Bringing Clinical Research Closer to Home

UH Research & Education Update | January 2022

As a major academic medical center, University Hospitals is dedicated to patient care and developing and approving new therapies for cancer, heart disease, infectious disease, pandemics, and many other specialties that require clinical research trials. In hopes of expanding the number of people who participate in clinical research studies and clinical trials, particularly in rural areas and underrepresented communities of color, the University Hospitals Clinical Research Center launched the UH Clinical Research Center Mobile Research Unit. The Mobile Research Unit is the first in Northeast Ohio to bring research and discovery closer to home. The 38-foot Mobile Research Unit provides access to clinical research in the communities we serve, at public events, and to UH’s community hospitals and practices.

The mobile research unit includes:

• Two private exam rooms, fully equipped for study procedures and assessments
• Laboratory processing center with a refrigerated centrifuge, supplies, and sink.
• Investigational product and specimen refrigerators and freezers with continuous temperature monitoring.
• Private WiFi, wheelchair lift, and an accessible restroom.
• Provides physician-scientists the ability to engage in clinical research in the community

Not only will the Mobile Research Unit will expand the presence of clinical research in the community, especially for those unable to travel, but it will also expand research services to physician-scientists in our communities who do not otherwise have the space or resources.

The new unit will support industry, foundation, and NIH-sponsored clinical trials, UH CRC’s Biospecimen Core, and the CRC’s initiative for providing 24/7/365 coverage for clinical research across Northeast Ohio. The mobile unit allows you to bring new advances to the community with the opportunity to explore clinical research studies as part of routine healthcare.