The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) has the required elements to actively participate in the Cooperative Multicenter MFMU Network. The PI, George Saade, and the alternate PI, Gary Hankins, bring extensive experience in study design, recruitment, data analysis, and publications from several NIH multisite clinical trials (First and Second Trimester Evaluation of Risk of Aneuploidy, Beneficial Effects of Antenatal Magnesium Sulfate Study, Twin-Twin Transfusion Syndrome Trial, Vaginal Ultrasound Cerclage Trial, Stillbirth Collaborative Research Network, Obstetric-Fetal Pharmacology Research Units Network, Genomic/Proteomic Network for Premature Birth Research). We achieve successful patient recruitment/retention through use of the Ob/Gyn Departments's broad Regional Maternal &Child Health Program (RMCHP). The RMCHP provides prenatal care to over 11,000 multiethnic pregnant women a year. All RMCHP clinics follow protocols set by the Maternal-Fetal Medicine Division, and all antepartum and intrapartum patients are under Departmental control. Our clinical infrastructure and patient population make us well prepared to participate in the Network as we deliver over 5,000 high-risk pregnancies a year, more than 90% receiving prenatal care in our system. The Department's Electronic Medical Record System (EMR) captures antepartum and intrapartum data, entered on-line and readily available to authorize research personnel for query as well as automatic notification. The EMR and policies/procedures have been successfully adapted to maximize our research productivity compared with other collaborating sites. The Department's team of dedicated research nurses and coordinators (Chairman's Research Division [CRD]) and the Tissue BioBank, both under the direction of the PI, have broadened efficiency in clinical investigations. Other key personnel in this application, including Garland Anderson, Chair of our Department as well as the current MFMU Network, Janet Brandon, CRD Nursing Director, and Joan Moss, CRD Coordinator, bring extensive experience and expertise to the team. The excellent and prolific collaboration between PI and alternate PI, who is also the MFM Division Director and RMCHP Medical Director, offers further benefit and efficacy to the Network. Our Department has a productive and well-funded basic science research group, with expertise in many areas of relevance to the RFA. Finally, we have well-established collaborative ties with our University's Divisions of Neonatology, Genetics, Perinatal Pathology, Clinical Laboratory, and Radiology. At all levels, UTMB emphasizes research in general, with multiple core facilities available to the Network including the GCRC, and obstetrical research in particular (our Department ranks 9th in NIH funding nationally, and 1 in Texas). Our concept protocol compares the efficacy and safety of single versus multiple courses of antenatal corticosteroids. We accept the RFA's capitation and participatory stipulations and stand ready to contribute as a productive member of the Network.
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