Establishing a Framework for Improving the Quality of Clinical and Translational Research

2012 ◽  
Vol 30 (14) ◽  
pp. 1725-1726 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert M. Califf ◽  
Sally Kornbluth
2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 218-225 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Perloff ◽  
Alice Rushforth ◽  
Lisa C. Welch ◽  
Denise Daudelin ◽  
Anthony L. Suchman ◽  
...  

IntroductionA core challenge of a multidisciplinary and multi-organizational translational research enterprise such as a Clinical and Translational Research Award (CTSA) is coordinating and integrating the work of individuals, workgroups, and organizations accustomed to working independently and autonomously. Tufts Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) undertook and studied a multifacted intervention to address this challenge and to create a culture of systems thinking, process awareness, responsive to others' needs, and shared decision-making.InterventionThe intervention, based on relational coordination, included 1) relational interventions, in three staff retreats and a diagnostic survey to provide feedback on the current quality of relational coordination, and 2) structural interventions, in the launching of five new cross-functional teams with regular meeting structures.MethodsA mixed-methods evaluation yielded quantitative data via two types of team surveys and qualitative data via interviews and meeting observations.ResultsThe findings suggest that interventions to improve relational coordination are feasible for CTSAs, including good fidelity to the model and staff/physician engagement. Survey and interview data suggest model improvements in coordination and alignment. Further research about their optimal design is warranted.


2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (29) ◽  
pp. 4756-4777 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angela Lamarca ◽  
Melissa Frizziero ◽  
Mairéad G. McNamara ◽  
Juan W. Valle

Background: Biliary Tract Cancers (BTC) are rare malignancies with a poor prognosis. There are many challenges encountered in treating these patients in daily practice as well as in clinical, translational and basic research. Objective: This review summarises the most relevant challenges in clinical and translational research in BTCs and suggests potential solutions towards an improvement in quality of life and outcomes of patients diagnosed with such malignancies. Findings: The main challenge is the low number of patients with BTCs, complicated by the aggressive natural behaviour of cancer and the lack of funding sources for research. In addition, the clinical characteristics of these patients and the specific cancer-related complications challenge clinical research and clinical trial recruitment. It is worth highlighting that BTCs are a group of different malignancies (cholangiocarcinoma, gallbladder cancer and ampullary cancer) rather than a unique homogeneous disease. These subgroups differ not only in molecular aspects, but also in clinical and demographic characteristics. In addition, tailored imaging and quality of life assessment are required to tackle some of the issues specific to BTCs. Finally, difficulties in tissue acquisition both in terms of biopsy size and inclusion of sufficient tumour within the samples, may adversely impact translational and basic research. Conclusion: Increasing awareness among patients and clinicians regarding BTC and the need for further research and treatment development may address some of the main challenges in BTC research. International collaboration is mandatory to progress the field.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (s1) ◽  
pp. 144-145
Author(s):  
Stephen Kogut ◽  
Jacquelyn Fede ◽  
Anthony Hayward ◽  
John Stevenson

OBJECTIVES/SPECIFIC AIMS: We sought to solicit and synthesize stakeholders’ ideas for how the Advance-CTR program can best increase the quality and quality of clinical and translational research in Rhode Island, and to apply these findings to address barriers and strengthen research capabilities across our partner institutions. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: We utilized a Group Concept Mapping approach, involving university and Institution-based researchers and administrators. The process was conducted using the web-based concept mapping application CS Global Max (Concept Systems, Inc). Respondents were asked to provide their best ideas for promoting clinical and translational research in RI. These ideas were then organized by our project team into a set of unique items for consideration by attendees of an Advance-CTR retreat. Participants were tasked with sorting these ideas by theme (cluster), and were also asked to rate each idea according its importance and feasibility. Using the online software, these clusters and ratings were analyzed to identify key themes and to explore differences among sub-groups. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: The Group Concept Mapping exercise yielded 150 statements that were edited down to 78 unique ideas, and clustered into nine themes (e.g., institutional collaboration, training). Fifty-seven retreat participants completed the sorting and rating tasks of the concept mapping exercise. Overall, ideas rated as highly important and highly feasible included “providing seed grants to encourage new collaborations across basic science,” and “connecting researchers with common interests.” Top rated items varied across institutions and according to respondent demographics, allowing us to consider the unique issues relevant to particular groups. Relative rankings of clusters across groups revealed notable differences, such as higher importance placed on community engagement among administrators as compared with researchers, and differences in needs for internal support for research between universities. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF IMPACT: Group Concept Mapping was an effective and insightful participatory approach to engage our program’s stakeholders in developing ideas and identifying challenges to enhancing clinical and translational research in Rhode Island. Our results have implications for project decision-making and initiatives to facilitate translational research in RI. Thus, results have been presented to the Advance-CTR community via webinar, as well as Advance-CTR project leadership and advisory committees.


