April 30, 2012
The opportunity to work face to face with leaders in immunologic research across four major disciplines—transplantation, autoimmunity, allergy, & diabetes--in a scientifically collegial and collaborative way is one of the truly defining characteristics of the Immune Tolerance Network (ITN). At the Steering Committee sessions last week in Chicago, the energy and excitement that represents modern immunology was much in evidence, and it is very motivating to know that the community is depending on the work each of us in the ITN does every day to translate the vision into reality. I am very proud of our dynamic team, and although everyone couldn’t be in Chicago to see the process first-hand, I am happy to use this Letter as an opportunity to convey the message that what we do is recognized by the research community as essential, bold, and exciting. New studies are ready to be launched, and we are continuing with a full portfolio of activity.
In addition to the NSC meeting, the executive directors and other leadership team members met for the April Directors face to face (F2F) meeting. Status reports from the therapeutic areas as well as administrative reports help us to plan strategically to achieve the most impact, manage budgets, and improve processes. I want to highlight several new tools and links recently added to the Member Portal in order to support our team efficiency and to eliminate redundancy: Check out the “Contacts” and “Study” links, if you haven’t recently used these features. Study Management Reports (SMR) are also now accessible through the Member Portal, transforming our internal communication efforts in conjunction with the implementation of a fully functional clinical trial management system (CTMS).
One of the important aspects of being a federally funded organization, accountable to NIH, is the reporting on our successes, setbacks or obstacles, as well as future plans and goals. This is done through the Annual Technical Report (ATR). The deadline for submission of study, core facility, and management reports for the last 12 months is fast approaching. This note should serve as a reminder to everyone designated as responsible for some component of the ATR that your report is needed now.
Over the last year we have finished the internal restructuring changes needed to prepare the ITN for the next NIH funding cycle, and our goals are clearly in focus: high impact, high quality, and scientific success. Tools such as TrialShare illustrate our core values of Innovation and Collaboration, and also demonstrate our commitment to continue to accelerate the clinical immunology community towards translational and medical discovery. Lastly, we are developing the calendar for the next year, and plan to hold management/leadership meetings in Bethesda (fall), San Francisco (winter), Boston (spring), and Seattle (summer). I hope everyone in the ITN will take advantage of these opportunities to interact, communicate, and build relationships across the organization.
Jerry Nepom, MD, PhD
Network Director
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