Translational Research Institute


March 10, 2021

UAMS Records $38.8 Million in Research Support to Combat COVID-19

David Robinson

COVID-19-related grants have supported UAMS research from the laboratory to the community. Left, Karl Boehme, Ph.D., is part of a large team of researchers conducting antibody testing statewide. Right, COVID-19 testing by the UAMS Northwest Regional Campus.

LITTLE ROCK — Since last year’s arrival of COVID-19, researchers at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) have received nearly $38.8 million, primarily from state and federal sources, to help combat the disease. The state of Arkansas has provided $16.9 million, or 43.4% of the funds, while federal dollars have totaled $19.2 million,…


March 4, 2021

UAMS Researchers to Test Conway Wastewater, Patients for COVID-19 Variants of Concern

David Robinson

UAMS' David Ussery, Ph.D., hopes a pilot study of genomic testing for SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater and COVID-19 patients will lead to more substantial testing across Arkansas.

University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) researchers are taking steps to identify genetic variants that make COVID-19 more contagious. Arkansas this week identified its first patient with the more infectious United Kingdom virus variant; it has yet to see other more contagious variants from South Africa and Brazil. “We previously had not found variants…


February 22, 2021

UAMS, Hendrix Partnership Gives Undergraduate Students Research ‘Immersion’ Opportunity

David Robinson

The UAMS-Hendrix partnership is teaching undergrads about translational research and involving them in an ongoing research project. Top row, l-r: Laura James, M.D., Andres Caro, Ph.D., and Clare Nesmith, M.D. Bottom row, students Emilie Cassar, Savannah Wiegel and Allison Long.

Through a partnership with the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), Hendrix College students have a unique opportunity to address a critical human health issue in the new Clinical and Translational Research Immersion (CTRI) Program. Andres Caro, Ph.D., a professor of chemistry at Hendrix, is leading the educational components of the program in collaboration…


October 16, 2020

USDA, Climate Reality, Award Grants for Backyard Gardens and Adapting to Climate Change

David Robinson

Rachel Hale (top left), Community Engagement program manager at the UAMS Translational Research Institute, helped acquire grants for community gardens and energy efficiency projects. She is joined by other UAMS community garden volunteers (back row) Carissa Ansel, College of Public Health (COPH) student, Taylor Washington, COPH student, and Carolyn Greene, Ph.D. Front Row, COPH students Taylor McClanahan and Sarah Fountain.

A UAMS-community partnership has garnered two grants for community and backyard gardens and energy efficiency projects. The U.S. Department of Agriculture awarded a one-year $100,000 grant for developing a network of gardens to improve access to local foods for low-income communities of color in central Arkansas. The grant will also fund education programs and initiatives…


October 13, 2020

NIH Funds $2.5 Million UAMS Study of Healthy-Food Delivery to Combat Diabetes in Rural Arkansas

David Robinson

UAMS researchers in Northwest Arkansas have built partnerships in the region to enable delivery of healthy foods. (file photo)

LITTLE ROCK — A first-of-its-kind study by UAMS will test whether deliveries of healthy food, along with recipes and education materials, can help reduce type 2 diabetes among food-insecure rural Arkansans. The National Institute of Nursing Research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is funding the five-year, $2.5 million study by researchers at the…


September 3, 2020

UAMS Research Expo Draws a Virtual Crowd

David Robinson

Yuet-Kin “Ricky” Leung, Ph.D. (left), won the 2020 Research Expo's Grand Door Prize, a manuscript submission fee to be paid by TRI. Leung also enjoyed the 2019 Expo, above with Nagai C. "Neville" Tam, Ph.D. (File Photo)

The UAMS Research Expo on Aug. 25 drew 184 registrants for the virtual event with 25 research service providers presenting via Zoom. Sponsored by the UAMS Translational Research Institute (TRI), the event included overviews of up to five minutes from representatives of the research services. Attendees were able to drop into the event to hear…


August 27, 2020

The TRIbune Is Here!

Chadley Uekman

In this month’s TRIbune, we catch up with one of our KL2 Program graduates, Keneshia Bryant-Moore, Ph.D., APRN, FNP-BC, whose network of faith leaders is providing crucial information about COVID-19 to Arkansas populations most vulnerable to the disease. Bryant-Moore built the network using community engagement principles that have led to multiple awards from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research…


July 21, 2020

National Cancer Database at UAMS Becomes U.S. Storehouse for COVID-19 Images

David Robinson

A Chest Radiograph (left) and Computed Tomography (CT) image (right) of the same COVID-19 patient taken one day apart. These UAMS images, now publicly available in the national Cancer Imaging Archive, show COVID-19 lung infection similar to pneumonia. Medical experts refer to the appearance as ground glass opacities, a haziness overlying the lung that is common with COVID-19 patients.

LITTLE ROCK — A national database for patient cancer images at UAMS will become the storage site for COVID-19 clinical images from across the United States and around the globe, including chest x-rays and CT scans of the body. This week, UAMS also became the first research institution to contribute de-identified images of COVID-19 to…


July 8, 2020

Little Rock Firefighter Survives COVID-19, Donates Plasma

Spencer Watson

After overcoming COVID-19,John Fulbright donates blood plasma to a UAMS-led effort to find uses for it treating the ongoing pandemic.

It was still early days in the sweep of COVID-19 across the country when John Fulbright of Cabot, a paramedic and firefighter in Little Rock, found himself admitted to UAMS with shortness of breath and fever. “After I was hospitalized, it got worse before it got better. I was little concerned about being put on…


June 25, 2020

UAMS-Developed High-Accuracy COVID-19 Antibody Testing Begins in Arkansas

David Robinson

LITTLE ROCK — The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) has developed and begun using high-accuracy antibody testing to determine the magnitude of COVID-19 infection in Arkansas and inform the decisions of policymakers. As part of the research program, UAMS will collect blood samples from nearly 7,500 Arkansas adults and children through October. By…



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