Great Plains IdeA-CTR 10th Anniversary Conference

Agenda

Nov. 9, 2026

8:00 a.m.
Registration / Continental Breakfast 

9:00 a.m.
Welcome & Opening Remarks
Matthew Rizzo, MD, FAAN, FANA
Frances & Edgar Reynolds Chair; Professor, Department of Neurological Sciences; Principal Investigator, Director, Great Plains IDeA-CTR-N, UNMC

9:15 a.m.
Keynote: National Perspectives on Translational Science 
Joni Rutter, PhD
Director, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), National Institutes of Health

9:45 a.m.
Discussion and Q&A

10:00 a.m.
Keynote: The IDeA Program and the Future of Regional Research Capacity
Erica Brown, PhD
Acting Director, National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), National Institutes of Health

10:30 a.m. 
Discussion and Q&A

10:45 a.m. 
DataCOUNTS: Building Data Capacity for Collaborative Translational Science
Susan Gregurick, PhD
Associate Director for Data Science, National Institutes of Health; Director, Office of Data Science Strategy, Office of the Director, NIH

11:00 a.m.
National Perspectives: Connecting Data, Infrastructure, and Translational Science
Panelists: 
Erica Brown, PhD
Susan Gregurick, PhD
Joni Rutter, PhD

11:30 a.m.
Lunch / Networking / 10th Anniversary Recognition

1:00 p.m.
Data, AI, and the Infrastructure for Learning Research Networks
Jiang Bian, PhD
Chief Data Scientist, Regenstrief Institute; Professor, Indiana University

1:50 p.m.
Discussion and Q&A

2:00 p.m.
Making Research Networks Work, Part I: Building Research-Ready Networks — From Capacity to Use
Panelists:
Sebastian Tong, MD, MPH
Associate Professor of Family Medicine, University of Washington; Associate Director, WWAMI Region Practice and Research Network

Jane McElroy, PhD
Professor of Family and Community Medicine, University of Missouri; Co-Director, Missouri Practice-Based Innovations Network and Rural Health Research Center

Timothy VanWagoner, PhD 
Professor, Department of Pediatrics, The University of Oklahoma (OU) College of Medicine; Senior Associate Director, Oklahoma Clinical and Translational Science Institute

Korey Kennelty, PharmD, MS, PhD, BCGP
Patrick E. Keefe Professor in Pharmacy and Vice Chair for Research & Implementation Science, University of Iowa; Director, Iowa Research Network

Allen Greiner, MD, MPH
Nason Family Endowed Professor and Vice Chair of Research and Community Health, University of Kansas Medical Center; Community and Collaboration Lead, Frontiers Clinical and Translational Science Institute; Director, Kansas Patients and Providers Engaged in Prevention Research

Joseph Keaweʻaimoku Kaholokula, PhD
Professor and Chair, Department of Native Hawaiian Health, John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa; Community-Engaged Researcher in Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Health, Health Disparities, and Culturally Grounded Interventions 

2:50 p.m.
Break

3:00 p.m. 
Making Research Networks Work, Part II: From Regional Networks to National Translational Science
Robert Kimberly, MD
Howard L. Holley Research Chair in Rheumatology and Senior Associate Dean for Strategic Initiatives, The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Heersink School of Medicine; Former Director, UAB Center for Clinical and Translational Science

Christopher Lindsell, PhD
Vice Dean for Data Science and AI and Professor of Biostatistics & Bioinformatics, Duke University School of Medicine; Co-Principal Investigator, Duke Clinical and Translational Science Award; Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Clinical and Translational Science

4:00 p.m.
Closing Remarks
Howard Fox, MD, PhD
Senior Associate Dean for Research and Development, UNMC College of Medicine; Co-Director, Great Plains IDeA-CTR-N