Research Working Group Research Articles

Shared Accountability Shaping the Destinies of Individual and Groups of Nonhuman Primates

At the California National Primate Research Center (CNPRC), the preferred housing for rhesus macaques involves maintaining them in complex social groups outdoors, primarily for breeding purposes. This functionally appropriate environment promotes effective coping through the expression of species-typical behaviors and important aspects of species-typical social structure, thus enabling normal animal development, higher reproductive success, and the production of high-quality biological models. Despite the benefits, social housing introduces challenges like trauma from aggressive interactions. These challenges necessitate a delicate balance between tolerating some aggression and preventing repeated targeting of individuals. Therefore, the CNPRC has established a multidisciplinary working group of behavioral management experts, veterinarians, animal care, and researchers that meets regularly to review cases of animals that may need to be removed from their social group. We discuss the criteria and decision-making processes employed to manage and mitigate aggression. We describe the systematic approach to identifying at-risk individuals and the comprehensive evaluation process that guides whether to relocate an animal from their groups or not. Considerations include the welfare of the individual and the group’s social stability. This paper provides case studies demonstrating how the working group applies these criteria and processes in practical scenarios, highlighting the complexities and challenges of such decisions.

Co-creating Humanistic AI AgeTech to Support Dynamic Care Ecosystems: A Preliminary Guiding Model.

As society rapidly digitizes, successful aging necessitates using technology for health and social care and social engagement. Technologies aimed to support older adults (e.g., smart homes, assistive robots, wheelchairs) are increasingly applying artificial intelligence (AI), and thereby creating ethical challenges to technology development and use. The international debate on AI ethics focuses on implications to society (e.g., bias, equity) and to individuals (e.g., privacy, consent). The relational nature of care, however, warrants a humanistic lens to examine how "AI AgeTech" will shape, and be shaped by, social networks or care ecosystems in terms of their care actors (i.e., older adults, care partners, service providers); inter-actor relations (e.g., care decision-making) and relationships (e.g., social, professional); and evolving care arrangements. For instance, if an older adult's reduced functioning leads actors to renegotiate their risk tolerances and care routines, smart homes or robots become more than tools that actors configure; they become semi-autonomous actors, in themselves, with the potential to influence functioning and interpersonal relationships. As an experientially-diverse, transdisciplinary working group of older adults, care partners, researchers, clinicians, and entrepreneurs, we co-constructed intersectional care experiences, to guide technology research, development, and use. Our synthesis contributes a preliminary guiding model for AI AgeTech innovation that delineates humanistic attributes, values, and design orientations, and captures the ethical, sociological, and technological nuances of dynamic care ecosystems. Our visual probes and recommended tools and techniques offer researchers, developers/innovators, and care actors concrete ways of using this model to promote successful aging in AI-enabled futures.

Report of the IDEOM Meeting Adjacent to the GRAPPA 2023 Annual Meeting.

The nonprofit organization International Dermatology Outcome Measures (IDEOM) is committed to improving the implementation of patient-centered outcome measures in dermatologic disease. At a conference adjacent to the Group for Research and Assessment of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis (GRAPPA) 2023 annual meeting, the IDEOM Psoriatic Disease Workgroup presented updates on recent efforts in outcome measure advancement. Dr. Alice Gottlieb presented the preliminary findings of a study within the Mount Sinai Health System that aims to determine how well the IDEOM musculoskeletal (MSK) symptom framework, which uses the Psoriasis Epidemiology Screening Tool (PEST) and the Psoriatic Arthritis Impact of Disease (PsAID) instruments, functions in clinical settings. Drs. Joseph Merola and Lourdes Perez-Chada updated attendees on the IDEOM MSK-Q, a 9-item patient-reported questionnaire designed to measure the intensity and impact of MSK symptoms on the quality of life in patients with psoriasis (PsO) with or without psoriatic arthritis (PsA). Dr. Vibeke Strand summarized the Outcome Measures in Rheumatology (OMERACT) 2023 conference sessions. Dr. April Armstrong discussed the preliminary findings of a multicentered study designed to validate the 7-item Dermatology Treatment Satisfaction Instrument (DermSat-7) among patients with PsO. She also introduced the Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis Treatment Satisfaction Instrument, a tool that seeks to capture the level of patient satisfaction with current therapy for PsO and PsA. This report summarizes the developments discussed at the IDEOM PsO and PsA research workgroups during the GRAPPA 2023 annual meeting.

