We propose the designation of a Yale Neuroscience Clinical Trials Center (Yale INFINITY) as a Clinical Site in the NINDS Network of Excellence in Neuroscience Clinical Trials (NeuroNEXT). INFINITY has been designed to serve as a vibrant and top-enrolling contributor to NeuroNEXT. Yale is the 7th largest hospital in the US, and Yale Neurology is 6th highest in NIH funding. Yale is widely recognized as a leading tertiary care center in neurology with a robust faculty and excellence in clinical research. Principal Investigator Dr. Kevin N. Sheth and Co-Principal Investigator Dr. Serena Spudich bring a complementary set of skills and experience in creating innovative clinical research programs in neurological disease. They have worked together at Yale for years, along with Dr. David Hafler, Neurology chair, and an enthusiastic cadre of faculty across disciplines, to create a highly collaborative environment focused on clinical research, multicenter trials, membership on Institutional Review Boards, clinical trial committees, and extensive mentoring in patient-oriented research. There is robust neurology representation in the Yale NIH-funded CTSA (Yale Center for Clinical Investigation ? YCCI), and faculty have assumed positions of international leadership in their fields. Yale faculty have served as principal investigators in several multicenter studies and trials, including one of the NeuroNEXT trials, the NN103 BEAT MG Study, led by Dr. Richard Nowak, Trial Operations Co-Chair for Yale INFINITY. The Center already has existing infrastructure with an established track record of outreach, high quality patient enrollment, operational efficiency, research training, and communications. The Yale Clinical Site is strengthened by the following characteristics: 1) A pool of talented investigators with nationally recognized clinical research expertise across the entire spectrum of adult and pediatric neurological disorders, 2) a geographically diverse and large pool of patients in Connecticut and Southern New England currently not captured by the existing NeuroNEXT network, many of whom are seen at Yale specifically in order to participate in cutting edge trials, 3) talented teams of investigators with deep experience in clinical trials, recruitment and retention, and disease specific networks, 4) specific and nationally recognized expertise in biomarker development and validation, 5) a large cohort of ongoing NINDS-funded clinical studies to which the Yale Center can contribute to during any relative inactive period, 6) patient and community engagement embedded within the INFINITY leadership, 7) strong commitment from Yale institutional officials for participation in a central IRB and Master Trial Agreements, and 8) institutional commitments in the form of dedicated space and resources, as well as funding for a master's degree in clinical research for NeuroNEXT fellows. The Yale Neurological community is poised to make significant contributions to enhance and further the mission of NINDS and NeuroNEXT to reduce the burden of neurological disease.
The overall goal of our program is to contribute to knowledge and available treatments in clinical neurological disease through enhancement of clinical trials relevant to the neurosciences. This application specifically proposes that the Yale Neuroscience Clinical Trials Center (Investigations For Improved Neurological Treatments at Yale, INFINITY) join the NINDS Network of Excellence in Neuroscience Clinical Trials (NeuroNEXT) as a Clinical Site. INFINITY offers a critical combination of a deep and diverse patient population, clinical trials expertise, and an exceptional strength in biomarker development and validation that will further the opportunities for advancement of knowledge through NeuroNEXT.
| Murphy, Meredith P; Kuramatsu, Joji B; Leasure, Audrey et al. (2018) Cardioembolic Stroke Risk and Recovery After Anticoagulation-Related Intracerebral Hemorrhage. Stroke 49:2652-2658 |
