AnnualReport2021

RESEARCH REPORT

A MESSAGE FROM OUR VICE PRESIDENT OF RESEARCH PROGRAMS

enhancement workshop (CREW) was held in March 2021 with 10.5 hours of educational content over three days for nearly 75 attendees from our health care system. Another important initiative for advancing clinical research programs was the third annual State of Research Symposium – Special Emphasis on Muscle and Bone Health – hosted by Shriners Hospitals for Children — Chicago and co-sponsored by

facilities and by overseeing regulatory compliance matters and ethics issues, including the informed consent process for pediatric research subjects. The department has implemented a strategic plan to better align our research programs with clinical areas of focus and strength, and to raise Shriners Hospitals for Children’s international clinical research profile and reputation. We are pleased to report that, in 2020, our department continued to create tools and establish partnerships to advance our strategic research plan. The reorganization of Shriners Hospitals’ clinical research enterprise made significant progress in implementing the new clinical research coordinator (CRC) job descriptions across our system. A CRC is a specialized, independent research professional who is the primary liaison between a physician investigator and a patient enrolling in a research study. The CRC provides oversight and compliance for both system-wide and local clinical research activities by ensuring proper study conduct and subject safety, as well as data quality and safeguards. The system-wide job description not only defines the qualifications and duties for Shriners Hospitals’ CRCs but also revises their reporting structure to lessen the possibility of deviation from our health care system’s approved regulations. In order to foster education and sharing of knowledge and expertise between the CRCs from across the system, a clinical research

“We are pleased to report that, in 2020, our department continued to create tools and establish partnerships to advance our strategic research plan."

The research programs department provides oversight of Shriners Hospitals for Children’s research activities with the overarching goal of improving the care and quality of life of children who have conditions treated by our health care system. The department directs, facilitates and supports research in our sites by awarding research grants through a peer-review process; providing grants fiscal management; developing and supporting research

our department. There were selected virtual presentations on a range of clinical research topics for the 178 attendees that included 50 physicians. Also in attendance were members of our Joint Boards, including Paul Poulin, M.D., chair of the clinical and basic research committee. The Chief Medical Officer, Fran Farley, M.D., and I launched the first-ever, system-wide Clinical Research Grand

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