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Office of the Clinical Director
- Forbes D Porter, MD, PhD, Clinical Director
- Meg Keil, PhD, Associate Director, Nursing and Protocol Navigation
- Maryellen Rechen, BS, RN, Special Assistant to the Clinical Director
- DuShon Hutchinson, Patient Care Coordinator
- Donna Peterson, BS, RN, Protocol and Institutional Review Board (IRB) Coordinator
- Fathy Majadly, BS, Patient Specimen Coordinator
Clinical Investigation Across the Lifespan
The NICHD intramural clinical research program currently includes 110 protocols with five main areas of focus: (i) adult, pediatric, and reproductive endocrinology; (ii) human genetics; (iii) normal growth and development; (iv) national/international public health; and (v) women's health. The protocols are conducted by 37 NICHD principal investigators and 128 NICHD associate investigators. The NICHD clinical protocol portfolio spans the spectrum from Natural History to therapeutic trials. Twenty-two protocols involve an investigational drug or device. Six protocols support our teaching mission. Approximately half the protocols include pediatric patients. Over the past year, NICHD clinical protocols contributed to 173 manuscripts and 126 meeting abstracts.
The conduct of studies is guided by two entities administered by the Office of the Clinical Director: the NICHD Institutional Review Board (IRB) and the NICHD Data Safety Monitoring Committee (DSMC). The NICHD IRB is chaired by Gilman Grave, MD, and has 13 members and three alternates. The composition of the NICHD IRB is diverse, both in terms of medical and ethical expertise and affiliation. The IRB has specific expertise in reproductive endocrinology, gynecology, pediatrics, endocrinology, genetics, and the ethics of human subject research. Our IRB is a resource for other institutes who have protocols involving children or women's health. The NICHD IRB supports the National Children's Study. The NICHD DSMC is chaired by Frank Pucino, PharmD, and has five other members. Both committees possess expertise in issues related to clinical trials, ethics, pediatrics, genetics, and reproductive medicine.
NICHD Celebrates its 50th Anniversary at a Nationals Game.
Play Ball! In celebration of NICHD's 50th Anniversary, one of our NICHD patients discussed baseball with HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and announced the start of the game.
For more information, email fdporter@helix.nih.gov or visit http://science.nichd.nih.gov/confluence/display/ocd/Home.