Validation of the German Pruritus Questionnaire for the systematic assessment of chronic pruritus.

Chronic pruritus is a clinically heterogeneous symptom that manifests itself with varying duration, intensity, or quality. To date, there is no validated German-language instrument that systematically assesses the relevant parameters. With the support of the Pruritus Research Working Group (Arbeitsgemeinschaft Pruritusforschung, AGP), a questionnaire for the assessment of chronic pruritus (AGP questionnaire) was developed in 2008. The subsequently revised instrument, now called the German Pruritus Questionnaire, records pruritus-specific parameters such as localization, course, intensity and quality, anamnestic data on the general state of health, sociodemographic data, quality of life, and coping methods. It is to be validated in the study presented here. The questionnaire was used in 366 patients with chronic pruritus of different etiologies from Germany (University Hospitals Heidelberg, Münster, Mainz, Erlangen, Giessen, private practice Bad Bentheim, TU Munich, Wiesbaden Kidney Center), Austria (Graz University Hospital) and Switzerland (Aarau Cantonal Hospital). The reliability for repeated completion (retest reliability) with regard to localization, first occurrence, and concomitant diseases showed high values for Cohen's kappa (>0.8). The data on the retest reliability of the pruritus characteristics showed lower values (<0.7). With regard to the measurability of practically relevant changes (change sensitivity), medium to strong effect sizes were found (0.09-0.19). A statistically significant differentiation of the pruritus etiologies based on the recorded parameters was not possible. The German Pruritus Questionnaire allows a comprehensive and structured recording of patient- and clinician-reported, relevant dimensions of chronic pruritus of different etiologies. Further adaptation and development are planned.

The contribution of early-career surgeons to the Society for Vascular Surgery Annual Meeting

ObjectiveThe Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) recently established the Young Surgeons Section (YSS), open to early career vascular surgeons in their first 10 years of practice and dedicated to providing resources and advocacy to foster early career development, and to encourage diversity, equity, and inclusion within the society. Research was identified as a priority area of focus by members of this group of surgeons. This study aims to evaluate the current contribution of early career surgeons to research presented at the Vascular Annual Meeting (VAM). MethodsAbstracts presented at plenary sessions of the 2021 and 2022 SVS VAM were reviewed. Senior authors for each abstract were identified and categorized as ‘early career’ (EC, first 10 years of practice) or ‘later career’ (LC) and categorized by gender. Information from abstracts including subject matter and subsequent conversion to manuscript publication was collected. Finally, likelihood of abstract presentation on early meeting days compared with the final meeting day was evaluated. ResultsA total of 103 abstracts were presented at plenary sessions of VAM during the two-year study period. Thirty abstracts had EC senior authors (29.1%). The most common topics for EC abstracts were aorta and peripheral artery disease (PAD), whereas the most common for LC abstracts were aorta and cerebrovascular disease, followed by PAD. Sixty abstracts were converted to manuscript publication (58.3%; n = 20 EC, n = 40 LC). The conversion rate for EC authors was higher than that of LC authors (66% EC vs 55% LC). Sixteen LC senior authors had multiple abstracts each that accounted for 41.7% of all plenary abstracts presented, of which 55.8% were converted to publication. Five EC authors had multiple abstracts that contributed 9.7% of the overall abstracts, with a 70% publication rate. Despite a higher rate of publication, manuscripts by EC senior authors were more likely to be presented on the final conference day (odds ratio, 3.06; 95% confidence interval, 1.25-7.45). The proportion of EC abstracts written by women senior authors was 50% as compared with only 8.2% of LC abstracts (P < .0001). ConclusionsEC surgeon scientists contribute significantly to research presented at VAM with work that is similar in subject matter and publication success in peer-reviewed journals to that of LC senior authors. EC senior authors represent greater membership diversity. EC surgeon-scientists may benefit from recognition by broader audiences at subsequent meetings. SVS efforts to establish a YSS Research Working Group is a productive first step in providing resources and recognition for EC surgeons.

