The Center for Computational Science (CCS), the Miami Clinical and Translational Science Institute, and the Graduate School have teamed up to offer Software Carpentry Workshop in PYTHON and R, two-day workshops that provide the basic computing skills and best practices needed to be productive in a small research team. The format is a mixture of short seminars and hands-on practical exercises, and participants are encouraged to help one another and apply what they have learned to their own research problems during and between sessions. Bring your own laptop (any OS).

R WORKSHOP will be held on Monday, March 14 and Tuesday, March 15, from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Shalala Student Center, Senate Room. To register, please visit http://ccs.miami.edu/save-the-dates-314-15-for-our-next-software-carpentry-r-workshop/.

PYTHON WORKSHOP will be held on Monday, March 28 and Tuesday, March 29, from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Newman Alumni Center, Executive Conference Room. To register, please visit http://ccs.miami.edu/save-the-dates-328-29-for-our-next-software-carpentry-python-workshop/.

Both workshops are capped at 30 participants and offered on a first-come first-served basis. Please do not register for both unless you need both Python and R for your research. If you are not sure which you need first, or for  more information, please visit the CCS Workshops webpage at http://ccs.miami.edu/training-and-outreach/workshops/.

This two-day workshop, hosted by the Miami Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) and the Center for Computational Science (CCS) February 23-24, will help scientists who are currently using tools like spreadsheets to start writing small programs to analyze their data in traceable, reproducible ways.

Each year the federal Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs award billions in non-dilutive grant funding to advance and commercialize game-changing technologies. The process of getting funded by these highly competitive federal programs is complex and requires strategic proposals. The impact, however, of receiving millions in high-risk research and development funding is worth the effort.

On February 9 and 10, SBIR/STTR expert Lisa Kurek, of BBC Entrepreneurial Training & Consulting, will lead two workshops at the University of Miami focusing on program eligibility, selecting the right agency, and key components of competitive proposals. She also will be available for individual consultations, offering tailored guidance to interested attendees.

The Tuesday, February 9 workshop will take place on the Miller School of Medicine campus at the Don Soffer Clinical Research Center (formerly the Clinical Research Building), room 710, and the Wednesday, February 10 workshop will take place at the McArthur Engineering Annex, room 220, on the Coral Gables campus. The program overviews on both days will be from 9 a.m. to noon, with the consultations following from 1 to 5 p.m.

The workshops and consultations are sponsored by U Innovation, The Miami Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) and BBC Entrepreneurial Training & Consulting. They are free and open to University of Miami-based entrepreneurs, but registration is required. A light lunch will be provided. Visit the Training page to register and for more information.

Sarah Messiah and Guillermo “Willy” Prado are principal investigators of a new study that will test an obesity intervention for Hispanic youths and their families.

Backed by a $2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, a group of Miller School of Medicine researchers will soon determine if an intervention program that helped Hispanic youth refrain from risky behavior such as drug and alcohol use can be just as effective in reducing obesity in the same cohort. Read the full story

Members of the biostatistics team are, from left, front row, Maria Jimenez-Rodriguez, administrator; Shari Messinger, director and associate professor of epidemiology and public health; and Fei Tang, Ph.D. student. Back row, from left, biostatisticians Hua Li, assistant scientist, Robert Duncan, professor of epidemiology and public health, and Kaming Lo.

The Biostatistics Collaboration and Consulting Core (BCCC) is collaborating with the Miami Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) to offer service credits for enhanced biostatistics support for clinical and translational research.

Consistent with the Miami CTSI’s emphasis on culturalized health research, the BCCC supports interdisciplinary clinical and translational research that focuses on health concerns highly prevalent in ethnic and racial minority and medically underserved communities. Read the full story