Description:

Program Overview

The Research Coordinator Plus (RC+) program was developed as an education and training program geared towards new research coordinators, those new to UIC, and more experienced research coordinators. 

ELEGIBILITY:

RC+ Program participants must be staff, students or faculty at the University of Illinois Chicago (including Rockford & Peoria campuses) or the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

• This program consists of (5) Competencies:
  • CITI Training
  • Overview of Clinical Research
  • UIC Lectures & Resources
  • Best Practice Hour Seminars
  • Master Classes
• Within each Competency are different Requirements. Those enrolled in the RC+ Program must complete all 20 requirements to finish the certificate program.
• Courses, as they are made available, will go under their respective Requirement. To satisfy a Requirement, enrollees must complete at least (1) Course per Requirement. See the table below for the full list of Competencies and Requirements.
• Upon finishing a Requirement, you will be marked "Complete."
• The CITI Training and Overview of Clinical Research contains external courses. Once completed, please upload the certificates to the training system.
• Once each Competency's Requirements are satisfied, you will be issued a certificate of completion for the RC+ Program.

NOTE: If you enrolled in the "CCTS Research Coordinator Certificate Program - Registration" (RC+) course before November 25, 2025, please do not register for this program.

*LOGIN TO REGISTER*

Position: Graduate Students, Pre & Post-Doctoral Trainees, Faculty

Topic: Career Development

Description:

The NIH Career Development Award Series is a 5-part series focused on the development and review of NIH K awards. The objective of this series is to provide potential applicants and mentors with essential information that is specific to these types of awards through didactic presentations and panel discussions. 

February 10: Overview of the K award: Selecting the best mechanism.

Facilitator: Tina Grieco-Calub, PhD

Speakers: Shane Phillips, PT, PhD, FAHA; Jun Ma, MD, PhD, FAHA, FABMR; Pauline Maki, PhD

February 17: Aligning your Candidate Background & Goals with your research plan.

Presenter: Tina Grieco-Calub, PhD

February 24: Roles of the mentor, co-mentor, collaborators, consultants.

Facilitator: Kharma Foucher, MD, PhD

Panel members: Katherine McMurray, PhD; Jennifer Suor, PhD; Colleen Stiles-Shields, PhD

March 3: Perspectives from recipients of Career Development (K) Awards 

Facilitator: Shane Phillips, PT, PhD, FAHA

Panel members: Andrew McLeod, PhD, MS, RD; Abeer Mohamed, MD, PhD

March 10: Perspectives from NIH study sections that review Career Development (K) Awards

Facilitator: Heidi Mettler, PhD, CCC-SLP

Panel members: Tina Grieco-Calub, PhD; Subhas Pandey, PhD

Position: Research Personnel

Topic: Team Science

Part of Program(s): The Research Coordinator (RC+) Certificate Program, The Research Coordinator (RC+) Certificate Program

Description:

When working with a research team (or multiple teams), good communication is critical for making progress and ultimately for successful completion of the project. This session will focus on communication, its barriers, and how to overcome those barriers to achieve programmatic objectives.

Speaker: 
Amy Kennedy-Krage, MBA, MSW
Co-Director of Clinical Research Operations 
Clinical Research Center 

RC+ Program:
Core Competency #7: Leadership and Professionalism
Core Competency #8: Communication & Teamwork

Contact: Sudeshna De, Lawrie Zhang, ccts-training@uic.edu

Position: Research Personnel, Graduate Students, Pre & Post-Doctoral Trainees, Faculty

Topic: Animal Studies

Description:

Team Science & Leadership Lesson:

Please join us to interact and learn from a team of faculty members with significant levels of experience leading large-scale multi-PI grants. 

Panelists:

David DuBois, PhD
Professor Emeritus, Community Health Sciences
UIC School of Public Health

Yamilé Molina, MS, MPH, PhD
Associate Professor, Community Health Sciences
UIC School of Public Health

Marian L. Fitzgibbon, PhD
Professor of Pediatrics, University of Illinois College of Medicine Chicago
Professor of Health Policy and Administration, UIC School of Public Health

Project Case Study:

Panelists will be asked to respond to relevant questions such as: What priorities or qualities do you consider when approaching other scientists to serve as co-PI's on your projects? How do you manage differing or competing agendas from each of the PIs? What approaches do you use in attempting to bring together multiple agendas on the team? What advice would you share if one of the PIs became unable to fulfill their responsibilities on the project? Describe an example of the most effective multi-PI team you have ever led? What made it such? Panelists will include: Dr. David DuBois, Dr. Yami Molina, and Dr. Miriam Fitzgibbon.

