=Z1FFaW1vQjhPWFdBS0ErS1BhVi92UT09
Meeting ID: 927 7470 9123
Passcode: 910584

This is a series of seminars with invited guests, hosted by the PQHS Assistant Professors.  These seminars are held by Zoom.

 Information about these seminars can be found by contacting Tuesday.Gibson@case.edu

Recent speakers include :  Yize Zhao, PhD, Assistant Professor, Biostatistics, Yale School of Public Health and affiliated with Yale Center for Analytical Sciences

Title:                  Genetic underpinnings of brain structural connectome for young adults

The video of her presentation:

Dr. Yize Zhao's main research focuses on the development of statistical and machine learning methods to analyze large-scale complex data (imaging, -omics, EHRs), Bayesian methods, feature selection, predictive modeling, data integration, missing data, and network analysis. She has strong interests in biomedical research areas including mental health, cancer, and cardiovascular diseases. Dr. Zhao received her PhD in Biostatistics from Emory University and postdoc training in Statistical and Applied Mathematical Sciences Institute (SAMSI) and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Prior to coming to Yale, she was an Assistant Professor in Biostatistics at Cornell University, Weill Cornell Medicine.

ENIGMA is a weekly series of informal seminars that seeks to create a community of faculty, post-docs, students, and staff focused on topics involving genomic epidemiology, statistical genetics, and computational biology. The goal of each seminar is to provide a "water-cooler" environment for informal discussions and fostering of new ideas/collaborations. 

Presentations can include journal articles, research aims, research results, funding announcements, etc. The presenter typically uses only a few PPT slides with a specific emphasis on the hypothesis - WHY is this research important? What impact does it have? What are its ramifications? The presenter also will provide 3-4 open-ended questions for discussion.

Participants are encouraged to review the article, grant aims, etc., in advance to engage in thoughtful discussion.

To get on the list, contact Fred Schumacher: fredrick.schumacher@case.edu 

Date/Time:  Wednesdays - 4:00 - 5:00

Location:     WRB 2136
Note:            Drinks and light snacks are served

If you would like to suggest a topic - or debate -  please be in touch with Fred Schumacher:  Frederick.Schumacher@case.edu

The Prevention Research Center for Healthy Neighborhoods (PRCHN) website lists all events for the coming year, including their seminar series which typically is held on the first Wednesday of the month at noon. Link here: https://www.prchn.org/Seminar/

Check the Seminar series page for more info:  https://prchn.org/Seminar/
Contact: Briana McIntosh: briana.mcintosh@case.edu

The Swetland Center hosts a monthly seminar series on the fourth Tuesday of the month, from 9:00 am – 10:00 am. To learn more and register, go to the Swetland Center events listing: https://case.edu/swetland/news-events/events-calendar

Future dates and speakers follow.  As talk titles/descriptions are available, Lindsay sends out updates and invitations.  

• September 27: Teela Patterson; Environmental Justice Local Journalism Collaborative - a pdf with more information is here.

• October 25 | Youth COVID-19 Vaccine Engagement in Cleveland, Ohio
•    Presented by: Dr. Elizabeth Benninger, Cleveland State University & Megan Schmidt-Sane, Institute of Development Studies
•    Learn more about the findings of the pilot project from the Center for Reducing Health Disparities which examines how youth (ages 12-18) in Cleveland, Ohio view COVID-19 vaccines. 

• November 15: Dr. Brandy Phipps; Central State University
• December- no official seminar; we plan to host an event this month but details are TBD (speakers, event title, etc.)

For any questions and to get on the email list for this series, contact:

Rachael Sommer, LISW, MSSA
Director of Operations and Partnerships
Mary Ann Swetland Center for Environmental Health
Case Western Reserve University
Office:216.368.5774 | Cell:330-635-8047
Email: ras333@case.edu

The Swetland Center is thrilled to announce its partnership with The FARE Project and Neighborhood Connections on the Nourishing Neighborhoods, Empowering Communities Study (aka Nourishing Power Network).  

What is the Nourishing Power Network? 
We are working together to root & grow a food system that works for all. 
The Nourishing Power Network is part of a research study that is testing ways to transform food systems by bridging community power with organizational power to spark & expand food justice initiatives led by the community.
We need your help to root & grow a food system that works for all! Join the Nourishing Power Network by completing the new partner form. If you complete this, we will keep you in the loop on all things Nourishing Power Network.

•    FARE Project link: https://thefareproject.org/
•    Neighborhood Connections link: https://neighborupcle.org/
•    New Partner form link: https://redcap.case.edu/surveys/?s=ERA4FLN4CNCCXNYJ
•    Advisory Council info link: https://case.edu/swetland/research/nourishing-power-network/nourishing-power-advisory-council
•    Advisory Council application online link: https://redcap.case.edu/surveys/?s=DACA87RJ9FJWL73H
 

The Population Health Research Institute is comprised of three research centers (the Center for Informatics Research, the Center for Reducing Health Disparities, and the Center for Health Care Research and Policy) and is supported by a Biostatistics and Data Sciences Division. The three centers work in collaboration with 45 faculty from across the region.

More information about the institute is here:  https://www.metrohealth.org/population-health-research-institute

The institute's seminar series is held most Fridays from 9-10 am. 

More about their series is here:  https://www.metrohealth.org/population-health-research-institute/seminar-series

All seminars are held over Zoom:  

https://cwru.zoom.us/j/94532328533?pwd=d3YvcGZ3VVpRbGRLUTdWVGJyb2paQT09

Contact: Maria Zebrowski: mzebrowski@metrohealth.org

This is a quarterly series of presentations by members of the CADRE consortium focused on the genetics of Alzheimer's Disease

Learn more here: https://cadregenomics.org/alzheimers-disease-next-generation-researchers/
Contact Audrey Lynn, PhD, for Zoom link information:  Audrey.Lynn@case.edu
 

 For updates on Happy Hours and other department gatherings, contact Tuesday.Gibson@case.edu