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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
- Denise Phillips, Clinical Research Coordinator
- Fathy Majadly, BS, Patient Specimen Coordinator
- Loc Trinh, Research Chemical Engineer
Clinical Investigation at the NICHD
The NICHD intramural clinical research program currently includes 115 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 36 NICHD principal investigators and 147 NICHD associate investigators. The NICHD clinical protocol portfolio spans the spectrum from Natural History to therapeutic trials. Nineteen protocols involve an investigational drug or device. Five protocols support our teaching mission. Approximately half the protocols include pediatric patients. Over the past year, NICHD clinical protocols contributed to 321 manuscripts and 284 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. NICHD's IRB is a resource for other institutes who have protocols involving children or women's health and 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 staff enjoy HHS night at National's ballgame.
Take me out to the ballgame!
HHS night at the National's ballpark with one of our NICHD patients and NICHD Director, Dr. Alan Guttmacher and NICHD Scientific Director, Dr. Constantine Stratakis.
