# Clinical Research Core

> **NIH NIH U54** · UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA HLTH SCIENCES CTR · 2020 · $632,172

## Abstract

Although some improvement has been seen between initiation of the Oklahoma Shared Clinical and
Translational Resources (OSCTR) and today (moving from 49th to 46th in rankings), Oklahoma is consistently in
or near the bottom 10% of states for the overall health of its population. The residents of the state
disproportionately suffer from chronic health problems, such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and
arthritis/autoimmunity. Oklahomans have a life-expectancy which is 3 years shorter than the average US
citizen and American Indians have a life-expectancy which is 7.3 years shorter than other groups within the
US. With high percentages of rural (38%) and tribal (9%) populations, Oklahoma has unique challenges and
opportunities to implement clinical and translational research (CTR) projects and dissemination and
implementation research to improve health and health care. The Clinical Resources (CR) Core of the OSCTR
has built a centralized system to support human subjects research in the state that has prioritized its focus on
these issues. The Core provides clinical research facilities and a CAP-certified Biorepository that has allowed
the OSCTR to adopt or establish registries, repositories, and cohorts to assist investigators to obtain and utilize
high-quality samples to support their research efforts. This effort has allowed the Core to provide more than
95,000 clinical samples and more than 1.6 million data fields in the first four years of the award. This support
has launched the careers of multiple CTR investigators, including researchers that are members of the under-
represented minority communities in the state. The CR Core will continue to provide this invaluable access to
sample collections while supporting the establishment of new repositories focusing on the health issues of
greatest concerns to our populations, including cancer, diabetes and osteoarthritis. The CR core is also
expanding the capabilities of its Clinical Research Units by new innovative partnerships with the Oklahoma
Blood Institute and Oklahoma City Veterans Affairs Medical Center. This will enhance the overall opportunities
of our CTR investigators to recruit participants into research studies as well as provide new capabilities to
translate research findings and effect population health through partners that interact with a large number of
previously unreached Oklahoma residents. Through the CR Core, the OSCTR is establishing a formal
Regulatory Assistance Unit to provide a centralized location for OSCTR Investigators to seek assistance with
institutional IRB applications, protocols, data safety monitoring boards and other regulatory requirements. This
Unit will work with the Administrative Core to make access to resources and information more accessible to
investigators, clinicians, clinical research staff and participants through the new Gateway to Oklahoma portal.
This unit will work closely with the OSCTR Tribal Engagement Unit to help investigators t...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9979936
- **Project number:** 5U54GM104938-08
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA HLTH SCIENCES CTR
- **Principal Investigator:** Robert Hal Scofield
- **Activity code:** U54 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $632,172
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** — → —

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9979936

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9979936, Clinical Research Core (5U54GM104938-08). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9979936. Licensed CC0.

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