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Center aims to make research a total Success by Mary Helen Yarborough Public Relations Researchers have a new advocate in research support services, actually, a whole center of supporters that will make pursuing research much less daunting.   The Success (Support Center for Clinical and Translational Science) Center, a fully-staffed researcher support service, has opened expressly to serve as the entry portal to the MUSC South Carolina Clinical & Translational Research (SCTR) Institute services.   Located on the first floor of the Roper Medical Office Building, 125 Doughty St., investigators and those interested in research are urged to drop by and meet the team established to help ease the burden and reduce the time to conduct important research.   “The primary goal of the Success Center is to provide hands-on guidance and training, linkages to research resources, and research tools and templates for investigators and research staff as they navigate through the research process,” said Royce Sampson, Success Center director. “The center consists of experienced, certified research coordinators, a certified research administrator, and funded researcher faculty liaisons. A wide range of services is available and adaptable to the researcher needs.”   The types of services include training with grant and regulatory application preparation including budget development, information about development of study documents and regulatory documents management in accordance with Good Clinical Practice; recruitment strategies, research templates and tools, linkages to MUSC research administration services, and referrals to SCTR Institute services and other research resources throughout the state.   The Success Center provides personal and individualized services including navigating through the research process, completion of grant and Institutional Review Board (IRB) applications; preparation and management of regulatory documents, development and analysis of research budgets, and strategies for recruitment.   “Success is one of the primary initiatives of the South Carolina Clinical & Translational Research Institute,” said Kathleen Brady, M.D., Ph.D., SCTR Institute director and principal investigator. “Through Success, we hope to provide a higher level of support to investigators and research teams throughout MUSC than has previously been available. We want these services to be flexible and responsive to the needs of the MUSC research community; so give us your input and feedback.”   Leila Forney is the center’s research navigator. “As a navigator, I work with Success clients to assess their service and resource needs and develop a service plan to address those needs. This may include providing direct service, orienting the individual to the resources available in SCTR, or forging links and relationships between the client and an established university resource.”   Stephanie Gentilin, the center’s regulatory coordinator, has spent the past 13 years involved in research at MUSC, and has focused the last few years assisting researchers with a wide array of regulatory issues.   “I have found that working one-on-one with people really provides the opportunity to understand their needs and allows me to better address their regulatory questions,” Gentilin said.   Ashlee Watts, the center’s recruitment coordinator, was recruited away from the University of South Carolina to help form MUSC’s comprehensive research incubator. In her role, she will help researchers overcome the common dilemma of finding appropriate study participants.   “I meet with research teams to help them with short-term and long-term recruitment strategies,” Watts said. “Ultimately, the recruitment core will serve as the central recruitment resource for potential research participants.”   The center also is developing a Web portal to help facilitate awareness of ongoing research projects for staff and potential study participants, Watts said.   For information, call 792-8300,  e-mail success@musc.edu, or drop by the center at 125 Doughty St., Suite 100. List of SCTR Success Center services Navigation through the research process Individualized regulatory, IRB and grant application development training Informed consent and HIPAA development support and review Regulatory document management  guidance and templates Study organization and study document preparation information and templates Consultation for initial start up of research process Budget analysis and development Strategic planning for participant recruitment Linkage with Mentors and Collaborators Referral to SCTR Institute services Linkages with research administration services and other MUSC research services Success Center service team Royce Sampson, director; Stephanie Gentilin, regulatory coordinator; Leila Forney, research navigator; Ashlee Watts, recruitment coordinator; and Becky Hamrick, intake coordinator.   For information on SCTR, e-mail davisra@musc.edu or 792-0869.     Friday, July 18, 2008 Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Island Publications at 849-1778, ext. 201.