Have you ever wondered what research is being conducted in the Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences that might be important to your own research program? Or whom you should contact for a specific question about a research method or a collaboration? To answer those questions and more, the Keck School and the Dornsife College held a retreat in early October to identify potential topics and approaches to increase research collaborations between our two schools. There were 5-minute “lightning round” presentations on cutting-edge research methods and programs, followed by in-depth discussions about ways to promote collaboration, develop and share core resources, increase partnerships with industry and jointly train undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral students. Many interesting ideas were presented and discussed. Several were identified for future exploration and action, including enhanced videoconferencing between campuses to support collaboration; a joint pilot funding program; increased faculty awareness and training in approaches to collaborate with industry; development of a uniform approach to define, support and access core resources; and increased institutional support and increased extramural training grants to support graduate education. Working groups are being assembled to address these opportunities.

On a separate note, readers likely will have heard by now that the USC Clinical Trials Office, which has been operated out of the Office of the Vice President for Research for the past two years, will be moving to the Keck School in January. Keck School Chief Operating Officer and Senior Associate Dean Ted Budge and I will lead the CTO for the Keck School. This is a time of dynamic changes in our clinical research infrastructure, as I have described in prior editions of the Keck Research Quarterly. Importantly, the new clinical trials management system, OnCore, is slated to come online in the first quarter of 2016. OnCore will provide a robust platform for streamlining many of our clinical trials processes. Our team in Keck is currently reviewing the CTO from top to bottom to understand current processes and challenges so we can take the reins of the organization in January and lead the transition of CTO into the “OnCore era” with the goal of faster and more transparent service to the clinical research community. Stay tuned for more details as the transition becomes a reality.