News

The fall 2020 UB CTSI Distinguished Seminar Series tackled the most impactful and devastating public health issue of the year — the COVID-19 pandemic. The three virtual seminars touched on both the impact of COVID and the much-discussed vaccines.

CTSI Director Timothy F. Murphy, MD, says the coronavirus vaccines “represent a critical landmark in controlling the pandemic, through preventing this potentially deadly disease and providing hope for returning to ‘normal.’”

The last 12 months saw challenges — many related to the COVID-19 pandemic — as well as triumphs. At the UB CTSI, researchers and staff worked to overcome obstacles and find solutions. Now, as 2020 draws to a close, we reflect on elements that made the year so memorable

For the three UB researchers selected as recipients of 2020 Buffalo Translational Consortium Clinical Research Achievement Awards  — award winner Teresa Quattrin, MD, and award finalists Steven E. Lipshultz, MD, and Gil I. Wolfe, MD — the honor reflects many years of hard work alongside the members of their research teams. 

Overcoming recruitment challenges requires creativity and expert assistance. For UB researchers, that assistance comes from the CTSI recruitment team. The team provides personalized consultations to help researchers hit their enrollment goals.

UB’s Child Health and Behavior Lab (HABLAB) team understands recruitment challenges — and how to find solutions. Here, Stephanie Anzman-Frasca, PhD, Assistant Professor, Jacobs School, and Project Coordinator Lily McGovern discuss how the team achieves its enrollment goals.

The CTSI Distinguished Seminar Series resumes with a focus on health disparities and the COVID-19 pandemic. The season starts virtually on November 17 with Deidra Crews, MD, ScM, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Crews will speak on “The Pursuit of Structurally Competent Research to Achieve Health Equity.

Back in March, CTSI Director Timothy F. Murphy, MD, discussed the effectiveness of social distancing. "Seven months later," he writes in a new piece, "we can say that the interventions put in place to combat COVID-19 made a tangible impact. We can also say that there is much we know now that we did not know then."