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The Cardiovascular
Research Institute is an organized research institute at UCSF
directed by Shaun Coughlin, MD. The CVRI is made up of faculty
holding appointments in a variety of departments, both basic and
clinical. CVRI clinical investigation programs are mainly centered
around CVRI-operated diagnostic laboratories. These labs are heavily
used for postdoctoral clinical and research training, as well
as for clinical investigations related to multidisciplinary CVRI
research programs. At present there are eleven programmatic awards
for CVRI multidisciplinary research and five training programs
supported by NIH. There are 122 grants for individual research
projects to members of the CVRI that support research and training
in the Institute.
CAPS
is an AIDS prevention research center funded by the National Institute
of Mental Health. It was established in 1986 to conduct local,
national, and international interdisciplinary research on methods
to prevent HIV infection and its consequences. Now in its 13th
year, research funded by CAPS includes: collaborative HIV prevention
research in developing countries; collaborative HIV prevention
research in U.S. minority communities; technology and information
exchange; antivirals and prevention; and health care policy research.
The Memory Disorders
Clinic at the San Francisco Veterans Administration Medical Center
offers comprehensive, multidisciplinary evaluation, consulation,
and treatment planning for people with known or suspected impairments
of memory or other cognitive functions. Participation of psychiatric,
neurology, neuropsychology and social work in the evaluation process
assures that medical, psychological and social factors that contribute
to or exacerbate memory disorders are addressed. The Memory Disorders
Clinic offers appropriate patients access to new medications and
investigational medications as pharmacologic treatments. The clinic
is also involved in several research projects including: 1) an
NIA-funded randomized controlled trial of vitamin E and donepizil
for mild congitive impairments 2) a VA-funded multi-site study
of "real world" effectiveness of Alzheimer's disease
treatments 3) a randomized controlled trial of testosterone for
male Alzheimer's patients and 4) investigation of depressive symptoms
within dementia and their effect on outcomes. The clinic is part
of the Alzheimer's Disease Research Centers of California.
The Gallo
Clinic and Research Center at UCSF was established in 1980
as a research facility to study basic neuroscience and the effects
of alcohol on the brain. It is the only center studying alcoholism
in the US that is based in a department of neurology. The Gallo
Center is fully equipped for research in cellular, molecular,
and behavioral neuroscience and invertebrate and human genetics.
The Center hosts several weekly teaching conferences and research
discussion groups and is an excellent training resource for alcohol-related
research for postdoctoral fellows.
The J. David Gladstone
Institutes include the Gladstone
Institute of Cardiovascular Disease, the Gladstone
Institute of Virology and Immunology, and the Gladstone
Institute on Pathogenesis of Major Neurological Diseases.
The Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease was established
in 1978 and now includes more than 100 investigators, fellows,
students, and research associates. Gladstone scientists have published
over 750 manuscripts contributing to understanding the basic mechanisms
of atherogenesis. The main areas of investigation are lipoprotein
biochemistry and metabolism, cell biology, molecular biology,
vascular and myocardial biology, and clinical molecular genetics.
The Gladstone Institute of Virology and Immunology was dedicated
in 1993; this premier center, with state of the art laboratories
is dedicated to unraveling the mysteries of the AIDS virus.
The Geriatric Research
Resource Laboratory provides methodologic expertise in the epidemiological,
biostatistical, and social sciences that are fundamental to patient-based
geriatrics research. The Laboratory is coordinated by a gerontologist
with advanced biostatistical training and expertise, Laura P.
Sands, Ph.D. The Research Resource Laboratory catalyzed geriatrically-oriented
research by providing specific data management resources, biostatistical
consultation, statistical programming, and assistance in the conceptualization
of research questions and in study design. In coordinating the
Research and Development Resource Core Laboratory, Dr. Sands reports
directly to the chief of Geriatrics, Dr. Landefeld.
Established as an
organized research unit in the School of Nursing in 1985, the
Institute for Health and
Aging addresses the issues of health and aging through: multidisciplinary
research that encompasses epidemiological analysis, basic social
and behavioral science research, and public policy evaluation;
research training for pre- and postdoctoral scholars; public service
programs; and evaluation of clinical interventions. The faculty
of the IHA are drawn from a variety of disciplines and professional
schools at UCSF and other major Northern California campuses.
Disciplines represented include anthropology, dentistry, economics,
law, medicine, nursing, pharmacy, political science, psychology,
public health, social work and sociology.
