This is an application from the Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics (CCEB) at the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center to serve as the Data Coordination Core (DCC) for the Multi-disciplinary Approach to the Study of Chronic Pelvic Pain (MAPP) Research Network. This proposal brings together a highly experienced team of DCC personnel, currently supporting the Urological Pelvic Pain Collaborative Research Network (UPPCRN) (www.cceb.med.upenn.edu/uppcrn) (2003-2008), as well as co-investigators with extensive expertise in chronic pelvic pain, chronic prostatitis, interstitial cystitis and laboratory and pathology medicine, who have worked together over the past 10-15 years within a productive series of NIDDK-funded urological collaborative research networks;in particular, the DCC for the Interstitial Cystitis Data Base (ICDB) Study (1993-1998), the CPCRN (1997-2003) and the ICCTG (1998-2004). The DCC will provide biostatistical study design/analysis support and comprehensive data management and research computing services for each multi-site study, as well as selected Discovery Site projects, collaborating closely with the Tissue Analysis &Technology Core (TATC) Laboratory.
The specific aims of the DCC are to 1) facilitate conduct of multi-disciplinary basic and translational research, by providing scientific leadership in the design and implementation of research projects across the MAPP Research Network;2) provide biostatistical expertise in research design, outcome measures and analytic strategies for translational and clinical investigations of pelvic pain syndromes;3) promote network-wide quality assurance standards, practices and tools, including a comprehensive, secure www-based data management system (DMS) for collection and centralized storage of all study data;4) collaborate with the Tissue Analysis and Technology Core (TATC) Laboratory on best practices for data collection, specimen tracking and storage, as well as support technical processes between the DCC and TATC;5) provide comprehensive administrative DCC support for the MAPP Research Network, promoting effective communications, coordinating meetings, working groups, document management and distribute study proceedings;6) support MAPP Research Network Ancillary Projects, assisting in their design, as well as implementing a process for the submission, review and development of ancillary studies. The DCC will leverage their considerable CTSA informatics expertise and resources to promote best practices for data integration methods, and tools in support of the clinical and translational science research projects within the MAPP Research Network. The Multi-disciplinary Approach to the Study of Chronic Pelvic Pain (MAPP) Research Network of diverse clinicians and scientists will investigate a wide variety of factors that may cause urologic pelvic pain and and related pain syndromes. The objective is to discover information that will lead to the development of future prevention and treatment strategies. This research method involves many different kinds of scientific approaches and may add new information to a variety of clinical syndromes.
Showing the most recent 10 out of 67 publications