Pharmacogenomic Clinical Support Tools for the Treatment of Depression.

In this review, the authors update the 2018 position statement of the American Psychiatric Association Council of Research Workgroup on Biomarkers and Novel Treatments on pharmacogenomic (PGx) tools for treatment selection in depression. The literature was reviewed for new clinical trials and meta-analyses, published from 2017 to 2022, of studies using PGx tools for treatment selection in depression. The blinding and control conditions, as well as primary and secondary outcomes and post hoc analyses, were summarized. Eleven new clinical trials and five meta-analyses were identified; all studies had primary outcome measures related to speed or efficacy of treatment response. Three trials (27%) demonstrated efficacy on the primary outcome measure with statistical significance; the three studies used different PGx tools; one study was open-label and the other two were small single-blind trials. Five trials (45%) did not detect efficacy with statistical significance on either primary or secondary outcome measures. Only one trial (9%) used adverse events as a primary outcome measure. All studies had significant limitations; for example, none adopted a fully blinded study design, only two studies attempted to blind the treating clinician, and none incorporated measures to estimate the effectiveness of the blinds or the influence of lack of blinding on the study results. The addition of these new data do not alter the recommendations of the 2018 report, or the advice of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, that the evidence does not support the use of currently available combinatorial PGx tools for treatment selection in major depressive disorder. Priority efforts for future studies and the development and testing of effective tools include fully blinded study designs, inclusion of promising genetic variants not currently included in any commercially available tests, and investigation of other uses of pharmacogenomics, such as estimating the likelihood of rare adverse drug effects, rather than increasing the speed or magnitude of drug response.

Bridging frontiers: The role of a Global Breast Research Working Group.

Breast cancer remains a significant cause of death for women globally, despite advancements in detection and treatment, low- and middle-income countries face unique obstacles. Role of Research Working Group (RWG) can expedite research progress by fostering collaboration between scientists, clinicians, and stakeholders. Benefits of a Global RWG include pooling resources and expertise to develop new research ideas, addressing disparities, and building local research capacity, with the potential to improve breast cancer research and outcomes.

Household Air Pollution Interventions to Improve Health in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: An Official American Thoracic Society Research Statement.

Background: An estimated 3 billion people, largely in low- and middle-income countries, rely on unclean fuels for cooking, heating, and lighting to meet household energy needs. The resulting exposure to household air pollution (HAP) is a leading cause of pneumonia, chronic lung disease, and other adverse health effects. In the last decade, randomized controlled trials of clean cooking interventions to reduce HAP have been conducted. We aim to provide guidance on how to interpret the findings of these trials and how they should inform policy makers and practitioners.Methods: We assembled a multidisciplinary working group of international researchers, public health practitioners, and policymakers with expertise in household air pollution from within academia, the American Thoracic Society, funders, nongovernmental organizations, and global organizations, including the World Bank and the World Health Organization. We performed a literature search, convened four sessions via web conference, and developed consensus conclusions and recommendations via the Delphi method.Results: The committee reached consensus on 14 conclusions and recommendations. Although some trials using cleaner-burning biomass stoves or cleaner-cooking fuels have reduced HAP exposure, the committee was divided (with 55% saying no and 45% saying yes) on whether the studied interventions improved measured health outcomes.Conclusions: HAP is associated with adverse health effects in observational studies. However, it remains unclear which household energy interventions reduce exposure, improve health, can be scaled, and are sustainable. Researchers should engage with policy makers and practitioners working to scale cleaner energy solutions to understand and address their information needs.

Honoring our teachings: children's storybooks as indigenous public health practice.

