Research & Clinical Trials
UH Clinical Research Center
At University Hospitals Clinical Research Center, our mission is to responsibly grow research and scientific innovation to improve patient care.
Engaging in research provides a unique opportunity to have substantial impact. We strive to advance and change the standard of care and we do this by leveraging discovery and innovation.
The UH Clinical Research Center provides support across all aspects of clinical and translational research and is the centralized infrastructure that supports our investigators across the University Hospitals health system. Support is available at the main UH campus in Cleveland or at any of our system hospitals or practices. Our center is available to help you with all of your research activities.
We understand that getting started with research can be very challenging, but we are here to help make it easier for our investigators and their teams to get engaged and stay engaged in research at UH. Our vision is that every patient entering the UH system will be given an option to learn about and participate in a research study. We are dedicated to continuing to foster and optimize clinical research at UH and truly look forward to supporting your research needs and efforts.
Research Credentialing
The UH research credentialing process provides non-UH personnel proper access to UH patients’ protected health information (PHI) under institutional review board (IRB)-approved research studies.
Visit our research credentialing page to learn more, or contact UHResearchCredentialing@UHhospitals.org.
Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) and Continuing Research Education Credit (CREC) Program Information
All Principal Investigators, individuals obtaining informed consent, and Key Study Personnel (KSP) on federally funded research must obtain CITI certification prior to conducting research.
It is recommended that everyone involved with human subject research obtain CITI certification and enter the Continuing Research Education Credit (CREC) Program at CWRU.
To enter the CREC Program, you must successfully complete the CITI BASIC course. Download instructions on registering with CITI. Case Western Reserve University’s Continuing Research Education Credit (CREC) Program provides investigators and staff with documented training in the protection of human subjects in research.
Clinical Research Center Core Offices
The UH Clinical Research Center consists of many core services with a commitment to support research teams.
- Research Compliance, Education & Outreach
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The Office of Research Compliance, Education & Community Outreach (ORC) provides education and training to all members of the Clinical Research Community at UH. We offer required Clinical Research Orientation for the entire study team as well as Investigator Training which is required for Investigators with less than one year of experience.
- Pre-Award Grants & Contracts
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The Pre-Award office, also known as the Grants and Contracts office, provides departmental support to medical departments throughout the hospital that are involved in clinical research.
The office’s primary role is to review, negotiate, and execute clinical trial agreements and any other research related agreements necessary to conduct clinical research. In addition, this office is responsible for reviewing and negotiating clinical trial budgets.
In addition, the Pre-Award office is also responsible for reviewing, approving and submitting grants to foundations as well as local, state, and federal agencies.
- Research Finance Services
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The Research Finance Specialist (RFS) team works with study teams to create a coverage analysis, which determines what research related clinical items and services can be billed to insurance. Through this process, we build an effective study budget containing approved discounted research pricing and assist in sponsor budget negotiation. The RFS team completes research patient billing involving a participant’s claims, sponsor invoicing for patient care, and the collection of those funds owed by the sponsor.
- Research Support Core
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The Research Support Core supports all phases of clinical research with expertise in every aspect of the clinical research process and extensive knowledge in all areas of medicine. As a fee-for-service team, this Core can provide flexible services based on the individual needs of each department/investigator and can begin at any point in the research trial.
Our services include study coordinator and research nurse staffing, recruitment support, community engagement, FDA support, regulatory support, and biostatistical services.
- Dahms Clinical Research Unit (DCRU)
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The Dahms Clinical Research Unit (DCRU) provides research-dedicated facilities and staff to create capacity, opportunity and a supportive environment for clinical and translational research at the academic medical center and in the community.
The DCRU team partners with investigators from all disciplines to support pediatric and adult clinical research visits and will work with you to plan your study budget and implement your protocol’s study visits.
- The UH Seidman Cancer Center Clinical Trials Unit (CTU)
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The mission of the University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center Clinical Trials Unit is to provide the highest quality nursing, data, regulatory, financial and quality assurance services to our clinical investigators in an effort to provide an array of innovative clinical trials for the benefit of our patients. Our vision is to be a comprehensive CTU, designed to be a one-stop office for investigators, sponsors and contract research organizations. The CTU is divided into functional teams (clinical, regulatory, data, finance and quality) grouped across the 12 disease teams, such that each team has a dedicated research nurse/research specialist partnership, regulatory specialist, data specialist and budget specialist.
- Post-Award Grants Accounting
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The Grants Accounting Post-Award Management Team is responsible for all aspects of post-award grants management activities at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center and all UH community hospitals from grant account setup to close out (except research patient billing) including creation of grant accounts, review and approval of grant expenditures, reconciliation of grant awards including cash application and grant closeout, labor distribution and financial reporting. The post-award team works with the investigators, grant administrators, department administrators, finance, law department, corporate finance and Case Western Reserve University in management of grants and contracts.
- Institutional Review Board (IRB)
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The UH Institutional Review Board (IRB) Administration Office is responsible for ensuring that all research involving human subjects is conducted in accordance with federal & state regulations as well as institutional policies. The IRB reviews protocols originating from:
- Any University Hospitals Health System entity involving UH patients or personnel, regardless of sponsorship.
- Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Nursing, Dentistry, or any department that involves patients or personnel at UH.
- Multi-site research conducted at non-UH sites, when requested by the entity, and when an IRB authorization agreement is in place.
- Clinical Research Business Development
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The Clinical Research Business Development Office builds and maintains relationships with sponsors, UH departments and researchers; connects PIs with new study opportunities; builds and maintains researcher interest profiles; and provides concierge support for research staff.
This office also manages the mandatory feasibility process prior to IRB submission and offers recruitment and protocol building assistance through TriNetX.
Research Concierge
The UH Clinical Research Center Research Concierge is available to help investigators and their teams navigate various services offered through UH Clinical Research Center.
Any investigator with a new or ongoing study who has issues, questions or concerns, or would like to take a tour of UH Clinical Research Center facilities and meet our staff is encouraged to complete the simple Research Concierge Inquiry Form.