Core Center for Clinical Research at Northwestern University

The overarching goal of the Northwestern University (NU) CCCR is to promote cutting-edge clinical research aimed at prevention or control of rheumatic and musculoskeletal conditions and poor outcomes associated with them. While we will provide broad support, we will particularly seek to drive this theme: prevention strategy and intervention development to create lifestyle, behavioral, medical, and rehabilitative solutions that are centralized in a person’s experience, through community engagement and person-centered assessment in daily life. Our overall aims are: 1) accelerate and enhance funded research, by increasing stakeholder engagement, efficiency, rigor, collaboration, cost-effectiveness, productivity, and impact; 2) organize and catalyze all research at NU relevant to our mission, applying a health equity lens, adding value, and moving it forward in a way that would otherwise not be feasible; 3) promote new research within the areas of our mission, by expanding the Research Community working in these areas and by expanding research fields within the mission. We will organize our resources into Cores but function as an integrated unit. Methodologic Core aims are: 1) provide expertise in study design, methodology, outcomes, and analysis planning; work with the Community Advisory Board and Resource Core to assist design that incorporates personal and community perspectives; integrate, as needed, input on adaptive and pragmatic study design, epidemiology, behavioral science, nutritional science, economic evaluation, policy analysis, genomics, bioinformatics, and clinical informatics; 2) facilitate use of existing databases and registries; 3) promote safe and responsible data management; 4) assist users in completing statistical analyses that maximize the potential of study data; and 5) enhance the training environment. The Resource Core, Community Engaged Assessment and Intervention: Science and Technology in Daily Life, aims are: 1) create and sustain interaction between stakeholders and research teams through project stages: a) build pathways for bidirectional community↔academic exchange to increase research value for improving health and equity by refining research ideas and planning in partnership; b) build capacity for community-engaged research; 2) help project teams design research that integrates personal and community perspectives; refine research questions, study design, assessment plan, intervention comparators and intervention procedures, and assist with budget planning, with the Methodologic Core; get stakeholder input on variables and outcomes and collaboratively develop assessment plans that can include: social determinants of health and self-report, performance-based, accelerometry, mobile, sensor-based, and wearable sensor assessments; 3) help project teams operationalize their research and create dissemination plans. Because our CCCR is centered on the goal to improve how persons feel and function in their daily lives, focuses on community and personal experience, and builds upon the wearable and portable technology revolution, we are positioned to have substantial impact on work within and beyond our institution.