September 11, 2020: Launching CONNECTS: Collaborating Network of Networks for Evaluating COVID-19 and Therapeutic Strategies (Gordon Bernard, MD; Sonia Thomas, DrPH)

Posted on by Gina Uhlenbrauck

Speakers

Gordon R. Bernard, MD
CONNECTS ACC Science Unit P
Professor of Medicine
Executive Vice President for Research
Senior Associate Dean for Clinical Science
Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Sonia Thomas, DrPH
CONNECTS ACC Principal Investigator
Senior Research Statistician
RTI International

Topic

Launching CONNECTS: Collaborating Network of Networks for Evaluating COVID-19 and Therapeutic Strategies

Keywords

COVID-19; CONNECTS; NHLBI; Collaborative research; Data sharing; Adaptive trials; Data standardization; ACTIV; Therapeutic agent prioritization

Key Points

  • The Collaborating Network of Networks for Evaluating COVID-19 and Therapeutic Strategies (CONNECTS) is a research partnership coordinated by the Research Triangle Institute, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the NIH.
  • CONNECTS aims to build on existing clinical research networks to better understand the risk of severe illness from COVID-19 and to identify therapies that will slow or halt the disease progression and speed recovery. Studies will enroll participants with health conditions that are known to increase their risk for severe complications from COVID-19.
  • The immediate goal is to design and implement master protocol-driven adaptive clinical trials, including outpatient, inpatient, and recovering master protocols.
  • CONNECTS is part of a larger ecosystem in the Department of Health and Human Services that includes the FDA, CDC, BARDA, Operation Warp Speed, and NIH. More than 34 trial networks and 1,000 sites are participating in CONNECTS.

Discussion Themes

Are the CONNECTS resources, such as the common data elements manual, draft protocols, and case report forms, publicly available?

In your effort to reach underrepresented communities, have you considered collaborating with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), particularly those that conduct health research?

While COVID-19 is providing you with plenty to focus on, do you see the potential for sustainability of CONNECTS beyond this pandemic?

Read more about CONNECTS.

Tags

#pctGR, @Collaboratory1