Participant and Clinical Interactions Resources (PCIR)

The Delaware Valley Unit for Participant and Clinical Interactions Resources (PCIR) will develop a single, coordinated network to encourage and support patient-oriented clinical and translational research and will be aligned with the governing aims of the Delaware Valley Institute for Clinical and Translational Science (DVICTS). PCIR will provide uniform management, training and expertise for T1 (bench to patient bedside) and T2 (bedside to general use in practice) research, and will support the translation of its research outcomes into community practice (T3 research, see Delaware Valley Unit for Community Engagement in Research [CER]). The guiding principle of PCIR is to provide a single platform to conduct clinical and translational research across the four DVICTS partner institutions: Thomas Jefferson University (TJU), University of Delaware (UD), Christiana Care Health System (CCHS), and the A.I. duPont Hospital for Children (Nemours/AIDHC). PCIR will help both trainees and experienced investigators to develop and implement clinical and translational studies, increase and expedite access to studies for the DVICTS community of patients and providers, and offer unique training opportunities to develop the skills required for cutting-edge multidisciplinary clinical and translational research. The following outlines PCIR aims, the strategies to implement these aims, and how success will be tracked.

  • Aim 1. PCIR will increase participation in clinical research by both patients and providers within the State of Delaware and the greater Delaware Valley community, with specific efforts toward engaging underserved populations.

  • Aim 2. PCIR will leverage its resources and ongoing studies to train interdisciplinary teams (including students, trainees, research personnel, and investigators) in human clinical and translational research.

  • Aim 3. PCIR will provide efficient and cost-effective resources and support services within DVICTS to investigators and trainees to conduct research involving human participants, including both small and large clinical and comparative effectiveness trials.

  • Aim 4. PCIR will unify clinical research across the four DVICTS partners by improving clinical and translational research processes and establishing cross-institutional standard operating procedures.

The PCIR organizational structure will facilitate collaboration within DVICTS and overcome limitations to performing clinical research. All PCIR resources and functions will be incorporated into the DVICTS Research Commons, the web-based home for DVICTS, which will attract both novice and experienced investigators within DVICTS and the community networks by creating efficient, streamlined and accessible avenues for clinical and translational research. PCIR will integrate its efforts within the community (patients and providers) through the Community Partnership Workgroup led by CER (Aim 1). To sustain and expand these efforts within the community, PCIR will focus on training research personnel and investigators with emphasis on cultural diversity (Aim 2) and assist trainees and investigators as they formulate and complete T1 and T2 translational research projects in coordination with the RETCD Clinical Translational Science Research and Education Center (CTSRE) (Aim 2). Key PCIR resources for supporting clinical research will include the Coordinating Center for Clinical and Translational Research (Coordinating Center), which will direct clinical and translational research within DVICTS and into the community of Delaware and the Greater Delaware Valley (Aim 3). Additionally, the PCIR Early Phase Research Unit (EPRU) will support the translation of basic science discoveries into human studies (Aim 3). New investigators will work with the Clinical Project Development Workgroup (CPDW) to transform their research concepts into actionable protocols. As a single unified entity, PCIR will establish the Clinical and Translational Research Process Workgroup (CTRPW) to create efficient and effective clinical and translational research processes (Aim 4). PCIR will be directed by Dr. David Whellan. Associate Directors will be Dr. Judith Ross, Director of DVICTS Pediatric Clinical Research and Dr. Walter Kraft, Director of the EPRU.