University of Buffalo CTSI Creative Scientist Workshop: Reimagining Clinical Research in an AI-enabled World

Clinical research is about to change more in the next five years than it has in the last 20. AI will not only speed up what we already do, but it will make entirely new questions askable and open novel areas of clinical research. The researchers who thrive will not be the ones who know the most about AI; they will be the ones who learned to collaborate and communicate across the clinical–computational divide early.

To this end, the University at Buffalo CTSI is hosting its fourth Creative Scientist Workshop entitled Reimagining Clinical Research in an AI-enabled World. The Creative Scientist Workshops advance innovation and creativity in clinical and translational science using an approach that is grounded in the science of creativity and collaboration. The workshops target barriers to translation, engage the CTSA consortium, and disseminate post-workshop results.

This engaging workshop will be a three-part series. Part 1 will bring participants together virtually over two half days on October 20 and 27, 2026, to identify opportunities for AI’s potential and its practical use in clinical and translational research and enable fluent collaboration across disciplines. Pre-workshop materials will be curated and provided in advance to build shared context and elicit questions from participants that will inspire Day 1 discussions.

Strengthening Engagement in Research: Building and Maintaining Relationships with Patient & Community Partners

Meaningful partnerships with patients, community members, or other collaborators involved in your research are invaluable. Projects are set up for success when care is intentionally given to developing and strengthening partnerships over time.

This online training will describe best practices for building mutually beneficial partnerships. The session will also cover common challenges that researchers and patient, community, and other partners experience when working together, along with suggested solutions.

Participation in our Engagement in Research 101 or Engagement in Research Nuts and Bolts trainings are not required to attend this session; however, some knowledge of engagement, whether from prior training(s) or personal experience, may foster deeper understanding of the material in this session.

Presenters:
Alicia Bilheimer, MPH - Director of Engaged Science, NC TraCS
Veronica Carlisle, MPH, CHES - Senior Community Health Educator, UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center (LCCC)
Nisha Datta, MS - Senior Project Manager, NC TraCS
Simone Frank, MPH - Senior Project Manager, NC TraCS
Jennifer Potter, MPH, CHES - Senior Program Coordinator for Clinical Outreach, LCCC
Members of the NC TraCS Community and Patient Advisory Board and the UNC Lineberger Community Advisory Board

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Engaging Patient, Community, and Other Partners in Your Research is a multi-part online training series. You may register for the entire series OR any single training session. This training series was developed collaboratively with patient, community, and researcher partners and is co-sponsored by the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center's Office of Community Outreach and Engagement and the NC TraCS Institute’s Patient and Community Engagement in Research Program.

NIH Public Access Policy: What You Need to Know

The 2024 NIH Public Access Policy includes several significant changes from the previous policy, and applies to all NIH-funded manuscripts accepted for publication on or after July 1, 2025. Learn more about what has changed, how to comply, and what to expect going forward.

This workshop is offered by the UNC Health Sciences Library and the Scholarly Communications Office, and led by Collin Drummond and Katherine Howell. It is part of the Grants and Compliance and Advancing Clinical Research Skills workshop tracks.

This workshop is being offered remotely via Zoom only. Registrants will receive a Zoom link via email immediately after registration.

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Ready to take your grant writing skills to the next level? Join us for Navigating the Grant Writing Journey: From Idea to Successful (Re)Submission.

This practical three-part workshop series covers all aspects of preparing applications for external funding, with a focus on NIH applications.

The three workshops will cover:

• General & strategic grantsmanship
• Effective communication
• Specific Aims & Research Strategy
• Budgeting & supporting documents
• Review and resubmission process
• Interactive roundtable discussion

The three sessions are designed to build on one another and cover the grant writing process as a whole. We encourage you to register with attending all three sessions in mind.

Sessions

10/14/2026 (2-5 p.m.): Effective Communication, General Grantsmanship, and Specific Aims
10/21/2026 (2-5 p.m.): Research Strategy, Supporting Documents, and Grant Review and Resubmissions
10/28/2026 (2-5 p.m.): Budgeting for Grant Proposals, Strategy & Grantsmanship, and Roundtable Discussion

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Featured Speakers

• Samantha Schwartz, PhD – Science Grant Writer, NC TraCS Institute
• Nate Warren, PhD – Research Development Manager, UNC Office of Research Development (ORD)
• Marina Sokolsky-Papkov, PhD – Associate Professor, DPMP, UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy; Director, Translational Nanocharacterization and Nanoformulation Research Laboratory, Center for Nanotechnology in Drug Delivery
• Rebecca Carlson, MLS, AHIP – Health Sciences Librarian and liaison to the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy
• Katherine Howell, MSLIS – Health Sciences Librarian
• Amy Fry, BA – Carolina Cancer Nanotechnology T32 Training Program Coordinator and Grants Manager, Office of Research Administration, UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy
• Tim Flood, PhD – Clinical Associate Professor of Management and Corporate Communication, UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School
• Alan Marsh, PhD – Associate Director, Office of Postdoctoral Affairs
• Nathan Blouin, MBA, CRA – Assistant Vice Chancellor for Research Development
• Jason Franz, PhD – F32 Study Section Reviewer; Professor, Lampe Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering (UNC / NC State)

Questions? Contact Amy Fry at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Presented by: Carolina Cancer Nanotechnology Training Program (C-CNTP) and the NC Translational and Clinical Sciences (NC TraCS) Institute

Clinical Research Budget Basics

Join the UNC Network for Research Professionals (NRP) for an online education session focused on the basics of clinical research budgets.

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