GCRC Services

                      Individual Cores

What Services does the GCRC offer?

1. Inpatient Studies for research purposes that are not required for usual patient care, but are part of an investigational protocol may be paid for by the GCRC. This includes all usual care costs that are part of the research project for the ent ire period of hospitalization or research tests or services for patients who would not have been hospitalized except for their participation in the research studies (Category A). Cost of services for patients requiring hospitalization or outpatient studies for diagnosis or treatment and who participate in GCRC based research studies are eligible to be paid by the GCRC only for those ancillary services performed solely for research (Category B). Industry-initiated projects have the lowest priority on the GCRC and are accepted on a space-available basis. Inpatient or outpatient visits must be paid directly by industry through the responsible investigator (Category D).
   
   
2. Outpatient Studies: Research facilities and trained research nursing for outpatient investigational procedures. GCRC clinical research is conducted on the GCRC in fully-equipped suites set up for investigational procedures. Special needs for conducting research elsewhere (e.g., ICU) may be met.
   GCRC Nurse Supervisor: Linda Templin, RN
   
   
3. Core laboratory: The Core Laboratory functions to assist investigators in sample processing and non-routine, reproducible and reliable analytical procedures. In addition to providing a centralized resource for techniques necessary to a genetics studies (DNA isolation and white cell preparation), the Core performs a number of services not available in the routine laboratory or which are very costly to perform elsewhere. The laboratory is licensed through CLIA, and well-defined quality control guidelines are assured through participation in the Wisconsin State Laboratory Proficiency Testing Program. The Core also provides instruction in laboratory procedure, and consultation and assistance with other types of analysis and with appropriate procedures for sampling and storage.
   Core Laboratory Director: Glenn Krakower, PhD
   
   

4. Ancillary services, those not required for a subject's routine medical care and which are performed solely for research, can be supported from GCRC grant funds. Ancillary services are defined as services routinely available through hospital departments for all patients in the hospital. Among these are hospital laboratory services and those provided by Radiology and other labs. Bioinformatics support is provided through the MCW Bioinformatics Service, which assists investigators in large-scale data projects, primarily in the areas of population genetics and complex fMRI data sets.

   
   
5. Informatics Core: The Informatics Core includes Macintosh and PC-based hardware and software, and expert consultation to investigators on database establishment and maintenence, creation of scannable forms for data entry, security and storage of data and access to statistical analysis software.
   Informatics Core Director: Mark L. Oium
   
   
6. Biostatistical consultation: Raymond G. Hoffmann, PhD, consults on issues such as: power calculations, sample sizes and stratifications to insure statistical validity, consultation on statistical software packages.
   
   

   
   

7. Bionutrition Research Area and research diet kitchens: This includes both consultation and meal preparation.
   Bionutrition Research Manager: Joan Pleuss, M.S., R.D.,C.D.E.,C.D.
   
   
8. Training opportunities are available for junior faculty, CAPs, fellows, residents, students, and other healthcare personnel.
   Contact Lori Eddy for details            Training Curriculum