Perot Foundation Neuroscience Translational Research Center
The Perot Foundation Neuroscience Translational Research Center (PNTRC), part of the Peter O’Donnell Jr. Brain Institute (OBI), facilitates clinical trials and manages internal funding opportunities for clinical research. The dedicated work of our team supports clinical research that can lead to new and improved diagnostic biomarkers, patient outcomes, and therapies for patients.
In 2024, the PNTRC introduced the O’Donnell Brain Institute Clinical Neuroscience Research Excellence Initiative to the UT Southwestern community. Dr. Shawn McClintock was named the inaugural Scientific Director of the PNTRC and will oversee the new grant program. The initiative is comprised of two funding opportunities, the Clinical Investigator Development (CID) Program and the Human Neuroscience Collaborative Research Program. The CID program is intended to cultivate a new cadre of early career scientists pursuing human neuroscience research and the development of research excellence. The program strives to support early career faculty to pursue prospective human neuroscience research and to support research methodology and career development training.
The Collaborative Research program is intended for teams of clinical researchers to further their scientific knowledge developed through human neuroscience research, to encourage clinical and translational interdisciplinary research team development, to develop a database repository of well characterized specific patient cohorts, and to establish a sustainable plan to continue interdisciplinary clinical research efforts.
Neuroscience Clinical Research Unit
In addition to the team devoted to supporting the Clinical Neuroscience Research Excellence Initiative, the PNTRC offers a University Core, the Neuroscience Clinical Research Unit (NCRU), as well as a compliance and quality assurance program, regulatory and database support. We provide services at UT Southwestern Medical Center and its affiliated hospitals.
The NCRU team is comprised of skilled and experienced research staff who specialize in clinical research studies for pediatric patients. Our team performs study startup tasks, organizes and plans study visits, ensures proper and accurate data entry, performs phlebotomy, ECGs, and more, all while creating and maintaining excellent rapport with the study participants and their families from all over the world. The NCRU employs licensed registered nurses who perform clinical procedures that include intravenous placements, injections, and administration of investigational products. Our team manages studies conducted at UT Southwestern outpatient clinics and Children's Health.
Administrative/Operational Support
Our experienced team is available to assist with the entire clinical research lifecycle, from feasibility assessment, managing new study planning logistics, operationalizing study requirements, and providing coordinator and nursing support.
Our team includes a dedicated regulatory specialist who liaises with the Institutional Review Board (IRB) board coordinators while preparing protocols, informed consent forms, and accompanying documents for IRB applications. We also provide guidance to help satisfy the requirements for Performance Site Reviews, protocol modifications, and annual reviews.
Our Compliance Manager oversees the onboarding and research education for new PNTRC staff while ensuring competencies and training of current staff are satisfied in a timely manner. We assist with study monitor and audit preparedness by performing internal quality assurance checks and assess compliance with study protocols, as well as institutional, state, and federal policies and guidelines. We are also available to assist researchers in navigating pertinent trainings that are required to participate in clinical research, to ensure proper research credentialing, and to maintain current standard operating procedures (SOPs) for their research programs.
Expertise
- Certified Clinical Research Coordinators (CCRC) through the Association of Clinical Research Professionals and Certified Clinical Research Professionals (CCRP) through Society of Clinical Research Associates. The PNTRC team includes several board members of these organization’s local chapters.
- Several team members with decades of employment history at UTSW and Children’s Health
- Team members are active in the Association of Child Neurology Nurses, American Heart Association, disease specific organizations and patient advocacy groups.
- Several of our team members serve on steering committees with institutional research teams around campus.