The Penn Center for Education and Research on Therapeutics (CERT), funded by a grant from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), is housed within the Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics (CCEB).
• The primary aim of the PennCERT is to examine patterns of antimicrobial drug use and patterns of antimicrobial drug resistance across a series of medical settings of increasing complexity and size.
• Ultimately, the goals of the PennCERT are to identify optimal patterns of antimicrobial drug use, develop methods for achieving improved patterns of use, and examine the effectiveness of these interventions.
• These objectives are advanced through linking investigators with diverse training to develop studies examining the risks and benefits of real world patterns of antimicrobial drug use and determinants of these patterns of prescribing, as well as interventions to modify that prescribing. The PennCERT program also includes education and dissemination of evidence-based information to the healthcare community.
• Download the full announcement at www.med.upenn.edu/penncert/Projects/small_grants.html
• Applications should focus on the PennCERT mission to identify optimal patterns of antimicrobial drug use, develop methods for achieving improved patterns of use, and examine the effectiveness of these interventions.
• Projects likely to have an impact, directly or indirectly, on reducing the use of antibiotics will be favored.
• Applicants can request access to CERT data, data programmer support, biostatistical support, publications costs, travel costs to present the research, and other research costs (up to $20,000 in additional direct costs or to $40,000 for well justified projects). Investigator salary support is not available.
• Applications are due by September 15, 2009.
• Send an electronic copy of all applications to Dr. Brian L. Strom. (bstrom@mail.med.upenn.edu). Another electronic copy and a hard copy original should be submitted to Dr. Abigail Cohen (abigailc@upenn.edu), 734 Blockley Hall/6021. Address any questions to Abigail Cohen at (215) 898-9411 or abigailc@upenn.edu.
