Brigham And Women's Hospital
Brigham and Women's Hospital - Center for Clinical Investigation
The Center for Clinical Investigation (CCI) at the Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) is part of the new Harvard Catalyst Program and the NIH's Clinical Translational Science Award for supporting research from concept to patient. The CCI supports patient-oriented research in many clinical fields such as endocrinology, circadian sleep medicine, neurology, respiratory, women's health, cardiology and many more. The CCI provides infrastructure for conducting research protocols by offering BWH investigators space, supplies, and services in both inpatient and outpatient settings.
NU Co-op Program at the CCI at BWH
Over the last 10 years, 12-15 Co-Op students each year have been employed in the CCI Intensive Physiological Monitoring (IPM) unit working alongside our permanent staff of clinical nurses and research technician, supporting research volunteers, monitoring automated computer collection devices, and collecting frequent biological specimens. The IPM unit offers a "hands on experience" with study subjects - both a privilege and a rare opportunity for Co-Op students.
Nurse Manager Sheila Driscoll says "Each Co-Op student brings new energy and excitement to our entire team, as well as providing all of us with an opportunity to re-examine standard procedures and evaluate systems. The CCI research units could not function without the support of these fine students who apply their new skills and training to collect sensitive data and monitor research subjects. It has been a pleasure working with the Northeastern Co-Op program for these last 10years."
Please feel free to contact Sheila Driscoll for more information about the work of the CCI or the NU Coop Program at GCRC.
More Information about the Center for Clinical Investigation
Some of the services include Bionutrition with dietary analysis, meal preparation and subject education; Core laboratory with sample handling, processing and assays, Imaging with Vascular Ultra Sound, MRI and PET scanning, as well as Informatics and Biostatistical staff support for data collection and analysis, as well as professional nursing and technical skills for frequent and precise data collection 24hrs/7days/week.
The studies conducted on the unit include investigation of the human circadian timing system, the length of the human clock and how different variables affect the clock. For example we are currently studying how light, exercise and medications such as melatonin, modafinil and caffeine influence the circadian clock. There are studies from various funding agencies including NASA, National Institutes on Aging, AirForce, National Space Biomedical Research Institutes, as well as collaborations with non profits, museums and pharmaceutical companies. Studies may compare the differences between men and women, young and old, sighted and blind subjects. Some of the practical applications of these studies might be with sleep or circadian timing of treatments for disorders, helping shift workers adapt to rotation shifts, assisting astronauts with sleep/wake timing in spaceflight, helping blind subjects to their timing needs and supporting travelers with jet lag.