ITM-Illinois Tech

Essentials of Patient-Oriented Research EPOR

WHAT IS EPOR?
The Essentials of Patient-Oriented Research (EPOR) is a crash course in how to conduct clinical research. Get insider tips from senior researchers and learn how to create and run a successful study. Courses are free and open to everyone, ranging from trainees to nurses to researchers. EPOR is held each Fall (Introductory Topics to Clinical Research), Winter (Ethics of Clinical Research) and Spring (Statistical Methods in Clinical Research).

FALL EPOR: INTRODUCTORY TOPICS IN CLINICAL RESEARCH
This course consists of 10 hour-long interactive virtual seminars covering a wide range of clinical research topics and methods, ranging from survey studies to clinical trials. After taking this course, learners should be knowledgeable on the basics of clinical research such as: formulating a hypothesis, picking the best study design, utilization of various research methods, and how to access the many resources available to support clinical research through the ITM. Each seminar is led by experts with years of “real-world” experience, who will offer an inside scoop on how to be a successful clinical researcher.

LOGISTICS
Fall EPOR registration is now open! Classes will occur via Zoom and will run from September 24^th through December 3^rd for a total of 10 weeks, Tuesday evenings, 5:15PM-6:15PM. Registration is due no later than October 7^th, the last date attendees can still be eligible for a certificate of completion. You’re eligible to receive a certificate of completion if you attend 8 of the 10 sessions. After you register, you will receive Zoom instructions via email.

*If you have access to a web camera, we request that you keep your cameras on as much as possible as a professional courtesy to the speakers. However, we understand there will be times when your camera may need to be off. If you anticipate that your camera will need to off for the entire hour of all/most sessions, please contact us.

Click here to view the complete 2024 schedule.
Click here for registration.

For questions, please contact Les Cooke at lcooke@bsd.uchicago.edu or Snezana Pavlic at spavlic@bsd.uchicago.edu.

Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR)

The Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) gives you a front-row seat to the issues scientists can face and the best ways to handle them. RCR addresses everything from conflicts of interest to the ethical treatment of animals to intellectual property.

All those who receive support from a National Institutes of Health (NIH) and/or National Science Foundation (NSF) training grant are required to complete an RCR at the start of their training and again every four years. This requires eight hours of in-person training, so please note that the CITI requirement for IRB submission does not count. This course will be taught via Zoom.

Summer RCR registration is now open!! The RCR course is free and open to everyone. Classes run from July 9^th through August 13^th for a total of 6 weeks, Tuesday and Thursday evenings 5:15-6:15PM. Registration is due no later than 5pm on July 17^th, the last date attendees can still be eligible for a certificate of completion. Participants must attend 8 online, instructor-led classes in order to receive a certificate of completion.  After you register, you will receive Zoom instructions via email. If you can’t attend the summer session, RCR certificates are also available through the Winter Essentials of Patient-Oriented Research (EPOR) course.

*Please note that if you have taken Summer RCR or Winter EPOR within the past 4 years and received a certificate of completion, it is not necessary for you to retake this course at this time. If you did not attend the required 8 sessions to receive a certificate of completion, you are welcome to attend sessions that you have not previously attended within the past 4 years to fulfill this requirement for completion.

**Please note that due to updated guidance issued by the National Institute for Health (NIH), the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), this online training does NOT completely fulfill the requirements for federally funded training or career development awards without additional in-person research training. This separate in-person research training will be made available through the ITM’s Grand Round series or individuals can obtain their own in-person research training through discipline-specific activities.

***We request that you keep your cameras on as much as possible as a professional courtesy to the speakers. However, we understand there will be times when your camera may need to be off. If you anticipate that your camera will need to remain off for the entire hour or all/most of the course, please contact us.

Click here to view the complete 2024 schedule and speaker bios.
Click here for registration.

Questions? Contact Les Cooke at lcooke@bsd.uchicago.edu or Snezena Pavlic at spavlic@bsd.uchicago.edu.

Informatics Seminars

Take advantage of two free monthly seminars that are open to everyone and cover a variety of topics for every skill level: the Center for Research Informatics (CRI) Seminar Series, which provides training in informatics research tools and techniques, and the Computational Life Sciences Seminar Series, which highlights research in the fields of bioinformatics and computational life sciences, fosters collaborations, and provides a broad audience for feedback on current research. Learn more here.

Pathobiology of Disease Seminars

Advanced Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR)

Advanced CBPR classes give you the roadmap and skills to involve community members in all stages of the research process, giving both academic researchers and the general public equal input in everything from study design to the best ways to recruit trial participants. This free, six-session course is held each Fall, Winter, and Spring quarter to put researchers at the forefront of community partnerships and transparent research.

This course is not currently being offered.

Questions? Contact Natalie Watson, the ITM’s Community Relations Program Manager, at nwatson@medicine.bsd.uchicago.edu.

Want to receive academic credit? Contact Contact Kelsey Bogue, CHeSS Assistant Director of Training Programs, at kbogue@bsd.uchicago.edu.

Translational Science Courses & Degrees

The ITM and The Center for Health and the Social Sciences created the Committee on Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS), an independent academic unit within the University of Chicago’s Biological Sciences Division (BSD), to offer dynamic, multidisciplinary courses for all ITM members across Chicagoland. Courses are open to undergraduates, graduate-level trainees, postdoctoral fellows, junior and senior faculty and staff, and fellow CTSA institutes at Northwestern University and the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC).

Questions? Contact Kelsey Bogue, CHeSS Assistant Director of Training Programs, at kbogue@bsd.uchicago.edu.

View current listings and register here.

Career Scholar Seminars

Career Scholar (K) Seminars are open to everyone at all six ITM institutions and offer you the chance learn about resources to accelerate your career and hear renowned researchers share how they got to be where they are today and ways they overcame obstacles. From external funding sources to incorporating informatics into your work, K seminars will connect you with the skills and tools needed to jumpstart your career. These monthly sessions are required for those recipients of the NIH Career (K) Development Awards administered by the ITM, but are open to anyone looking to advance their career. These lunchtime seminars are held Nov. 2018 through May 2019 on the third Wednesday of every month in Billings Hospital room W-507 on University of Chicago’s Hyde Park campus. Lunch is provided.

Contact Sonya Redmond-Head, ITM Career Award Program Administrator, for requests to participate virtually.

View a calendar of upcoming events, and click here to see what a session is like.

Questions? Contact Sonya Redmond-Head, ITM Career Award Program Administrator, at srhead@bsd.uchicago.edu.