This proposal is the application of The Ohio State University (OSU) for continued participation in the NICHD Maternal Fetal Medicine Units (MFMU) Network. The current application describes our team, environment and resources to meet the objectives of the Network. Our newly energized team has a strong commitment to continue and expand our high level of performance in the Network since 1992. We have a strong experience in conducting clinical and translational research. Dr. Catalin Buhimschi was recruited to the OSU Wexner Medical Center in 2013. As Ohio State's Alternate Principal Investigator (PI) since 2014, he assumed local leadership, energized our research team, worked closely with Network's Publication Committee, and co-authored a concept presentation to the Steering Committee. The final cumulative performance report lists OSU as 1st in recruitment for HCV, 4th in ALPS, 6th in CMV trials, and 3rd - 4th best for overall recruitment. In the current application Dr. Buhimschi will serve as PI and work with Dr. Mark Landon, an established Network investigator, as Alternate PI. The OSU Network will recruit study participants from diverse populations at 3 medical centers with a combined total of more than 15,000 annual births. We have a large group of faculty & research staff capable of recruiting patients in the setting of an excellent research organization enhanced by 24 years of experience in the MFMU, participation in the NICHD Nulliparous Network, and memberships in the North American Fetal Treatment Network, and Ohio Perinatal Research Network (OPRN) - a large regional perinatal research repository with a state-of-the-art data collection system. We benefit from a robust bioinformatics structure, an extraordinary group of obstetrical sonographers, perinatal epidemiologists, and a mature research infrastructure supported by a CTSA grant shared with Nationwide Children's Hospital. Our satellite, Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton has an outstanding record of recruitment in the most recent Network cycle, 2011- 2016. Good Samaritan Hospital, the largest maternity service in Ohio, has worked closely with OSU faculty in statewide projects, has a well-established research culture and an ambitious agenda for MFMU Network participation. Our relationship with Nationwide Children's Hospital in clinical care and research has never been stronger, and includes a unique symbiosis with Center for Perinatal Research. We look forward to continuing our tradition of service and innovation in the next cycle of the NICHD MFMU Network. Our goal is to continue to be leaders in protocol development, recruitment, start-up and completion, data analysis, manuscript publication in top journals and support to the Network's tasks across all research protocols and centers.
The NICHD MFMU Network is the premier obstetric clinical trials network in the world. Clinical investigations of the causes of perinatal and infant mortality and morbidity and their ultimate prevention require large numbers of participants from varied racial, ethnic, and sociodemographic backgrounds that can only be recruited from multiple collaborating sites. The Ohio State University has been a leading member of the MFMU Network since 1992, and has a newly energized research team committed to maintain and build upon this tradition of excellence.
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