Contact: Sudeshna De, Lawrie Zhang, ccts-training@uic.edu

Position: Research Personnel

Topic: Clinical Research

Part of Program(s): The Research Coordinator (RC+) Certificate Program

Description:

This presentation will be an overview of clinical trial designs, with an emphasis on the design of FDA regulated clinical trials.

Speaker: 
Darlene Kitterman, MBA
Director, Clinical Trials Office
University of Illinois Cancer Center

RC+ Program:
Core Competency #1: Scientific Concepts & Research Design

Contact: Sudeshna De, Lawrie Zhang, ccts-training@uic.edu

Position: Research Personnel

Topic: Study/Site/Lab Management

Part of Program(s): The Research Coordinator (RC+) Certificate Program

Description:

This presentation will cover a step by step guide to everything that must take place from the first point of contact to the moment the study team is ready to screen and enroll participants.

Speaker: 
Celina Garza, MPH
Study Activation Manager, Clinical Trials Office 
University of Illinois Cancer Center

RC+ Program:
Core Competency #5: Study and Site Management

Contact: Sudeshna De, Lawrie Zhang, ccts-training@uic.edu

Topic: Human Subject Protections

Description:

CIRTification Refresher: Continuing Education

This course is for users who have completed CIRTification: Community Involvement in Research Training and are required to take continuing education in human research protections per their institution's requirements. If you have not completed CIRTification: Community Involvement in Research Training, please complete that course first before taking this refresher.

In this course, we will review key concepts and cover some new ideas. We hope you gain new knowledge and skills for research.  This course will cover:

• Overview of Key Concepts: Review of the research process, the people involved and the tasks.
• Doing Trustworthy Research: Review the importance of following the IRB-approved research protocol, keeping data safe, and protecting privacy and confidentiality. You will also learn how to handle some tricky situations, including problems that may be unexpected.
• Overview of Informed Consent: Review key components of informed consent and good practices for responding to participants’ questions about enrollment, withdrawal and other issues.
• Research in Different Communities: Review considerations for doing research with people from different communities, including people who do not speak English, adults who cannot legally make decisions for themselves, and people who may have trouble saying “no” to an invitation to research.

Position: Research Personnel, Graduate Students, Pre & Post-Doctoral Trainees, Faculty

Topic: Clinical Trial Operations/Finances

Description:

Co-sponsored by the UI Cancer Center, the Clinical Research Investigator seminar series is intended to provide faculty and other investigators with information and skills needed to conduct clinical research at UIC at all stages of a study’s lifecycle.

* Please note that for Winter/Spring 2026, we are creating one registration page for the CRISS seminars from January to June so that registrants can easily keep track of upcoming seminars in their calendar.

1/23/2026 - Adverse Experience Assessment in Clinical Trials 
Dr. Natalie Reizine will discuss the role of the investigator in assessing adverse experiences occurring during clinical trials, and how investigator assessments are integral to identifying adverse requiring expedited safety reporting.

2/27/2026 - Considerations when running a multicenter IIT
Depending on the population necessary for a clinical trial sample size, it may be not be feasible to run the trial only at UIC. However, there are a number of considerations that need to be addressed when deciding whether and where to implement an investigator-initiated clinical trial at additional trial sites outside of UIC.

3/27/2026 - TBA

4/24/2026 - TBA

5/22/2026 - TBA

6/26/2026 - TBA

Contact: Sudeshna De, Lawrie Zhang, ccts-training@uic.edu

Position: Research Personnel, Graduate Students, Pre & Post-Doctoral Trainees, Faculty

Topic: Study/Site/Lab Management

Description:

Team Science & Leadership Lesson:

Please join us to interact and learn from a team of faculty members with significant levels of experience leading large-scale grant-funded projects. 

Panelists:

Tamar Heller, PhD
Distinguished Professor, Department of Disability and Human Development
UIC College of Applied Health Sciences

Robert W. Motl, PhD
Professor, Department of Kinesiology and Nutrition
Director, Integrative Physiology Laboratory
UIC College of Applied Health Sciences

Project Case Study:

Panelists will respond to relevant questions such as: What are the primary variables that you consider when selecting co-investigators, research specialists, research assistants, and other key personnel for your projects? How much structure do you build into the daily operations of your project and how do you create this structure? Do you leave it up to your project director? Do you create some type of GANTT chart? How do you create and sustain momentum to complete some of the more mundane or repetitive aspects of the project, such as IRB paperwork, granting agency paperwork requirements, and data entry? What characteristics make up an ideal team member, from your perspective? Describe an example of the most effective grant team you have ever led? What made it the most effective team? Invited panelists will include: Dr. Robin Mermelstein, Dr. Tamar Heller, and Dr. Pauline Maki.

