Mission
To provide our patients with the opportunity to participate in innovative clinical research. Following Good Clinical Practice guidelines, Duke’s Clinical Research Unit (CRU) provides optimum staff coverage to meet protocol timelines within budget.
About Us
The Clinical Research Unit (CRU), formerly known as Clinical Anesthesiology Research Endeavors (CARE), is a departmental initiative to further organize our clinical research efforts in all areas of anesthesia and perioperative research at Duke University Medical Center and its affiliated sites. It began as an organization in 1999. After achieving great success in the cardiothoracic and critical care medicine divisions, the unit officially launched in January of 2003. The CRU is composed of an extensive network of investigators, clinical research support staff, biostatistics staff, perioperative and outcomes database staff, and business development staff.
The department has an outstanding reputation in clinical research, focused in the areas of postoperative nausea and vomiting prevention, preservation of cognitive function after surgery, transesophageal echocardiography, role of inflammation in clinical outcome, intravenous fluids, hemodilution and blood substitutes, hemodynamic monitoring, genetics and outcome, organ protection during surgery, pain management, regional anesthesia and clinical pharmacology. This research has led to changes in clinical practice and has improved outcomes for patients after cardiac and non-cardiac surgery.
Meet the Team
Kamrouz Ghadimi, MD, MHSc
Director, Clinical Research Unit
Associate Professor of Anesthesiology
Anne D. Cherry, MD
Assistant Director, Clinical Research Unit
Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology
Bonnie Hilliard, BSN, RN, CCRP
Research Practice Manager
Alicja Schultz, BS, MBA, CCRC
Assistant Research Practice Manager
Financial Practice Manager
Sweta Khanal, MSc
Tammy Kim, MA, CRA, AGM, RAA
Research Program Leader, Senior
Vincent Anani, MPH
Research Program Leader
Bethany Hsia, PhD
Clinical Research Nurse Coordinator, Senior
Kelly Rodden, BSN, RN
Clinical Research Nurse Coordinator
Carrie Schlabaugh, BSN, RN
Clinical Research Specialist, Senior
Melissa Adams, BS
Michael Bennett, BS
Rachele Brassard, BSW
Morgan DePrizio, BS
Sloan Soyster Heinz, BS
Shivangi Jha, BS
Macy Le, MS
Michael Miller, BA
Kiliejah Moore, BS
Yanni-Taylor Shaw, BS
Cole Shumate, BA
Harper Wilkinson, BA
Angelina Xiong, BA
Clinical Research Coordinator, Senior
Yanne Toulgoat-Dubois, BA
Clinical Research Coordinators
Stratton Barth, BS
Megan Beyer, MS, RD, LDN
Piper Boykin, BS
Taylor Brown, MS
Ashley Burke, BS, CCRC
Morgan Caldwell, BS
Nancy "Meg" Hardesty, BA
Chelsea Hignite, BS
Lila Kongmany, BS
Amy Patrylick, BA
Erick Lorenzana-Saldivar, BS
Emmalee Metzler, BA, CCRP
Sharon Norman
Christy Peterson, AAS, BS
Jamarc Simon, BA
Courtney Holland Stanczak, BS
Noah Timko, MPH, CCRC
Joshua Wynn, BS
Statistical Support
Yi-Ju Li, PhD, Program Leader, Biostatistics and Clinical Outcomes
Mary Cooter Wright, MS, Biostatistician III
Matthew Fuller, MS, Biostatistician II
Morgan Rosser, MS, Biostatistician II
Jane La, MS, Biostatistician II
The principles that guide us are:
- Quality Improvement.
- Improving outcomes for patients by improving clinical practice through clinical research.
- Improving medical practices by sharing knowledge gained through scholarly publications.
Project Planning and Startup
- Coordination with Industry Staff
- Recruit Investigators
Enrollment
- Randomize patients from caseload
- Coordinate with study monitor
- Strict adherence to study protocol
Analysis
- Coordination with Industry Statistical Plan
- Interim Analysis available
Completion
- Ensured followup of all queries
- Longitudonal followup available
Presentation
- Presentation at National and International Scientific Meetings
- Manuscript preparation with industry review
- Neurological Outcomes in Cardiac, Thoracic and Medical Patients.
- Investigational Cardiopulmonary Bypass lab providing pre-clinical support for neurological outcomes research.
- Role of Inflammation in Affecting Clinical Outcome.
- Perioperative Organ Protection.
- Brain Protection in Cardiac and Thoracic Surgery.
- Preservation of Heart Function.
- Blood Substitutes.
- Minimally Invasive Surgery and Off Pump Cardiac Surgery.
- Transesophageal Echocardiography (TEE).
- Renal Protective Strategies.
- Molecular Biology.
- Genetics of Perioperative Outcomes (Genomics).
- Medical Economic Assessments of Interventions in Cardiothoracic Surgery.
- Perioperative Control of Nausea and Vomiting
- Perioperative Control of Pain
- Pediatric Drug Development
- Anesthesia and Postoperative Cognitive Decline