Faculty considering translational research can contact Dr. Georas for assistance in identifying potential collaborators, acquiring funding, conducting Human Subjects research, designing and executing epidemiological and population based studies, accessing on-site repositories of samples and tissues from human subjects and obtaining histology services.
Services Provided
Identification of Human Samples and Tissues
The URMC Biospecimen Repository was formalized in 2008 to provide state-of-the-art archiving of fresh and fixed human surgical specimens including lung, breast, gastrointestinal, and prostate from hundreds of de-identified donors. The Repository also contains paraffin-embedded samples of de-identified specimens in individual tissue blocks and in tissue microarrays of normal and diseased tissues.
Human Subject Regulatory Affairs
Provides education about rules and regulations of NIH-sponsored human subject research, including protection of subject privacy, identification of potentially vulnerable populations, documentation requirements and issues pertaining to informed consent.
Human Subject Protocol Development
Assists Center members with human subject study design including formulating specific aims and hypotheses, identification of populations, defining primary and secondary outcome variables, defining predictor variables, and data collection procedures. Also assists in determining whether existing human populations or cohorts within the Center or institution exist that are relevant to the research question.
Human Subjects Recruitment and Community Outreach
Facilitates subject recruitment and retention of human subjects for new protocols using approved and ethical strategies. Works with COEC to identify local populations who may benefit from Center sponsored educational opportunities, and facilitate interactions between community groups and Center researchers.
Epidemiology Services
Collaborates with Center members and the Biostatistics Facility Core to facilitate the design, analysis and interpretation of epidemiologic cross-sectional, case-control and cohort studies by Center members.
Database Services
Assists with and performs secondary data analysis to confirm or refute previously published findings, generate new hypotheses, and provide preliminary findings to strengthen grant applications. Also helps investigators to identify, access and analyze available environmental exposure data, such as those reported by Environmental Protection Agency's Toxic Release Inventory and AirData, and New York State's Pesticide Use and Sales Database.
Patent applications and technology transfer
Educates Center members about the process of invention disclosure and subsequent patent applications and facilitate interactions with University Technology Transfer Center.
Research Communications and Partnerships (in collaboration with COEC)
Enhances communication with local and national populations, health professionals, potential collaborators and policy makers to foster partnerships for, and translate findings from, translational research in environmental health. Also sponsors and advertises seminars of translational-oriented environmental health research within the Center and the URMC Biomedical community at large.
Histology Services
Provides uniform and timely processing embedding, sectioning and routine histological staining of human and experimental animal fissures, with turnaround of less than one week. Also provides recommendations to investigators for methods of acquisition and handling of fissure to optimize histological investigation.
|