Author(s):  
LaKaija J. Johnson ◽  
Jolene Rohde ◽  
Mary E. Cramer ◽  
Lani Zimmerman ◽  
Carol R. Geary ◽  
...  

2012 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 329-332 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda Sprague Martinez ◽  
Beverley Russell ◽  
Carolyn Leung Rubin ◽  
Laurel K. Leslie ◽  
Doug Brugge

2021 ◽  
Vol 78 (15) ◽  
pp. 1564-1568
Author(s):  
Fred M. Kusumoto ◽  
John A. Bittl ◽  
Mark A. Creager ◽  
Harold L. Dauerman ◽  
Anuradha Lala ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gian Maria Zaccaria ◽  
Vito Colella ◽  
Simona Colucci ◽  
Felice Clemente ◽  
Fabio Pavone ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND The unstructured nature of medical data from Real-World (RW) patients and the scarce accessibility for researchers to integrated systems restrain the use of RW information for clinical and translational research purposes. Natural Language Processing (NLP) might help in transposing unstructured reports in electronic health records (EHR), thus prompting their standardization and sharing. OBJECTIVE We aimed at designing a tool to capture pathological features directly from hemo-lymphopathology reports and automatically record them into electronic case report forms (eCRFs). METHODS We exploited Optical Character Recognition and NLP techniques to develop a web application, named ARGO (Automatic Record Generator for Oncology), that recognizes unstructured information from diagnostic paper-based reports of diffuse large B-cell lymphomas (DLBCL), follicular lymphomas (FL), and mantle cell lymphomas (MCL). ARGO was programmed to match data with standard diagnostic criteria of the National Institute of Health, automatically assign diagnosis and, via Application Programming Interface, populate specific eCRFs on the REDCap platform, according to the College of American Pathologists templates. A selection of 239 reports (n. 106 DLBCL, n.79 FL, and n. 54 MCL) from the Pathology Unit at the IRCCS - Istituto Tumori “Giovanni Paolo II” of Bari (Italy) was used to assess ARGO performance in terms of accuracy, precision, recall and F1-score. RESULTS By applying our workflow, we successfully converted 233 paper-based reports into corresponding eCRFs incorporating structured information about diagnosis, tissue of origin and anatomical site of the sample, major molecular markers and cell-of-origin subtype. Overall, ARGO showed high performance (nearly 90% of accuracy, precision, recall and F1-score) in capturing identification report number, biopsy date, specimen type, diagnosis, and additional molecular features. CONCLUSIONS We developed and validated an easy-to-use tool that converts RW paper-based diagnostic reports of major lymphoma subtypes into structured eCRFs. ARGO is cheap, feasible, and easily transferable into the daily practice to generate REDCap-based EHR for clinical and translational research purposes.


2009 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 135-141
Author(s):  
Roberto Pecoits–Filho

The bench-to-bedside approach to translational research is becoming increasingly important to efficiently advance understanding of the mechanisms underlying disease and to improve the quality of patient care. Although this investigation model has been practiced since the early days of the therapy, robust research platforms built to practice translational research have only recently been structured in the field of peritoneal dialysis. Experience with a translational research environment that generated most of the information cited in this overview is the core of this manuscript. The central investigation theme described is how to approach the cardiovascular complications of peritoneal dialysis. The research question was, could the continuous activation of inflammatory pathways be central in this process and represent a relevant target for interventions?


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