Duke Clinical Research Institute to Coordinate National Study of Childhood Health

Contact: Sarah Avery Phone: [phone] Email:[e-mail]://www.dukehealth.orgFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE on Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2016DURHAM, N.C. -- TheDuke Clinical Research Institute (DCRI) has been named the coordinating center as part of a $157-million federal initiative involved in studying how environmental factors affect childhood health.The grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will fund the organizational framework of the Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) initiative. The DCRI has been awarded $14.7 million in fiscal year 2016. This award is a seven-year grant with a total value of $119 million.As the coordinating center for the research initiative, the DCRI will provide support to the study ’s steering committee, lead site training for participating research teams, develop common rules and standard procedures, monitor quality controls, and establish and maintain websites and other communications tools.The ECHO coordinating center at DCRI will also include an Opportunities and Infrastructure Fund to support pilot projects, encourage development of junior investigators, and introduce new tools and technologies in the context of the ECHO program.  “We are certainly honored to be selected as the coordinating center for this important research initiative at the NIH,” said principal investigatorBrian Smith, M.D., a Duke neonatologist and faculty member of the DCRI. “This builds on a number of our strengths in clinical ...

Source: DukeHealth.org: Duke Health Features - September 22, 2016 Category: Pediatrics Tags: Duke Medicine Source Type: news