Contact: Sudeshna De, Lawrie Zhang, ccts-training@uic.edu

Position: Research Personnel

Topic: Recruitment & Retention

Part of Program(s): The Research Coordinator (RC+) Certificate Program

Description:

The CCTS Master Class seminar series helps clinicians, research coordinators/specialists and other health research personnel develop a better understanding of conducting human subjects research at UIC. These immersive training workshops enable participants to implement best practices for human research subject protection, recruitment, study conduct, and data safety/security.

The Master Class on Recruitment and Retention will be a two-day virtual series designed to equip research teams with practical strategies, tools, and community-informed approaches to enhance the recruitment and retention of a wide range of research participants.

When: Wednesday, March 18th, from 1PM-3PM and Thursday, March 19th, from 1PM-3PM 

Register for Zoom link! 

Contact: Sudeshna De, Lawrie Zhang, ccts-training@uic.edu

Position: Research Personnel

Topic: Study/Site/Lab Management

Part of Program(s): The Research Coordinator (RC+) Certificate Program

Description:

This seminar will outline the UI Health policy expectations for medical documentation in Epic for research subjects participating in a research study.

Speaker:
Linda Yancey 
Director, Clinical Research Finance Office (CRFO)
University of Illinois Chicago

RC+ Program:
Core Competency #5: Study and Site Management

Contact: Sudeshna De, Lawrie Zhang, ccts-training@uic.edu

Position: Research Personnel

Topic: Animal Studies

Part of Program(s): The Research Coordinator (RC+) Certificate Program

Description:

Methodological decisions have ethical implications. In this session, unique ethical considerations for different research designs including will be reviewed using case studies, focusing on randomized controlled trials, pragmatic clinical trials, and dissemination and implementation studies. Discussion will explore the space where methods and ethics meet.

Speaker:

Emily E. Anderson, PhD, MPH
Professor, Neiswanger Institute for Bioethics, Stritch School of Medicine, Loyola University Chicago
Director, Regulatory and Bioethics, UIC Center for Clinical and Translational Science
University of Illinois Chicago

RC+ Program:
Core Competency #2: Ethical and Participant Safety Considerations

Contact: Sudeshna De, Lawrie Zhang, ccts-training@uic.edu

Topic: Biomedical Informatics/Data Science

Description:

QUICKSet, or “Query UIC Knowledge Set,” is the CCTS Biomedical Informatics Core built version of the i2b2 (Informatics for Integrating Biology and the Bedside) framework. The purpose of this tool is to allow researchers to access de-identified clinical data from the UI Health system to obtain aggregate patient counts. QUICKSet can facilitate a study by helping researchers to quickly establish the feasibility of carrying out a research study or clinical trial, work through hypothesis creation by continually modifying their own searches, and to identify potential cohorts for clinical trials.

Completion of this training module is required to gain access to the QUICKSet system. To request a consultation or supplementary service at CCTS, please visit Research Ally.

Topic: Human Subject Protections

Description:

CIRTification: Community Involvement in Research Training is a human research protections training program designed especially for community partners. If you will be involved in research and responsible for recruiting research participants, obtaining informed consent, or collecting data, this training is for you.  This course will cover:

• Introduction to Research: The basic terminology, activities, and people involved in research and various ethical considerations.
• Research History: Some research abuses that have happened in the past and the rules we have now to prevent those abuses.  This module also introduces the goals of community engagement in research and the important responsibilities shared by community research partners.
• Eligibility & Recruitment: The importance of adhering to study inclusion/exclusion criteria and best practices identifying and recruiting research participants.
• Informed Consent: The key components of informed consent, the kinds of information included in the consent form, how to respond to participants’ questions about enrollment and withdrawal, and discussion of practical challenges and good practices.
• The Institutional Review Board: The people on the IRB, the process of submitting to the IRB, and the criteria that IRBs apply to the review of research.
• Collecting & Protecting Data: How to protect participant privacy and keep data safe and confidential during collection, transport, and storage.
• Handling Issues in the Field: What do to if you suspect a co-worker of falsifying data, run into a study participant outside of work, and get challenging questions from study participants.