The Vanderbilt Stroke Trials Network Regional Coordinating Center for Tennessee

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Vanderbilt University is ideally positioned to be a Regional Coordinating Center (RCC) in the NINDS Stroke Trials Network. To capitalize on the Stroke Belt across Tennessee, we have partnered with our colleagues at Erlanger in Chattanooga, Fort Sanders in Knoxville, and Huntsville Hospital, to create a true Regional Network. This collaboration will provide access to a huge number of stroke patients within the midsouth. And each site has strong affiliations with regional hospitals that have offered their support in referring eligible patients. These assets will provide unprecedented access to potential subjects for stroke studies. Our team brings a unique complement of expertise that makes Vanderbilt an ideal RCC. Our investigators bring a wealth of experience in networks and multicenter trials, and have a strong record of developing collaborative projects. The Vanderbilt NINDS Stroke Network team will leverage the many strengths of our collegial, multidisciplinary environment for clinical and translational research, including the Vanderbilt Institute for Clinical and Translational Research, 38 funded Cores and Centers, and rich collaborations among the departments of Neurology, Neurosurgery, Pediatrics, Radiology, Emergency Medicine, and Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Our principal goal is to establish a RCC in Tennessee that is uniquely positioned to advance cerebrovascular care through the conduct of clinical trials. Our Specific Aims are: (1) To maximize subject recruitment in trials of stroke prevention, acute treatment, and recovery, by employing specific strategies and leveraging key relationships with our regional recruiting partners and referring affiliates; (2) To optimize operations for clinical trials within the Vanderbilt Cerebrovascular Clinical Research Office and RCC, by utilizing high-efficiency approaches, and within the Network by utilizing a centralized IRB and master trial agreements; and (3) To engage our collaborative RCC team to actively contribute to the network by developing and reviewing new trials, providing experts and resources, and developing an excellent clinical research training program.