In This Week’s Update:

COVID-19 Updates:
- Monroe County Executive's COVID-19 Update
- Mother's Milk May Help Fight COVID-19
WXXI Second Opinion: Racial Health Disparities
Maquat Awarded Wolf Prize in Medicine
Caffeine in Utero is a No-Go
Child Poverty: Rochester, a City in Crisis
Aligning Toward Action in Social Determinants of Health Research
Celebrating Black History Month
- MLK Commemorative Address: Ibram X. Kendi
- Free Diversity, Professional Development Resources
- Office of Equity and Inclusion
Trial Innovation Network Supports Multi-Site Trials
Satcher Community Health Improvement Awards
Funding Opportunities

COVID-19 Updates:

Monroe County Executive's COVID-19 Update
On February 10, Nancy Bennett, M.D., joined Adam Bello, Monroe County Executive, and other experts for a briefing on the eligibility issues and distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine and an update on the work of Finger Lakes Vaccine Task Force, which Bennet is co-chair. Watch the full Facebook Live video (announcement begins at 9:10).

Mother's Milk May Help Fight COVID-19
A new study led by URMC researchers indicates that breastfeeding women with COVID-19 do not transmit the SARS-CoV-2 virus through their milk, but do confer milk-borne antibodies that are able to neutralize the virus. Critically, this study provides evidence that COVID-19-positive mothers should not be separated from their newborn children. Many of the participants were referred to the study group through the UR CTSI COVID-19 registry.

WXXI Second Opinion: Racial Health Disparities

UR CTSI Co-Director Nancy Bennett, M.D., was part of a discussion on racial health disparities on WXXI's Second Opinion with Joan Lunden last week. Bennett dove into how structural racism impacts health with fellow panelists Wade Norwood, CEO of Common Ground Health, and Robert Roswell, M.D., associate dean for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at the Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell. Watch the full episode. (Note: video may not be accessible while on VPN.)

Maquat Awarded Wolf Prize in Medicine

Lynne E. Maquat, Ph.D., the founding director of the Center for RNA Biology at the University of Rochester, was honored with the 2021 Wolf Prize in Medicine. The acclaimed international award is given to outstanding scientists from around the world for achievements that benefit mankind. Maquat was selected for “fundamental discoveries in RNA biology that have the potential to better human lives.” The UR CTSI is proud to have supported some of Maquat's earlier RNA Biology research efforts.

Caffeine in Utero is a No-Go

New research from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study at URMC finds caffeine consumed during pregnancy can change important brain pathways that could lead to behavioral problems later in life. Zachary Christensen, first author of the study and a UR CTSI-funded M.D/Ph.D. candidate at URMC, was part of a team that analyzed thousands of brain scans of nine and ten-year-olds that revealed changes in the brain structure in children who were exposed to caffeine in utero.

Child Poverty: Rochester, a City in Crisis

Child poverty is a serious problem in Rochester, with approximately 50% of children living below the poverty line. Join the University of Rochester Susan B. Anthony Center for a panel discussion on poverty as the cause of debilitating outcomes in cognition, emotional stability and health for poor children.
Date: Tuesday, February 16
Time: 4:00 – 5:00 pm

Aligning Toward Action in Social Determinants of Health Research

This week's Public Health Grand Rounds webinar, will feature Amy Kind, M.D., Ph.D., a geriatrician and associate professor at the University of Wisconsin. Kind will discuss how implementation science principles can speed the translation of research to broad-scale action, and how discrete geospatial socioeconomic metrics can serve as one readily available tool to achieve such translation.
Date: Friday, February 19
Time: 12:00 – 1:00 pm

Celebrating Black History Month

MLK Commemorative Address: Ibram X. Kendi

Ibram X. Kendi, the Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities and the founding director of the Boston University Center for Antiracist Research, will be the keynote speaker as the University of Rochester celebrates the 20th anniversary of its Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Address. Kendi is a best-selling author, antiracist activist and historian of race and discriminatory policy in America. The event is hosted by the Office of the Minority Student Affairs and the Office of the President.

Date: Wednesday, February 24
Time: 7:00 – 8:00 pm

Explore Free Diversity, Professional Development Resources

The Office of Equity and Inclusion has recently obtained a University-wide institutional membership to the National Center for Faculty Development & Diversity (NCFDD), an independent professional development and mentoring community with members from over 450 colleges and universities. The NCFDD offers mentoring and professional development opportunities, guest webinars, weekly motivating emails, optional writing challenges and community-wide opportunities to promote racial healing. Sign up for a membership (select the University of Rochester from the list of members). If you have any technical questions, email NCFDD at Membership@FacultyDiversity.org.

Office of Equity and Inclusion
The Office of Equity and Inclusion website lists the University events for Black History Month along with many sources for information about the University’s vision, values and resources for students and faculty. You can also subscribe to the Encompass Newsletter to get the latest message from Mercedes Ramírez Fernández, along with other updates from the office and access previous issues in the Encompass Newsletter archive.

Trial Innovation Network Helps Support Your Multi-Site Trials and Studies

The Trial Innovation Network (TIN), which is supported by the Clinical and Translational Science Awards Program, can help investigators operationalize their multi-site research studies. TIN services available to investigators can include:

Operationalizing standard agreements for study start-up and central/single IRB
Study participant recruitment
Identification of sites and EHR-based cohort assessment
Study consultations, trial design and budgets
Efficacy to effectiveness (E2) trial design
Data and safety monitoring (NEW!)

Contact ResearchHelp@urmc.rochester.edu to get a free consultation.

Dr. David Satcher Community Health Improvement Awards

The Center for Community Health & Prevention (CCHP) is seeking nominations for the 12th Annual Dr. David Satcher Community Health Improvement Awards. The award recognizes URMC faculty and staff for significant contributions to community health through research, teaching, practice and/or service programs. The awards reflect the shared mission of the CCHP and URMC to develop and expand community-university partnerships that support participatory research and interventions to reduce health inequities and improve the community’s health. Submit nominations by Thursday, February 25, 12:00 p.m.