In recent years, there have been concerted efforts to better recruit, support, and retain diverse faculty, staff, and trainees in academic medicine. However, many institutions lack comprehensive and strategic plans to provide support to retain and recruit individuals from historically underrepresented groups. In this article, we itemize specific mechanisms through which institutions can support diverse individuals with the goal of improving inclusion and belonging in the workforce to better reflect the diversity of the intended patient and research participant population.

This special communication provides an approach for applying implementation science frameworks to a Clinical and Translational Science Institutes (CTSIs) community engagement (CE) program that measures the use of implementation strategies and outcomes that promote the uptake of CE in research. Using an iterative multi-disciplinary group process, we executed a four-phased approach to developing an evaluation plan: 1) creating an evaluation model adapted from Proctor’s conceptual model of implementation research; 2) mapping implementation strategies to CTSI CE program interventions that support change in research practice; 3) identifying and operationalizing measures for each strategy; and 4) conducting an evaluation. Phase 2 employed 73 implementation strategies across 9 domains generated by the Expert Recommendations for Implementing Change project. The nine domains were used to classify each CE program implementation strategy. In Phase 3, the group used the Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation and Maintenance (RE-AIM) framework to define measures for each individual strategy. Phase 4 demonstrates the application of this framework and measures Year 1 outcomes for the strategy providing interactive assistance, which we implemented using a centralized consultation model. This approach can support the CTSA program in operationalizing CE program measurement to demonstrate which activities and strategies may lead to benefits derived by the program, institution, and community.

OBJECTIVES/SPECIFIC AIMS: To improve translational research, we have developed a program called Duke Multidisciplinary Education and Research in Translational Sciences (Duke MERITS). Duke MERITS will facilitate cross-disciplinary collaboration among faculty involved in foundational, clinical and/or health care research and in turn also prepare them to train the next generation of translational researchers. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: The program aims are (1) to define metrics and outcomes measures so faculty can track their progress and identify impact of their collaborative research in translational sciences; (2) to offer a multi-modal faculty development series to promote team science, improve didactic teaching, and incorporate innovative resources to promote interdisciplinary approach to translational research; (3) to provide module-based hands-on-training sessions in bench to bedside research and training in translational grant writing to facilitate the development of multidisciplinary research collaborations. The present study describes results from Aim 1 and includes (a) development of baseline outcome assessment tools necessary to gauge the impact of our programs on both the participating faculty and the research culture within Duke University, (b) impact of a specific course offering in Translational Medicine. In order to achieve this, we conducted multiple focus group sessions with faculty self-identified as junior-, mid-, or advanced-career, a mixed group at any career level and included a group of graduate students and postdoctoral trainees to study the impact of a graduate level course in Translational Aspects of Pathobiology. The activities during these translational science focus groups were designed to define what successful translational science is, to determine what resources support translational Science at Duke, and to decide what resources we need in order to enhance Duke’s position as a leader in research and scientific education. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: We identified that translational science is changing standards while incorporating leadership, teamwork, collaborations, and movement primarily focusing on the overall goal of improving all aspects of health. Participants categorized their field of study and the fields of their coparticipants most frequently as basic discovery and a combination of intervention and health services. The most frequently identified pros/benefits of performing translational science at Duke include industry connections, collaborations with other departments resulting in disciplines being bridged, improving patient care, and access to resources as well as money. The most frequently identified cons/barriers of performing translational science includes the expensiveness, silos, and lack of resources willing to absorb risks. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF IMPACT: The identification of these defined factors from the focus groups has allowed us to issue a comprehensive, sliding Likert scale-based anonymous survey from the secure RedCap system and is being rolled out throughout Duke University, including schools of medicine, nursing, Trinity, biomedical engineering. We envision that Duke MERITS education program will facilitate interprofessional efforts, which we define as a team science approach to identify the clinical “roadblock” and then seek an innovative approach or technology to help overcome this “roadblock”? It can facilitate institutional and departmental recognition in faculty career development. The common goal is to gain fundamental new insights that will result in significant improvement of the existing “standard of care” and meet the challenges of dwindling extramural support.

Community engagement is a critical component of translational research. Innovative educational approaches to support meaningful involvement of stakeholders in clinical research allows for bidirectional learning and greater engagement in translational efforts. Our Penn State Community-Engaged Research Core (CeRC) team has developed an innovative research curriculum for a variety of stakeholders, including patient partners, organizational representatives, and Community Health Workers (CHWs). This brief report will outline unique curricular approaches, guided by adult learning principles, to enhance stakeholder education and engagement in activities. Initial evidence of impact on learning is also reported.

SPARCRequest© (Services, Pricing, & Application for Research Centers) is a web-based research management system that provides a modular and adaptable “electronic storefront” for research-related services. Developed by the South Carolina Clinical & Translational Research Institute at the Medical University of South Carolina, it was released as open source (OS) code in 2014. The adoption of SPARCRequest© accelerated in 2016, when, to ensure responsiveness to the needs of partners, its governance also became open. This governance model enables OS partners to suggest and prioritize features for new releases. As a result, the software code has become more modularized and can be easily customized to meet the diverse needs of adopting hubs. This article describes innovative aspects of the OS governance model, including a multi-institutional committee structure to set strategic vision, make operational decisions, and develop technical solutions; a virtual roadmap that ensures transparency and aligns adopters with release-based goals; and a business process model that provides a robust voting mechanism for prioritizing new features while also enabling fast-paced bug fixes. OS software evolves best in open governance environments. OS governance has made SPARCRequest© more responsive to user needs, attracted more adopters, and increased the proportion of code contributed by adopters.