American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) communities continue to flourish and innovate in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. Storytelling is an important tradition for AIAN communities that can function as an intervention modality. To support the needs of AIAN children and caregivers, we (a collaborative workgroup of Indigenous health researchers) developed a culturally grounded storybook that provides pandemic-related public health guidance and mental health coping strategies woven with Inter-Tribal values and teachings. A collaborative workgroup, representing diverse tribal affiliations, met via four virtual meetings in early 2021 to discuss evolving COVID-19 pandemic public health guidance, community experiences and responses to emerging challenges, and how to ground the story in shared AIAN cultural strengths. We developed and distributed a brief survey for caregivers to evaluate the resulting book. The workgroup iteratively reviewed versions of the storyline until reaching a consensus on the final text. An AI artist from the workgroup created illustrations to accompany the text. The resulting book, titled Our Smallest Warriors, Our Strongest Medicine: Honoring Our Teachings during COVID-19 contains 46 pages of text and full-color illustrations. An online toolkit including coloring pages, traditional language activities, and caregiver resources accompanies the book. We printed and distributed 50,024 physical copies of the book and a free online version remains available. An online survey completed by N = 34 caregivers who read the book with their child(ren) showed strong satisfaction with the book and interest in future books. The development of this storybook provides insights for creative dissemination of future public health initiatives, especially those geared toward AIAN communities. The positive reception and widespread interest in the storybook illustrate how braiding AIAN cultural teachings with public health guidance can be an effective way to disseminate health information. This storybook highlights the importance of storytelling as an immersive learning experience through which caregivers and children connect to family, community, culture, and public health guidance. Culturally grounded public health interventions can be effective and powerful in uplifting AIAN cultural values and promoting health and well-being for present and future generations.

METHODOLOGY OF READINESS OF FUTURE PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS TO WORK ON THE INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENT OF CHILDREN

This article considered the readiness of future primary school teachers to work on the intellectual development of students. The research work was carried out by students of Korkyt Ata Kyzylorda University. The goal of the research is to determine the readiness of future primary school teachers to work on the intellectual development of students. The research objectives include the interest of students in the future profession, the desire to master it, knowledge of the teaching patterns, checking students' understanding of intellectual development work, collecting materials required for primary school students' intellectual development work. A pre-test survey was done prior to the start of the study, and a post-test survey was conducted after the study concluded. For the research work, a control and experimental group was selected from third-year study groups in Korkyt Ata Kyzylorda University's educational program on pedagogy and fundamental teaching methods. The experimental group also received extra material, tests, and scientific research tasks in addition to the curriculum. At the end of the research work, students were interviewed, dividing them into focus groups. This resulted to the determination of the students' readiness to work on the primary school students' intellectual development. Students learned a great deal about the several kinds of general intellectual development activities, IQ tests, and their methodologies. It was discovered through the student interview approach what qualifications the future primary school teacher does not have to foster students' intellectual development.

Subgroup Analysis from a Phase 2, Single-Arm Trial of the Oral PI3Kδ Inhibitor Linperlisib in Patients with Relapsed or Refractory Follicular Lymphoma

