UAMS Translational Research Institute

06/15/2026

Please join us tomorrow (Tuesday, June 16) at 4 p.m. to learn more about ARLife, TRI's new data resource and supported funding opportunity.

Register for the webinar:
https://redcapconnectt1.uams.edu/redcap/surveys/?s=XHTNFHCYDFNNKPKY&fbclid

Learn more about the program:
https://tri.uams.edu/funding-opportunities/arlife-small-grants-program/

Discover ARLife!

TRI has a new data resource and a supported funding opportunity, ARLife Small Grants Program!

Learn about ARLife and the type of projects it supports, as well as the funding opportunity for investigators to submit applications to utilize ARLife and staff support on projects, at one of two webinars:
Noon on June 8
4 p.m. on June 16

Join one of the webinars to review example projects, program goals, project support, and expectations.

Interested in using a new data resource to address questions seeking to identify solutions to health challenges in Arkansas? ARLife could be for you.

Register for a webinar:
https://redcapconnectt1.uams.edu/redcap/surveys/?s=XHTNFHCYDFNNKPKY

Learn more about the program:
https://tri.uams.edu/funding-opportunities/arlife-small-grants-program/

06/12/2026

What's the latest on ethics in clinical trials? Attend the June 23 Clinical Trials Learning Collaborative Seminar to catch up on this important topic.

TRI invites all UAMS-affiliated faculty to the next Clinical Trials Learning Collaborative Seminar on June 23 from noon to 1 p.m. via Zoom. Brandy M. Fox, Ph.D., director of TRI Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) Training and assistant professor of medical humanities and bioethics, will present "Ethics Report: Hot Topics in Clinical Trials."

Fox’s scholarly interests include qualitative research, veteran health, psychiatric ethics, and end-of-life care. She is active in ethics education, provides clinical ethics consultations at UAMS and Arkansas Children’s, and provides research ethics consultations.

https://redcapconnectt1.uams.edu/redcap/surveys/?s=LHREPYX8NAP3DM9D

(Attendees only need to register once to be included in the series.)

06/10/2026

Join us today at 3:30 p.m.
Register: https://redcapconnectt1.uams.edu/redcap/surveys/?s=APT48P4CFC3NJC4W

Looking to develop and employ translational science approaches to address health challenges to create positive outcomes for all Arkansans?

The application process is now open for TRI’s Clinical and Translational Science Pilot Program (CTSP2).

Projects may explore innovative approaches to unmet health needs and geographic challenges, implementation science, artificial intelligence and biomedical informatics, community- and stakeholder-partnered research, public health emergencies and emerging priorities, and lifespan research.

The program encourages a wide range of collaborative and career-building opportunities.

To help applicants learn more, TRI will host two Zoom Q&A sessions:
May 20 at 2:30 p.m.
June 10 at 3:30 p.m.

Budgets up to $40,000 for a one-year project will be considered.

Abstracts are due Aug. 3 by 5 p.m.
Full applications are due Feb. 1, 2027.

Register for a Q&A session.
https://redcapconnectt1.uams.edu/redcap/surveys/?s=APT48P4CFC3NJC4W

Read more about the funding opportunity announcement.
https://tri.uams.edu/funding-opportunities/tri-pilot-awards-program/

06/09/2026

What an awesome community response for the rural research town hall meeting in El Dorado this morning!

Thanks to all the community members who attended to learn more about research studies in Arkansas and how they can help guide the future of healthcare.

Presented by the UAMS HEART-NET, the meeting included UAMS Rural Research Network representatives and UAMS researcher Ping-Ching Hsu and lab members.

Read more about Hsu's research: https://news.uams.edu/2025/03/06/uams-winthrop-p-rockefeller-cancer-institute-scientist-awarded-1-9-million-to-study-air-pollution-breast-cancer/

Learn more about AR research: https://arresearch.org/

Explore the Rural Research Network: https://tri.uams.edu/resources-and-services/tri-resources/uams-rural-research-network/

06/05/2026

Congratulations to Megha Sharma, M.D., Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology, on her Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award (K23) from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health.

Sharma's project, "ECLIPSE - Extent and CLinical Impact of Pigment in Pulse oximeter Saturation Error in ICU infants," will evaluate the extent of pulse-oximeter inaccuracy across infants with various levels of skin pigmentation through cross-sectional and repeated measurements. The project will also study the impact of early occult hypoxemia as a function of pigmentation in preterm infants and its association with subsequent pulmonary outcomes.

The project includes an interdisciplinary team of researchers at UAMS and Arkansas Children’s.

