by Jennifer Kowalewski

An Osteopathic Heritage Foundation (OHF) grant to the Centers for Osteopathic Research and Education (CORE) will help establish a foundation for the growing research infrastructure in the CORE system.

“When we complete the expansion phase of this grant-funded project, the CORE will offer, I believe, the largest research training consortium in the country,” says Joy Matthews-López, Ph.D., CORE research director. “We are working from the base of a long-term plan so that the grant will help grow the CORE Research Office.”

The CORE is a statewide medical education consortium that includes more than 400 medical students and 500 postgraduate physicians, the college and 13 hospital training sites.

The OHF helped CORE forge ahead by providing a $777,618 grant to help assemble a central research office to provide and bolster 1) research training; 2) methodological, statistical, editorial, funding and graphics support; and 3) to facilitate mentoring relationships using the CORE data management system. The research office also will provide the infrastructure required to successfully coordinate and manage multi-site clinical trials.

“We view this investment as seed money,” Matthews-López says, “that will allow the main office to free up critical resources needed for us to compete for other grants.”

OHF also assisted two other programs at OU-COM with grants also awarded Aug. 18.

John Howell, Ph.D., received $405,380 to conduct interdisciplinary neuromuscular skeletal research. Frank Schwartz, M.D., and Jay Shubrook, D.O. (’96), received $278,291 to establish the infrastructure for diabetes education research and physician training.

Another grant by the OHF consists of $10 million to cover one-third of the cost to design, construct and equip the “Integrated Learning and Research Facility” on the Athens campus. With these grants, the OHF has approved more than $15 million in grants to the university since 1999.

Matthews-López is excited at the prospect of improving access to research services and resources. With a plan to expand the CORE Research Office to provide local coverage to all CORE hospitals via four satellite research training offices, CORE researchers can expect quicker responses to support requests and stronger links between CORE sites.

Funds from this grant will allow CORE to hire two new full-time employees: a biostatistician and writer/editor.

Currently, the research office has two employees, including Matthews-López. The goal is to grow from two to 10 employees by 2010.

The hire of two biostatisticians, one who will provide methodological and statistical support for all CORE researchers and another who will oversee research in Columbus at Doctors Hospital, will funded by the grant. A writer/editor will provide editorial support for CORE researchers and will help track submissions to journals, conferences and other venues for professional dissemination. In addition, the writer/editor will work with the Matthews- López to prepare additional grant applications.

Matthews-López says the research office also will create Regional Research Training Centers which will serve as satellites of the central office.

This should increase the access of students, interns, residents and physicians to research training and support services. In turn, such support will enhance researchers’ skills and abilities and enable more clinical research, which ultimately will lead to the improved methods of clinical treatment. Current resources offered or facilitated by the research office are methodological support, including research design, sampling plans and Institutional Review Board support as well as statistical and editorial support.

“The long-term staffing plan includes placing a research administrator and a biostatistician in each major geographic area within the CORE system,” she says, adding that the CORE would be sectioned into four areas.

“This plan includes local, onsite support for researchers. The vision is to create an adequate and user-friendly infrastructure capable of growing the research culture and then sustaining the resulting growth.”