Background In our previous phase 2 trial (NCT04370405), linperlisib, an oral phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase delta (PI3Kδ) inhibitor, demonstrated encouraging activity and manageable safety in adult patients with relapsed/refractory (R/R) follicular lymphoma (FL) who had received at least 2 prior systemic therapies. It's crucial to note that FL patients with bone marrow involvement (BMI) generally present more unfavorable prognosis. Here, we present a subgroup analysis from this phase 2 study, which is specifically focused on BMI at baseline. Methods Details of the trial design and study population have been previously reported. In brief, eligible patients (age &amp;gt; 18 years; histologically confirmed relapsed or refractory FL; disease progression post at least 2 prior systemic therapies) received 80 mg linperlisib tablets daily in a 28-day cycle, until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. The primary endpoint was objective response rate (ORR) assessed by independent review committee (IRC); secondary endpoints included the duration of response (DOR), disease control rate (DCR), progression free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS) and safety profile. For this subgroup analysis, patients were grouped based on the presence or absence of BMI at baseline. For those with baseline BMI, biopsies were evaluated to confirm complete responses. Evaluations of antitumor response were conducted every 2 treatment cycles, following the guidelines of the International Research Working Group. Results As previously reported, 84 patients included in the full analysis set (FAS). By subgroup, 25 had baseline BMI and 59 did not. Baseline characteristics by subgroup are shown in Table 1. In this subgroup analysis, a trend toward higher response rate was seen in R/R FL patients with BMI compared to those without such involvement: ORR based on IRC assessment was 88.0% vs 76.3%; best overall response (BOR) of CR was 24.0% vs 11.9%; BOR of PR was 64.0% vs 64.4%. Patients with BMI had DCR that was consistent with those without BMI (92.0% vs 93.2%). The median DOR and PFS were similar across this subgroup (DOR: 11.7 months vs 13.0 months; PFS: 13.3 months vs 13.7 months) (Table 2). Although the median OS was not reached, 12-month OS rates for patients with and without BMI was 91.7% and 91.5%, respectively (Table 2). Safety was evaluated in all R/R FL patients who had received ≥1 dose of linperlisib. Rates of any-grade treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs) were similar across this subgroup and comparable with the overall population (Table 2). When compared to the overall population, patients without BMI experienced fewer grade ≥3 TRAEs, while a marginally higher incidence of grade ≥3 TRAEs was observed in patients with BMI (Table 2). Conclusions This subgroup analysis indicated that linperlisib is an effective and well-tolerated treatment option for patients with R/R FL, irrespective of BMI. Although minor differences were observed in this subgroup, their significance is limited due to the small sample sizes and probably do not alter the overall clinical benefit of linperlisib. Nevertheless, these findings warrant further investigation.

Deprescribing medications among patients with multiple prescribers: A socioecological model.

Deprescribing is the intentional dose reduction or discontinuation of a medication. The development of deprescribing interventions should take into consideration important organizational, interprofessional, and patient-specific barriers that can be further complicated by the presence of multiple prescribers involved in a patient's care. Patients who receive care from an increasing number of prescribers may experience disruptions in the timely transfer of relevant healthcare information, increasing the risk of exposure to drug-drug interactions and other medication-related problems. Furthermore, the fragmentation of healthcare information across health systems can contribute to the refilling of discontinued medications, reducing the effectiveness of deprescribing interventions. Thus, deprescribing interventions must carefully consider the unique characteristics of patients and their prescribers to ensure interventions are successfully implemented. In this special article, an international working group of physicians, pharmacists, nurses, epidemiologists, and researchers from the United States Deprescribing Research Network (USDeN) developed a socioecological model to understand how multiple prescribers may influence the implementation of a deprescribing intervention at the individual, interpersonal, organizational, and societal level. This manuscript also includes a description of the concept of multiple prescribers and outlines a research agenda for future investigations to consider. The information contained in this manuscript should be used as a framework for future deprescribing interventions to carefully consider how multiple prescribers can influence the successful implementation of the service and ensure the intervention is as effective as possible.

Changing the global obesity narrative to recognize and reduce weight stigma: A position statement from the World Obesity Federation.

Weight stigma, defined as pervasive misconceptions and stereotypes associated with higher body weight, is both a social determinant of health and a human rights issue. It is imperative to consider how weight stigma may be impeding health promotion efforts on a global scale. The World Obesity Federation (WOF) convened a global working group of practitioners, researchers, policymakers, youth advocates, and individuals with lived experience of obesity to consider the ways that global obesity narratives may contribute to weight stigma. Specifically, the working group focused on how overall obesity narratives, food and physical activity narratives, and scientific and public-facing language may contribute to weight stigma. The impact of weight stigma across the lifespan was also considered. Taking a global perspective, nine recommendations resulted from this work for global health research and health promotion efforts that can help to reduce harmful obesity narratives, both inside and outside health contexts.

Report of the Skin Research Workgroups From the IDEOM Breakout at the GRAPPA 2022 Annual Meeting.

