University of New Mexico - General Clinical Research Center

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The General Clinical Research Center at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center is in its 31st year of continuous funding and is the premiere venue in New Mexico for state-of-the-art clinical and translational research supports. These support include, but are not limited to, comprehensive inpatient and outpatient nursing services, infrastructure to support complex pediatric studies, bionutrition and anthropomorphic assessments, provision of wide-ranging Core laboratory assistance, and biomedical informatics and biostatical supports. The geographic location of this highly valuable center permits extensive inclusion of a unique multi-ethnic research population. A major area of research within the Center is Minority Studies (Race and Ethnicity), with 22 peer reviewed publications since the last renewal and a performance site at the Zuni Pueblo. Other areas of investigation include Diabetes and Metabolism (51 peer reviewed publications), Neurology and Psychology (14 peer reviewed publications), Neonatology (25 peer reviewed publications), Asthma and Respiratory Disease (17 peer reviewed publications), Intensive Care Medicine (4 peer reviewed publications), Obstetrics and Gynecology (6 peer reviewed publications), Bionutrition (3 peer reviewed publications), Nephrology (13 peer reviewed publications), and Geriatric Medicine (17 peer reviewed publications). Education and training continue to be critical areas of emphasis within the Center, including support for Research Extenders, Medical Students, Fellows, and Junior Faculty (through both our ReFF Award Program and the UNM GCRC Scholar's Program). During the most recent granting cycle, 25 Medical Students, 10 Postgraduate Fellows, 8 Resident Physicians, 3 PhD students, 9 Occupational Therapy Master's Degree students, 2 PharmD students, and 9 undergraduates have received practical, mentored research training on the GCRC. This is a total of 66 trainees. Objectives for the next three years of GCRC funding at UNM include continued provision of high quality, essential research infrastructure and service to NIH funded clinical and translational investigators. Additionally, the Center is attempting to expand its services to meet the needs of practice- and community-based researchers (as allowed), since these are areas of growing strength within the institution.