Clinical trials testing treatments for neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s disease and epilepsy soon will be conducted under one roof at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, adding critical mass to the neuroclinical research program and convenience for patients enrolled in clinical trials.
The medical school has begun renovating 14,000 square feet on the ground floor of the McMillan and Irene Walter Johnson buildings for the neuroclinical research unit (NCRU). The project is funded by a $1.6 million grant from the National Institutes of Health and $1.8 million from the School of Medicine.
Washington University’s neurology program is the second largest recipient of federal research funds in the nation, and more than half of those resources support clinical research.
Announcement of this expanded and centralized clinical trials unit coincides with release of information about the neurology department’s creation of the Hope Center for Neurological Disorders, dedicated to basic research on neurological disorders.
“Our faculty have made significant contributions to the field of neuroscience, both in the laboratory and in the clinic,” says David M. Holtzman, M.D., the Andrew B. and Gretchen P. Jones Professor and head of the Department of Neurology, the Charlotte and Paul Hagemann Professor of Neurology, professor of molecular biology and pharmacology and neurologist-in-chief at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. “The NCRU will help us ensure our scientific discoveries are efficiently and effectively translated into improvements in patient care.”
Bringing basic science findings to the patient’s bedside is a cornerstone of BioMed 21, the School of Medicine’s strategic initiative launched last year.
In addition to patient examination rooms and state-of-the-art clinical and research equipment, the NCRU will house offices and work stations for junior faculty, medical trainees, nurses, study coordinators and other support staff. Bringing all these resources together will foster collaboration between scientific teams and provide a convenient space for study participants, according to NCRU director Joel S. Perlmutter, M.D.
“We’ve always had a huge clinical research effort, but we haven’t had centralized facilities in which to conduct that research,” says Perlmutter, who is the Elliot Stein Family Professor of Neurology, professor of radiology and of physical therapy and an associate professor of anatomy and neurobiology. “This physical space will cultivate productive synergies, both of financial resources and of scientific thoughts and ideas.”
The full-time and volunteer faculty of Washington University School of Medicine are the physicians and surgeons of Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children’s hospitals. The School of Medicine is one of the leading medical research, teaching and patient care institutions in the nation, currently ranked second in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. Through its affiliations with Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children’s hospitals, the School of Medicine is linked to BJC HealthCare.