May 2023

Letter From the JCTS Editor: Divisive Times

We seem to be at a moment in time where inclusion, equality and respect for diversity are increasingly contested subjects. While many parts of society, including academia, have begun to address issues like these in a serious way, this direction has been questioned by others. Although some of this critique may to some extent serve a strawman purpose and reflect deeper societal divisions, it is nevertheless concerning that we are not able to join hands in fully celebrating the privilege of being part of a rich multicultural society. It is very timely that JCTS has just completed a thematic issue focused on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Clinical and Translational Science, available on the journal web site. Notably, this was the most subscribed thematic issue in our journal to date and in total, the issue contains 36 individual publications, framed by an editorial authored by the guest editor group. I warmly encourage our readers to look at this issue as it provides many thoughtful contributions. The issue consists of five different sections, devoted to Leadership, Training, Research Aspects, Clinical Trials and Community Engagement. It is clear that this call has resonated among our readers and that many of our colleagues in clinical and translational science have given much thought to this subject. We hope that this issue can serve as a foundation and source of ideas for future initiatives to further strengthen such efforts.

While leveling the landscape and encouraging a lively, inclusive and diverse community of scholars is of critical importance to the future of clinical and translational science as well as to our ability to provide health care to society at large, the importance of this subject is universal and has considerable societal consequences. As students of history will note, societies that throughout centuries have embraced, or at the very least tolerated diversity, have benefited to a considerable extent. Even in ancient Rome, recognition of a foreign-born individual’s ability to contribute could open a door to citizenship and societal opportunities and benefit. We might all think of examples where tolerance, diversity and governmental respect for laws have brought long-term prosperity and societal growth. Societies like these have often served as cradles of innovation, offering the ability for individuals to contribute to societal growth. On the other hand, countries where population groups have been persecuted and in many cases forced into exile, have often lost some of their most innovative citizens, much to the long-term detriment of their societies. Group-thinking and fear of diversity is seldom an avenue of progress, certainly not at a national level. It behooves us to reflect on such examples as we navigate an uncertain future. The importance to society in ensuring that everyone can be included and contribute to growth and prosperity cannot be overstated. As the ability to provide adequate and compassionate health care is critical for the well-being of all societal groups, the clinical and translational workforce has an important role. The work of our colleagues, as demonstrated in the thematic issue, serves as an indication of innovative thinking and reflection. We hope that such efforts will stimulate and encourage students and trainees of diverse backgrounds to feel welcome and to consider careers in clinical and translational science. We certainly need your creativity and ability to think out of the box.

Beyond the thematic issue on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Clinical and Translational Science, we would like to underscore that additional thematic issues are still open for submissions. While three calls, those on Advancing Translational Science through Real-World Data and Real-World Evidence, on Innovations for Enhancing the Informativeness and Quality of Clinical Trials and on Decentralized Research: Realizing the Promise of Virtual Clinical Trials,  have formally passed the deadline for submissions, we are still open to discuss additional contributions. Anyone considering such a contribution is encouraged to approach us.

The deadline for the thematic issue on Well-Being in Clinical and Translational Science has been extended and further, we have recently launched a call for manuscripts addressing Therapeutic Platform Trials Lessons Learned During COVID-19.  The latter is launched in collaboration with the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health and the aim is to focus on capturing lessons learned from clinical trial platforms for COVID-19 to document them for future pandemic response efforts. The overarching idea is to reflect on the last three years and call attention to the insights in the clinical therapeutic space from different platform trials from inception through execution. Each trial is encouraged to provide a retrospective assessment and a prospective description on how to improve future trials. The intent is to ensure the knowledge gained from quickly designing and deploying large-scale platform trials in a constantly changing pandemic environment is accurately captured. Our goal is to curate a set of manuscripts that reflects and highlights the lessons learned from the COVID-19 platform trials to share collective wisdom that will inform future pandemic responses and master protocol trial designs. In all we are very pleased that JCTS attracts a lot of attention and that many colleagues are interested in developing thematic issues focused on key aspects of clinical and translational science. We are open for discussions regarding other potential thematic issues and encourage interested colleagues to discuss such ideas with us.

In conclusion, we want to extend our thanks to the clinical and translational science community for their interest and for putting their trust in JCTS. We are eager to serve as a home for innovative manuscripts that aim to improve health and to be a source of best practices and we hope to live up to your expectations.

Lars Berglund, M.D., Ph.D., FAHA

Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Clinical and Translational Science (JCTS)

Lasker Clinical Research Scholars Program

The National Institutes of Health, in partnership with the Lasker Foundation, is pleased to announce the 2023-24 Lasker Clinical Research Scholars Program. The program supports clinical researchers in the early stages of their independent careers. Lasker Scholars are appointed as tenure-track investigators in the NIH Intramural Research Program for 5 years, followed by 3 years of funding at an extramural research institution (up to $500,000 direct costs per year) or continued appointment in the intramural program.  Candidates must have a clinical doctoral degree and a professional license to practice in the United States, and cannot already have obtained tenure at a research institution. The application deadline is August 25, 2023.

More information can be obtained at the Lasker Scholar website, or by contacting Dr. Charles Dearolf at LaskerScholar@nih.gov.

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Translational Science Today

Naggie Named Director of Clinical and Translational Science Institute

Susanna Naggie, MD, MHS, has been named director of the Duke Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI), effective immediately. Naggie has been serving as interim director of CTSI since December 2022 and as the faculty director of the Clinical Research Networks Pillar within CTSI since September 2021.

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