The mission of the National Center for Advancing Translational Science (NCATS) is to catalyze the generation of innovative methods and technologies that will enhance the development, testing, and implementation of diagnostics and therapeutics across a wide range of human diseases and conditions.1 NCATS funded a predoctoral TL1 training grant at our institution. We developed a novel team-based Translational Journal Club utilizing three-member teams to find a basic science paper and two clinical study papers that covered a single therapeutic, either a pivotal study or a dissemination and implementation study; one member of the team presented a paper on the above topics in successive weeks. In addition, the trainees attended lectures on: how to design a pivotal clinical trial, dissemination and implementation, and drug development from a basic science discovery through its approval. From these presentations, the trainees appreciated the T0 to T3/4 continuum and its challenges. They also attended sessions on how to present scientific concepts, making them better communicators. The trainees found the Translational Journal club to be very rewarding, illuminating, and providing a much better understanding of the translational research processes required to develop new therapies.

Evidence is limited on how to synthesize and incorporate the views of stakeholders into a multisite pragmatic trial and how much academic teams change study design and protocol in response to stakeholder input. This qualitative study describes how stakeholders contributed to the design, conduct, and dissemination of findings of a multisite pragmatic clinical trial, the COMprehensive Post-Acute Stroke Services (COMPASS) Study. We engaged stakeholders as integral research partners by embedding them in study committees and community resource networks that supported local sites. Data stemmed from formal focus groups and continuous participation in working groups. Guided by Grounded Theory, we extracted themes from focus group and meeting notes. These were discussed as a team and with other stakeholder groups for feasibility. A consensus approach was used. Stakeholder input changed many aspects of the study including: the care model that treated stroke as a chronic condition after hospital discharge, training for hospital-based providers who often lacked awareness of the barriers to recovery that patients face, support for caregivers who were essential for stroke patients’ recovery, and for community-based health and social service providers whose services can support recovery yet often go underutilized. Stakeholders brought value to both pragmatic research and health service delivery. Future studies should test the impact of elements of study implementation informed by stakeholders vs those that are not.

OBJECTIVES/GOALS: Using a human-centered approach, IDEO, a nationally-renown human-centered design team, and Research Jam, Indiana CTSI’s patient engagement core, integrated and tailored complimentary programs to address the challenges of engaging mothers with opioid misuse around the time of birth. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: Gathered data through focus groups, site visits, and one-on-one interviews with key stakeholders: mothers in opioid use recovery, peer recovery coaches, and other people living with or directly affected by opioid use disorder (OUD). RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: Themes emerged around stigma (e.g., constant judgment, majority of interactions focused on addiction, addiction comes from bad choices), the healthcare system (e.g., healthcare system bias and stigma, misalignment of services and timing of need, no support for support network), and relating to recovery (very variable but generally ambiguous and uncertain process and outcomes, importance of peer recovery coaches, importance of community resources). Identified themes were used to create insights that informed the underlying concepts of an engagement strategy including support and resources for recovery coaches, and education materials for mothers with OUD. One of human-centered design’s strengths is iteration, and the materials created for this have yet to be tested and refined thoroughly to be meaningful and lasting interventions. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF IMPACT: Considerable insights into the lived experience of those experiencing OUD and those who support these individuals yielded tangible ways to test improved engagement and recruitment of women with OUD at the time of birth.

The Motivation Assessment for Team Readiness, Integration, and Collaboration (MATRICx) is a psychometric instrument that measures individual motivation for collaboration. It was validated using Rasch Analysis to create an indicator hierarchy on two dimensions: cooperation and collaboration. Six domains provide the basis for the tool to identify team member readiness for collaboration and a means by which to understand motivational strengths in a team based on degree of past self-reported experience. This brief report provides an overview of the development of the tool, how science teams may use it, and how to interpret results to advance team member readiness for greater collaboration. The paper also draws attention to ongoing work in progress to develop learning interventions to accompany the MATRICx instrument.

Research is increasingly conducted through multi-institutional consortia, and best practices for establishing multi-site research collaborations must be employed to ensure efficient, effective, and productive translational research teams. In this manuscript, we describe how the Population-based Research to Optimize the Screening Process Lung Research Center (PROSPR-Lung) utilized evidence-based Science of Team Science (SciTS) best practices to establish the consortium’s infrastructure and processes to promote translational research in lung cancer screening. We provide specific, actionable examples of how we: (1) developed and reinforced a shared mission, vision, and goals; (2) maintained a transparent and representative leadership structure; (3) employed strong research support systems; (4) provided efficient and effective data management; (5) promoted interdisciplinary conversations; and (6) built a culture of trust. We offer guidance for managing a multi-site research center and data repository that may be applied to a variety of settings. Finally, we detail specific project management tools and processes used to drive collaboration, efficiency, and scientific productivity.

Structural racism in the USA has roots that extend deep into healthcare and medical research, and it remains a key driver of illness and early death for Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC). Furthermore, the persistence of racism within academic medicine compels an interrogation of education and research within this context. In the spirit of this interrogation, this article highlights a unique model of community-engaged education that integrates cultural humility. As an individual and institutional stance, cultural humility denotes lifelong learning and self-critique, the mitigation of power imbalances, and accountability. The integration of cultural humility emphasizes that when space is created for BIPOC communities to lead the way, education regarding healthcare and research can be effectively reimagined. Demonstrating this effectiveness, six community partners led the development and implementation of a five-module Structural Racism in Healthcare and Research course. Using a cohort model approach, the pilot course enrolled 12 community members and 12 researchers. The curriculum covered topics such as history of racism in healthcare and research, and introduced participants to a cultural resilience framework. Evaluation results demonstrated a significant increase in participants’ knowledge and ability to identify and take action to address inequities related to racism in healthcare and research.