The MAMDC, funded by
NIAMS through December 31, 2002, is designed to create a synergy
across disciplines in research in musculoskeletal and related
conditions. The overall center is directed by David Wofsy, MD
and co-directed by Edward Yelin, Ph.D. There are two research
components, the Biomedical Research Component, directed by Arthur
Weiss, MD, Ph.D. and the Epidemiology, Education, and Health Services
Research Component (EEHSR), directed by Edward Yelin, Ph.D. The
Biomedical Research Component funds small scale projects for established
arthritis investigators moving into new areas of arthritis research,
for young investigators in arthritis not yet ready to secure RO1
funding, and for non-arthritis researchers to initiate arthritis-related
projects. The EEHSR Component includes a Core Unit for the collection,
processing, and analysis of data from the UCSF Rheumatoid Arthritis
Panel, a longitudinal database on 1300 persons with this disease
followed annually for as long as sixteen years.
The Osher
Center was established in 1997. Its mission is to search for
the most effective treatments for patients by combining non-traditional
and traditional approaches that address all aspects of health
and wellness--biological, psychological, social and spiritual.
Through scientific research, the Center's faculty will document
the value of non-traditional treatments and integrate approaches
of proven value into patient care.
The Osteoporosis
and Arthritis Research Group, a section of the Department
of Radiology at UCSF, comprises nearly 100 members, drawn from
such diverse fields as medicine, engineering, physics, computer
science, biology, and epidemiology, and from countries around
the globe. OARG members are recognized worldwide as experts in
their field and lecture frequently at international conferences.
The OARG maintains a high profile in the international scientific
community as a diverse center of technical innovations and clinical
research endeavors in the diagnosis of metabolic bone disorders
and orthopedic imaging.
The REC is composed
of 22 basic scientists representing diverse fields of reproductive
biology who have joined forces with physician scientists to increase
understanding of the mechanisms responsible for normal reproduction
in animals and humans. The underlying premise is that only by
elucidation of the intricacies of the cellular and molecular facets
of normal reproductive processes can clinicians provide new methods
of contraception and treatment of reproductive disorders. There
is a strong commitment in the Center to utilize contemporary techniques
to extend the understanding, and ultimately treatment, of reproductive
disorders and hormone-dependent cancers.
The AIDS
Research Institute is without walls, encompassing a dozen
existing research centers and institutes at UCSF and about a thousand
investigators working in geographically dispersed locations in
San Francisco. Together this group represents the largest AIDS
initiative anywhere outside of the National Institutes of Health.
It also represents one of the single biggest efforts on campus,
accounting for nearly 30 percent of UCSF's $200 million in extramural
funding. ARI provides the mechanism for meetings of the scientific
minds through town hall forums, peer review sessions, focus groups
and "targeted action groups" in which several researchers come
together to design new multidisciplinary studies.
The NCI established
Specialized Programs of Research Excellence (SPOREs) to promote
interdisciplinary research and to speed the bi-directional exchange
between basic and clinical science to move basic research findings
from the laboratory to applied settings involving patients and
populations. The goal of the Breast Cancer SPORE is to bring to
clinical care settings novel ideas that have the potential to
reduce breast cancer incidence and mortality and to improve survival
and quality of life. Laboratory and clinical scientists work collaboratively
to plan, design and implement research programs that impact breast
cancer prevention, detection, diagnosis, treatment and control.
The Cancer
Center is an interdisciplinary initiative that combines basic
cancer science, clinical research, epidemiology/cancer control,
and patient care programs throughout UCSF. The Center's mission
is the discovery and evolution of new ideas and information about
cancer, from the research to the clinical implementation phase
of cancer control.
The Treatment
Research Center (TRC) is a Center funded by the National Institute
on Drug Abuse conducting a variety of studies focused on innovative
treatments for substance abuse. The research includes both psychosocial
and pharmocologic trials in both phase I and III stages. The TRC
encompasses over 30 databases on the treatment of the addictions
in both men and women with biological, psychosocial and demographic
variables.
The WCC, directed by
Jeanette Brown MD, offers a full range of diagnostic and treatment
options for women with lower urinary tract problems and pelvic
floor prolapse. The WCC is part of the UCSF Women's Health which
offers primary, obstetric and gynecologic care designed to meet
the unique physical and psychological needs of women. Women seeking
care at the WCC are actively involved in clinical trials about
new medications and treatment options for urinary incontinence.
The UCSF WURC has faculty
from the Departments of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Urology, Epidemiology,
Geriatrics, and Internal Medicine with a keen appreciation of
the importance of integrating the underlying pathophysiologic
basis of incontinence with clinical studies. WURC is comprised
of two primary groups, the Basic Mechanisms Group and the Clinical
Research Group. These primary groups of multidisciplinary investigators
have a long history of successful collaboration and a proven record
of research projects in clinical and basic science research on
the female urethra, bladder, pelvic floor, and urinary incontinence.
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