​​​​​​Please join us for this esteemed 2023 Conference on Next Generation Nanomedicines, sponsored by Keystone Symposia, UCI Vaccine R&D Center, and UCI Center for Translational Vision Research!

Nanomedicines have revolutionized our ability to create medicines for previously untreatable diseases as well as novel therapies in a rapid and scalable manner. In the past five years, the approvals of novel nano-medicine-based drugs such as small interfering RNAs and messenger RNA vaccines have catalyzed the field; however, there are still many challenges in the field that preclude clinical translation of new technologies. These challenges include improving the delivery, efficiency and safety profile of nanoparticles and novel strategies to target specific cells and tissues, and these issues, among others, will be presented and discussed at this symposium.

​​​​​​Interested in spending two informative days with the HHS Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP) and your fellow colleagues in the human research protection world? If so, make plans to attend this in-person event, highlighting the ethical challenges and opportunities presented by AI technologies and innovations in academic-community partnerships.

Be sure to check out the line-up of speakers which includes experts from the NIH Office of Science Policy (OSP). Don’t miss this valuable and engaging opportunity to share challenges and learn best practices on how to manage, share and protect research data from HHS experts and your institutional colleagues.

Speaker: Rachel Carmen Ceasar, PhD, assistant professor of clinical population and public health sciences, USC's Southern California Clinical and Translational Science Institute, Keck School of Medicine of USC. 

Dr. Ceasar is a qualitative research consultant with the Biostatistics Epidemiology and Research Design (BERD) team at The USC SC CTSI. In this role, Dr. Ceasar supports faculty and junior investigators with studies and grants involving qualitative research, including focus groups, one-on-one interviews, quality-of-life work and mixed methods. Dr. Ceasar also has experience with IRB applications, conducting interviews and coding. 

Creating the Next Generation Physician Scientists: Lessons from the UCLA Star Program, by Linda L. Demer, MD, PhD, Professor, Departments of Medicine and Physiology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. 

The Physician Scientist Collective Distinguished Speaker Series features speakers from diverse medical fields across national academic institutions who share their experiences and insights on physician scientist careers.

Cerebrovascular Aspects of Alzheimer's Disease in Down Syndrome, by André Strydom, MRCPsych, MSc, PhD, Professor in Intellectual Disabilities at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London.

Dr. Strydom’s research is focused on mental disorders in adults with neurodevelopmental conditions, including Down syndrome. Professor Strydom is particularly interested in aging-related conditions such as dementia in adults with Intellectual Disability and Down syndrome. He was the chief investigator of the LonDownS consortium, a collaboration on various aspects of Alzheimer’s disease in Down syndrome. One of the important aims of ongoing work is to deliver the knowledge, tools and expertise that is necessary to enable clinical trials of treatment to prevent or delay the onset of dementia in individuals with Down syndrome.

“Exploring the Future of Neurotherapeutics” 
Join the new UCI Center for Neurotherapeutics for its first symposium, hosted by Albert La Spada, MD, PhD, Director, and Robert Spitale, PhD, Associate Director. Learn more about the 2023 Inaugural Symposium for the UCI Center for Neurotherapeutics. 

Friday, Oct. 6, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Location: The Beckman Center, 100 Academy Way, Irvine, Calif.

Register

The Institute for Clinical and Translational Science (ICTS) has coordinated a K-Club grant writing series intended for junior faculty and postdoctoral scholars preparing to submit applications for NIH Mentored Career Development awards. These awards are designed to promote the career development of postdoctoral and junior scholars looking to transition to research independence. The objective of this program is to help better understand the NIH K award mechanism to create the strongest possible funding proposal and guide candidates through the K application components. This structured workshop series is intended for scholars preparing competitive grant applications for the February or June 2024 NIH submissions, but all interested applicants are welcome to register. Scholars looking for informational insight to determine if the K award mechanism is right for them are also encouraged to attend.

The workshop series is broken up into four informational sessions:

1. Introduction: Overview of the RFA and submission materials | Oct. 9, 9 to 10:30 a.m.
2. Specific Aims & Mentor Qualifications: Writing clear aims and assembling a qualified mentoring team | Oct. 16, 9 to10:30 a.m.
3. Career Development Plan: Identifying yourself as a strong candidate & the NIH Loan Repayment Program | Oct. 23, 9 to 10:30 a.m.
   
4. Panel Discussion: Prior applicants discuss the K Award submission process and answer questions | Oct. 30, 9 to10:30 a.m.

To attend the K-Club Grant Writing Workshop, please submit an application to Yzabella Nardo (nardoy@hs.uci.edu) by Friday, Oct. 6, with the following:

• Signed MOU
  
• NIH Biosketch
  
• Specific Aims draft

Mondays, Oct. 9, 16, 23 and 30, 9 to 10:30 a.m. 
Location: UCI, 1022-1082 Health Sciences Rd, Hewitt Hall, Large Conference Room, Room 1042

The School of Medicine Office of Research, in conjunction with Sophion Bioscience, invites you to attend the 2023 Ion Channel Modulation Symposium. The Ion Channel Modulation Symposium (ICMS) brings together researchers, scientists and industry professionals from around the world to exchange ideas, share the latest advancements and explore new frontiers in the field. The event will feature talks, poster presentations and excellent networking opportunities. Keynote speaker Ardem Patapoutian, PhD, and a slate of over 20 speakers from labs around the world including UCI faculty Geoff Abbott, PhD, Michael Cahalan, PhD, Steve Goldstein, MD, PhD and Medha Pathak, PhD will be among the presenters.

The ICMS will coincide with the UCI School of Medicine’s Dean’s Distinguished Lecture Series (DDLS), which will feature Dr. Patapoutian as the main speaker. The DDLS community lecture will be Oct. 17 at 6:30 p.m. and the scientific lecture is Oct. 18 at 9 a.m. All events will be at The Beckman Center in Irvine.

Registration for the ICMS is free of charge though there is a cap at 130 participants. If you have any questions, please contact Emily Dawidoff.

Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) is increasingly viewed as an essential component of training, regardless of a researcher's source of funding. NIH requires RCR training that involves at least 8 contact hours between participants and faculty. Instruction must be undertaken at least once during each career stage, and at a frequency of no less than once every four years. To meet the NIH requirement, the Institute of Clinical and Translational Science in partnership with the Office of Research will be hosting a full in-person workshop in October: 

• Friday, Oct. 20, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
  
• Saturday, Oct. 21, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Do you have an open laboratory position currently posted on UCI Recruit that you would like announced in Research Insider? Please fill out this form to have your position listed in our new section, which we will be dedicating to open research opportunities in the School of Medicine. 

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