We're so excited to see the next successful step in Sharma's career as an independent clinician scientist. TRI is thrilled to have proudly supported her as a TRI SMART Scholar obtaining her MS-CTS, a K12 Mentored Research Career Development Scholar, an Implementation Science Scholar, and, most recently, with a Clinical and Translational Science Pilot Program (CTSP2) award.

Learn more about these TRI programs!
https://tri.uams.edu/training/training-opportunities/masters-program-in-clinical-and-translational-sciences-ms-cts/

https://tri.uams.edu/funding-opportunities/career-development-scholars-program/

https://tri.uams.edu/resources-and-services/tri-services/the-center-for-implementation-research/implementation-science-scholar-program/

https://tri.uams.edu/funding-opportunities/tri-pilot-awards-program/

06/04/2026

Come learn about a new data resource and funding opportunity through ARLife. First information session is Monday, June 8 at noon.

Register: https://redcapconnectt1.uams.edu/redcap/surveys/?s=XHTNFHCYDFNNKPKY

Discover ARLife!

TRI has a new data resource and a supported funding opportunity, ARLife Small Grants Program!

Learn about ARLife and the type of projects it supports, as well as the funding opportunity for investigators to submit applications to utilize ARLife and staff support on projects, at one of two webinars:
Noon on June 8
4 p.m. on June 16

Join one of the webinars to review example projects, program goals, project support, and expectations.

Interested in using a new data resource to address questions seeking to identify solutions to health challenges in Arkansas? ARLife could be for you.

Register for a webinar:
https://redcapconnectt1.uams.edu/redcap/surveys/?s=XHTNFHCYDFNNKPKY

Learn more about the program:
https://tri.uams.edu/funding-opportunities/arlife-small-grants-program/

06/02/2026

Join us next week!

Help shape the future of community research!

The community is invited to a Town Hall Meeting from 9-10 a.m. June 9 at the El Dorado–Union County Chamber of Commerce (111 W. Main St., El Dorado).

Featuring speaker Ping-Ching Hsu, Ph.D., an associate professor of environmental health sciences at UAMS, attendees will discuss the role of research in primary care and the importance of rural community representation in studies.

Incentives are available for participants, and breakfast will be provided.

For more information, contact Julie Joyce at [email protected].

06/01/2026

Write your way through summer!

The Translational Research Institute (TRI) Summer Writing Challenge is back.

Join for friendly competition and inspiration to write/submit your manuscripts! The challenge runs June 1 through Aug. 31, with qualifying manuscripts being published or submitted for publication during this time.

Any UAMS, Arkansas Children's Hospital or Research Institute, or Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System faculty or staff member who has received a TRI award, utilized a service or resource, or been partially or fully supported since Jan. 1, 2020, is eligible to participate in the challenge.

Public recognition and prizes for the greatest number of submissions will be announced in September.

See all the details and submit: https://redcapconnectt1.uams.edu/redcap/surveys/?s=TCMRYFRLRRKXCT34

05/29/2026

Learn more about brain development in young children with pediatric leukemia and sickle cell disease at the June 9 TRInnovations in Translational Science Seminar.

Ellen van der Plas, Ph.D., associate professor of pediatric hematology/oncology, will present "Cognitive Neuroscience of Neurodevelopmental Risk and Resilience in Pediatric Hematology and Oncology" from 1-2 p.m. June 9.

Van der Plas is interested in the developing brain, which is our most dynamic organ. The brain changes throughout our lifetime, but some of the most drastic post-natal changes occur in early childhood. Her research is focused on the impact of chronic illness on the developing brain, such as childhood cancer or sickle cell disease.

Register for the TRInnovations in Translational Science Seminar Series, a monthly session the second Tuesday of each month from 1-2 p.m. that showcases compelling examples of best practices in translational science, particularly those that reflect faculty, trainee, or pilot study-based innovations aimed at advancing research for rural populations.

https://redcapconnectt1.uams.edu/redcap/surveys/?s=LHREPYX8NAP3DM9D

(Attendees only need to register once to be included in the series.)

05/29/2026

Congratulations to TRI's 2026 Team Science Voucher Program awardees!

"Radiosensitizer Interactions with Spatially Fractionated Radiation Therapy," Robert J. Griffin, Ph.D., professor of radiation oncology, and Amit K. Tiwari, Ph.D., DABT, professor of pharmaceutical sciences and associate dean of research, College of Pharmacy

"The HASE App Initiative: Building Digitally Accessible Hearing Solutions," Lipika Sarangi, Ph.D., assistant professor of audiology

The Team Science Voucher Program is designed to support early-stage, cross-disciplinary collaborations and to expand the translational potential of existing research programs. The overall aim of this program is to increase the quantity, quality, and effectiveness of cross-disciplinary research at UAMS.

Learn more: https://tri.uams.edu/funding-opportunities/team-science-voucher-funding-program/