Duke CTSA hub brings broad representation to the 2026 fall CTSA program annual meeting

Duke’s CTSA hub sent a large, cross-functional team to Washington, DC, for the 2026 Fall CTSA Program Annual Meeting, held September 23-25 at the Marriott Marquis Washington. Under the theme “From Discovery to Impact: Advancing the Translational Pathway,” the meeting brought together CTSA hubs from across the country for enterprise committee sessions, leadership and administrative meetings, general sessions, and a poster session. The keynote was delivered by Karim Mikhail, acting director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. 

Duke’s Delegation 

Duke’s leadership was represented by Contact PI Susanna Naggie, MD, MHS; Multiple PIs Christopher Lindsell, PhD, and Kimberly Johnson, MD, MHS; and Subaward PI Deepak Kumar, PhD, of North Carolina Central University. Kanecia Zimmerman, MD, MPH (Collaboration & Engagement), Barrett Bowling, MD, MSPH (Integration Across the Lifespan), Gina-Maria Pomann, PhD (Biostatistics, Biomedical Informatics, and Data Science), and Amanda McMillan (Workforce Development) represented their Enterprise Committees. Cinthia Sanchez, PhD, joined as Hub Administrator, Deborah Chavis-Keeling, MS, as CAO and CTSI communications representative, and Lloyd Mitchener, MD, as Duke representative. The team was joined by External Advisory Committee Chair Doris Rubio, PhD, and member Harry Selker, MD, MSPH. 

Twenty Years of Impact on Display 

This year’s poster session celebrated “20 Years of CTSA Impact.” Duke’s poster, presented by Erika Segear, PhD, RAC, and Amanda B. Parrish, PhD, RAC, with co-authors Kelly Lindblom, PhD, RAC, and Jessica Chapman, PhD, RAC, traced how the Office of Regulatory Affairs & Quality (ORAQ) grew from a service supported by Duke’s original CTSA award into a cornerstone of the university’s research infrastructure. Highlights included more than 4,700 FDA submissions supported, over 16,000 people trained through the Regulatory Affairs Training Program, and regulatory resources such as ReGARDD and TEAMSS that are shared with institutions nationwide. 

"Presenting our poster was a wonderful opportunity to showcase the collective accomplishments of Duke’s regulatory affairs team and the impact of the resources, services, and training programs we have built over many years with the investment from the CTSA. I was honored to represent the many individuals whose dedication has helped establish Duke as a leader in regulatory affairs, with programs and educational efforts that support researchers not only at Duke, but across the nation and around the world. It was especially rewarding to see the interest from colleagues across the CTSA consortium and to reflect on how our work continues to support and influence regulatory capacity nationwide,” said Erika Segear, PhD, RAC. 

Duke’s team returned to campus with new ideas, connections, and momentum as the CTSA Program marks two decades of advancing translational science.