This application proposes the establishment of a General Clinical Research Center (GCRC) at Howard University. The goal of this program is to stimulate and facilitate individual and collaborative clinical research in the Howard University Health Sciences Center (HUHSC). In order to accomplish this goal, the GCRC will provide facilities, staff and an environment to (1) encourage innovative individual and collaborative clinical research; (2) facilitate scholarly interaction between the clinical and basic science faculties; (3) support current and planned clinical research projects that will benefit from GCRC resources; (4) promote investigation of special, culturally-sensitive, clinical problems encountered in the mostly, though not entirely, minority populations served by Howard University Hospital (HUH); (5) prepare medical students, housestaff, fellows, and junior faculty for careers in clinical research, and (6) facilitate the continued development of HUH as a clinical and research training institution, reputed for exceptional academic and medical services. The GCRC will be located in the HUH and will initially consist of 2 inpatient beds and 4 outpatient examining rooms, with appropriate human and physical resources to support its programs. The GCRC facilities will be located on a former medical ward, chosen for its existing facilities and location. Initial projects proposed for, and described in, this GCRC application are from the departments of Microbiology, Medicine, Pediatrics, Surgery, and the Cancer Research and Sickle Cell Centers. Specific areas of research include asthma, hypertension, kidney disease, cancer, diabetes mellitus, spinal cord compression, gastrointestinal disorders, AIDS, and HIV- related conditions. Most of these diseases are common in the general Washington Metropolitan community, and the prevalence of their incidence, as well as the severity of related complications, is notably excessive in the HUHSC patient population. Establishment of a GCRC will provide the opportunity to investigate several aspects of these diseases and/or conditions at the same time, thus providing the foundation for the development of more scientifically and medically note-worthy investigative and treatment rationales for the future. Establishment of a GCRC at the HUHSC will augment its existing research facilities and speed its transformation into a center of excellence in clinical research and training.
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