By designing better clinical trials and carrying out detailed biostatistical research, the Duke Clinical Research Institute hopes to change the way medicine is practiced and studied.
Located in the North Pavilion near the Medical Center, DCRI is a collection of more than 750 employees and volumes of medical information, including the oldest and largest cardiovascular database in the world.
"DCRI is committed to furthering clinical research and human trials to promote better medicine," said Peter Rochin, head of cardiovascular development at the institute.
Tim LaCroix, the institute's chief strategy officer, explained that the central mission of DCRI is "to try to improve patient care and improve clinical research methodology" by stressing the importance of evidence-based medicine and the "educational aspect of health care."
While DCRI has long been known for its expertise in cardiology, it has been very busy growing in other therapeutic areas over the last few years. LaCroix points to the "core four" areas of research at DCRI: infectious diseases, central nervous system diseases, oncology and cardiology.
One of DCRI's most successful achievements was GUSTO-1, a "mega-trial" of 41,021 patients with severe coronary conditions that identified drugs most effective at reducing mortality rates.
An important component of DCRI is the Duke Center for Education and Research in Therapeutics, one of seven such centers across the country that focuses on safe uses of cardiovascular therapies. Current projects within the center are studying the effects of aspirin, beta-blockers and dofetilide on patients with coronary conditions.
Programs like the center are "studies around improvement of health care," rather than studies centered around a specific drug. The research is often concentrated on a certain field, LaCroix said. Other such programs within DCRI include the Duke University Digestive and Epidemiological Studies and the Primary Care Research Consortium, both of which are large networks of physicians collaborating to solve large-scale problems.
The death in May of a clinical study participant at Johns Hopkins University has brought increased federal scrutiny upon human testing, but LaCroix said it has not greatly affected research at DCRI. "If anything, it has brought greater awareness of need for safety and ethical issues like informed consent," problems which DCRI has been active in for some time, LaCroix said.
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