In alignment with The National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences’ (NCATS), the Utah Clinical & Translational Science Institute’s (CTSI) TIP program will support translational science projects that focus “on understanding a scientific or operational principle underlying a step of the translational process with the goal of developing generalizable principles to accelerate translational research" and the CAPP program will support translational science projects that focus "on community-identified health-related needs and involve collaborations between community organizations and researchers."
Translational Innovation Pilot (TIP)
- Anne Bruno, MD, MS, OB/GYN
- Title: A pilot study of rivaroxaban transfer into human milk
- Lay Summary: Postpartum venous thromboembolism is a leading contributor to maternal morbidity and mortality, but preventative interventions are limited. Breastfeeding is a unique attribute to postpartum populations and ensuring human milk safety of medications is imperative. Oral administration of a direct oral anticoagulation, rivaroxaban, at a prophylactic dose may afford an easy and acceptable pharmacologic intervention to help prevent postpartum thromboembolism. Before large studies may be performed to evaluate the clinical safety and efficacy of administration of rivaroxaban to prevent postpartum thromboembolism, we first need to understand rivaroxaban transfer into human milk. We propose a pilot study to evaluate the excretion and pharmacokinetic properties of rivaroxaban transfer into human milk. In 20 postpartum individuals, we plan to administer two doses of rivaroxaban and collect maternal blood and human milk samples.
- Tammy Stump, PhD
- Title: STARS: Sun Protection and Tanning Awareness in Rural Schools
- Lay Summary: In this study, we are working to create and test a program to promote sun protection of rural high school students, particularly those in Utah. Many high school students in rural areas do not protect their skin from the sun, and some even intentionally tan, which increases the risk of skin cancer, including melanoma. These students also often experience sunburn, which makes them even more susceptible to skin cancer. Schools can play a vital role in teaching these students how to protect their skin, and peer learning is crucial in changing behaviors influenced by social norms. This research project has two main goals. First, we seek to understand the challenges and opportunities for implementing sun protection programs in rural schools by talking to teachers, parents, and community leaders. This will help refine the sun protection program. Second, we will test a sun protection program in three rural high schools. The program will include classroom education and resources for teachers. The research team and school staff will work together to make sure the program ineffective and can be used by the schools after the research study. This research project is vital because it aims to reduce the risk of skin cancer in rural high school students who are at risk due to their sun exposure habits. This project can play a role in addressing the greater burden of melanoma in rural populations.
- Anna Parks, MD
- Title: Anti-amyloid monoclonal antibodies for dementia and intracranial hemorrhage: elucidating underlying mechanisms
- Lay Summary: New treatments for Alzheimer’s disease can slow down memory loss but can increase the risk of bleeding inthe brain as a side effect in one out of five recipients. We don’t yet know how to identify who is at risk of this complication. Our goal is to test if certain blood tests of clotting and bleeding function can be used to predict bleeding in the brain with these new treatments. These tests could help researchers and providers individualize treatment. This proposal can also provide information on how to predict bleeding in other diseases.
Community & Academic Partnership Pilot (CAPP)
- Nasser Sharareh, PhD & Gloria Castaneda, United Way of Salt Lake
- Title: A real-time surveillance system for detecting local food insecurity spikes and informing timely interventions
- Lay Summary: Limited access to food, or food insecurity (FI), impacts more than 10% of US households every year. While some people experience FI chronically, the majority experience FI intermittently due to many unexpected events. Emergency food providers (e.g., food banks/pantries, soup kitchens) can provide immediate assistance to those experiencing FI. However, we cannot quickly deploy resources to emergency food providers in areas with heightened demands because we do not have a real-time, local monitoring system. One potential early warning metric for local surges of FI is the 2-1-1 network, which is a social service provider available to more than 309 million Americans. Our goal in this project is to determine whether and how food-related telephone calls to 2-1-1 could be used to inform timely interventions.
- Shinduk Lee, DrPhD & Nichole Shepard, MPH, EP-C, Utah Dept of Health & Human Services
- Title: Community-academic partnership to co-develop strategies to promote equitable and sustainable delivery of chronic disease self-management education programs
- Lay Summary: Chronic Disease Self-Management Education (CDSME) programs have gained widespread support and evidence of effectiveness, yet, the challenge lies in the effective and equitable delivery of CDSME in a real-world environment for the general public. To address the challenge, we propose to: (1)identify system-level barriers hindering CDSME delivery; and (2) develop implementation strategies to enhance CDSME delivery in underserved groups. Based on the existing statewide CDSME delivery data and community voices, this study will focus on older adults (65 years and older) with rural and Hispanic/Latino backgrounds. Also, for the proposed application, we will focus on the Self-Management Resource Center’s Chronic Disease Self-Management Program, which has been extensively studied and implemented. Key steps involve identifying vital partners integral to CDSME delivery and conducting surveys to understand implementation barriers. Additionally, focus group discussions with older adults from these communities will provide deeper insights. Establishing a community advisory board and utilizing a road map approach are pivotal for devising strategies targeting identified barriers. The project aligns with the Utah CTSI CAPP Program and community feedback. Expected outcomes include a comprehensive understanding of barriers to equitable CDSM Edelivery and the development of implementation strategies. These strategies could have broader applicability in implementing evidence-based programs for diverse health issues.