The International Dermatology Outcome Measures (IDEOM) organization presented an update on its progress related to patient-centered outcome measures for psoriasis (PsO) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA) at the 2022 annual meeting of the Group for Research and Assessment of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis (GRAPPA). The Musculoskeletal (MSK) Symptoms working group presented an update on the development of the IDEOM Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (IDEOM MSK-Q). The IDEOM MSK-Q is a patient-reported outcome measure intended to capture MSK symptoms and describe their intensity and impact on health-related quality of life in patients with psoriatic disease. IDEOM also presented the progress of the integration of the Psoriasis Epidemiology Screening Tool (PEST) and Psoriatic Arthritis Impact of Disease (PsAID) questionnaires into the Epic electronic health record system. This will allow for automated PsA screening and symptom measurement in the hopes of improving disease detection and treat-to-target strategies. The Treatment Satisfaction working group discussed the development of the DermSat-7, a 7-item treatment satisfaction questionnaire specific for dermatological conditions. The DermSat-7 is currently being validated in a multicenter study of patients with PsO.

Results and SWOT Analysis of the 2022 Hong Kong Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Adolescents With Special Educational Needs.

Following the 2019 Hong Kong Para Report Card, the 2022 Hong Kong Para Report Card aimed to provide an updated and evidence-based assessment for nine indicators related to physical activity in children and adolescents with special educational needs and to assess the results using a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis. Using a systematic process, the best available data on nine indicators were searched from the past 10years and were assessed by a research work group. Letter grades were assigned and considered by stakeholders and auditors. Four indicators were assigned a letter grade (overall physical activity: F [mixed device-measured and self-reported data]; sedentary behaviors: D[device-measured data]; active transportation: D-; government strategies & investment: C+). SWOT analysis highlighted opportunities for facilitating children and adolescents with special educational needs to achieve health recommendations. There were deteriorating trends in physical activity and sedentary behaviors. Effective, multilevel, and cross-sector interventions are recommended to promote active behavior in children and adolescents with special educational needs.

Dementia care navigation: Building toward a common definition, key principles, and outcomes.

As the complexity of medical treatments and patient care systems have increased, the concept of patient navigation is growing in both popularity and breadth of application. Patient navigators are trained personnel whose role is not to provide clinical care, but to partner with patients to help them identify their needs and goals and then overcome modifiable patient-, provider-, and systems-level barriers. Due to its high incidence, duration, and medical-social complexity, dementia is an ideal candidate for a patient-centric health care delivery model such as care navigation. The Alzheimer's Association formed an expert workgroup of researchers in the field of dementia care navigation to identify evidence-based guidelines. Recognizing the unique and challenging needs of persons living with dementia and their care partners, several U.S. dementia care navigation programs have been developed and assessed in recent years. Collectively these programs demonstrate that persons living with dementia and their care partners benefit from dementia care navigation. Improved care system outcomes for the person living with dementia include reduced emergency department visits, lower hospital readmissions, fewer days hospitalized, and shorter delays in long-term care placement. Well-being is also increased, as there is decreased depression, illness, strain, embarrassment, and behavioral symptoms and increased self-reported quality of life. For care partners, dementia navigation resulted in decreased depression, burden, and unmet needs. This article presents principles of dementia care navigation to inform existing and emerging dementia care navigation programs. Several U.S. dementia care navigation programs have demonstrated outcomes for persons living with dementia, care partners, and health systems.The Alzheimer's Association formed an expert workgroup of researchers in the field of dementia care navigation to create a shared definition and identify evidence-based guidelines or principles.These outlined principles of dementia care navigation can inform existing and emerging dementia care navigation programs.

2022 consensus conference on diversity, equity, and inclusion: Developing an emergency medicine research agenda for addressing racism through health care research.

Racism in emergency medicine (EM) health care research is pervasive but often underrecognized. To understand the current state of research on racism in EM health care research, we developed a consensus working group on this topic, which concluded a year of work with a consensus-building session as part of the overall Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM) consensus conference on diversity, equity, and inclusion: "Developing a Research Agenda for Addressing Racism in Emergency Medicine," held on May 10, 2022. In this article, we report the development, details of preconference methods and preliminary results, and the final consensus of the Healthcare Research Working Group. Preconference work based on literature review and expert opinion identified 13 potential priority research questions that were refined through an iterative process to a list of 10. During the conference, the subgroup used consensus methodology and a "consensus dollar" (contingent valuation) approach to prioritize research questions. The subgroup identified three research gaps: remedies for racial bias and systematic racism, biases and heuristics in clinical care, and racism in study design, and we derived a list of six high-priority research questions for our specialty.

