Clinical Trial Coordination

Institute for Translational Medicine

Mentors

Arlene Chapman, MD, Director, Clinical Research Center
Allison Buonamici, Director, Clinical Research Support Office
Ashley Hoambrecker, Director of Clinical Trials, Department of Medicine
Melanie Nall, PhD, Research Manager, Pediatric Clinical Trials Office

Background

The University of Chicago (UC) Institute for Translational Medicine (ITM) was created in 2007 to assemble, integrate, and create the intellectual, administrative, and physical resources required to catalyze research and research training in Clinical and Translational Science. Its ultimate goals are to train scientists, health care providers and the broader research team, at UC and in our community, to determine the molecular, genetic, pathophysiologic, and social determinants of disease and disease predisposition in individuals; to test interventions directed toward those mechanisms; and to achieve these goals in a way that is rigorous, efficient, ethical, respectful of, and responsive to our community’s needs and values.

The mission of the Clinical Research Support Offices in the departments of Medicine and Pediatric is to promote and facilitate the conduct of clinical research. The CRSOs were created to provide centralized support services for our faculty as well as serving as a centralized resource for industry sponsors.  The CRSOs support investigators in the range of services necessary to plan and conduct clinical trials, and gives industry sponsors access to our skilled investigators, our experienced study coordinators, and our active and involved patient population.

The Clinical Trial Financial Group (CTFG) in the Department of Medicine is responsible for clinical trial budget development and negotiation, as well as comprehensive billing, recovery, and reconciliation of clinical research earnings.

Internship Description

The goal of this opportunity is to give the intern broad exposure to the many types of responsibilities and tasks that can make up clinical research coordination at the University of Chicago, from data management and regulatory work to recruitment and hands-on trial operations/study visits. Over the course of ten weeks, the intern will engage in training and mentored work assignments within the ITM’s Clinical Research Center, the Clinical Research Support Offices in Medicine and Pediatrics, and the Office of Clinical Research.

Specific Objectives

After the ten-week program, the intern will have:

• Completed online training in human subjects research and good clinical practice

• Assisted specialists in drafting and submitting an IRB application for a clinical research protocol

• Assisted specialists in creating an institutional budget based on a clinical research protocol

• Assisted specialists in post-award financial management of a funded study

• Participated in the entry and analysis of clinical research study data

• Participated in the recruitment of study participants into clinical research studies

• Participated in study visits within the Clinical Research Center

• A sense of the day-to-day work of various operational staff within the clinical research enterprise at the University of Chicago

Qualifications

Must be able to work independently, have a desire to learn a new skill set, and good verbal communication skills. Please provide your CV and a cover letter describing your interest in this internship and how this experience is applicable to your career goals.