Cracks that Let the Light in: Collective Reflections on Integrating Lived Experience of Psychosis in Research and Policy in the Context of a Global Commission.

Within psychiatric research fields, there has been a marked uptick of interest in service user involvement in recent years. Nevertheless, it is often unclear how robust or impactful common forms of inclusion are, and the extent to which they have included individuals with psychosis. Using collective auto-ethnography, this paper describes the experiences of 8 academic and non-academic members of the 'lived experience' and participatory research workgroup of a global psychosis Commission and our navigation of power and power hierarchies, differences in background and training, and multiple vectors of identity, diversity, and privilege. We conclude that the realities of "involvement" are much messier, more fraught, and less intrinsically empowering than often signaled in calls for involvement and co-production. We nevertheless stress the power of collective dialogue and support-between and among a pluralistic group-and of honesty and transparency about challenges, barriers, and the colonial underpinnings and geopolitics of global mental health.

Pragmatic Model and Faculty Toolkit for PharmD Student Engagement in Social and Administrative Pharmacy Research

ObjectiveWe aim to describe the development of a pharmacy student workgroup as an experiential education model to provide social and administrative pharmacy research opportunities and provide a toolkit for faculty seeking to increase student research engagement via this model. MethodsThree pharmacy faculty with diverse training backgrounds but a common interest in opioid medications established a workgroup named the Opioid Research Workgroup. The workgroup consisted of first-year pharmacy students, research interns, and advanced graduate trainees. A hierarchical leadership model of supervision was implemented, whereby students reported progress on research tasks directly to an advanced graduate trainee leading a project team. To understand students’ perspectives on the research experience and educational outcomes, students were asked to complete an anonymous voluntary survey after a year of participation. ResultsSince its establishment, the workgroup has published multiple conference abstracts, manuscripts, and grants. Students’ overall satisfaction with the Workgroup on a scale of 1–5, 5 being very high, was 4.69. The successful scalability and longevity of this model are dependent on administrative support that protects faculty resources. The toolkit provided offers resources for those interested in adapting this model. ConclusionOur experience with the pragmatic model of pharmacy student engagement in research proved successful in terms of research output and student training experience. Although the model can be applied across a variety of health science clinical and research topics, and faculty can leverage this approach to increase productivity in research output, faculty must ensure that resources are available to support this effort.

NTRK fusion protein expression is absent in a large cohort of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

Even though two NTRK-targeting drugs are available for the treatment of irresectable, metastatic, or progressive NTRK-positive solid tumors, less is known about the role of NTRK fusions in lymphoma. For this reason, we aimed to investigate if NTRK fusion proteins are expressed in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) by systemic immunohistochemistry (IHC) screening and additional FISH analysis in a large cohort of DLBCL samples according to the ESMO Translational Research and Precision Medicine Working Group recommendations for the detection of NTRK fusions in daily practice and clinical research. A tissue microarray of 92 patients with the diagnosis of DLBCL at the University Hospital Hamburg between 2020 and 2022 was built. The clinical data were taken from patient records. Immunohistochemistry for Pan-NTRK fusion protein was performed and positive staining was defined as any viable staining. For FISH analysis only results with quality 2 and 3 were evaluated. NTRK immunostaining was absent in all analyzable cases. No break apart was detectable by FISH. Our negative result is consistent with the very sparse data existing on NTRK gene fusions in hematologic neoplasms. To date, only a few cases of hematological malignancies have been described in which NTRK-targeting drugs may provide a potential therapeutic agent. Even though NTRK fusion protein expression was not detectable in our sample cohort, performing systemic screenings for NTRK fusions are necessary to define further the role of NTRK fusions not only in DLBCL but in a multitude of lymphoma entities as long as the lack of reliable data exists.