Background

The Iowa Center for Translational and Clinical Research was established by Mercy Medical Center (MMC) and Des Moines University (DMU) to answer the call of national research leaders by creating a research environment that provides new approaches to the translation of scientific discoveries to clinical applicability. The creation of such a center brings research from major academic medical centers to the community hospital setting, which ensures medical students and resident physicians will be acquainted with medical research methods and have opportunities to participate in the process of active discovery. 

Concept

ICTCR serves as a facilitator, bringing together the resources of health care education and health care providers. The combined resources allow for a robust clinical research environment that is able to accomplish clinical research goals made by the national research roadmap.

Purpose

The purpose of ICTCR is to achieve the following goals through the collaboration and interaction of experts from all of the partner institutions, for the good of the communities we serve:

• Contribute to existing research infrastructure of MMC and expand resources for the future
• Seek new research opportunities on behalf of MMC physicians and trainees
• Expand investigator-initiated research by engaging in research team-building
• Enhance investigators’ success by marshaling resources from partnering institutions
• Pursue funding opportunities for investigator-initiated research
• Advise and train individuals who are at the earliest stages of the research profession on methodology and human subjects issues
• Engage in policy development to make MMC a research-friendly atmosphere for investigators while assuring the core values of the partnering institutions are respected and maintained
• Assure that all investigators who work with ICTCR appreciate the importance of maintaining the highest standards of conduct in the areas of human subjects protection and integrity in the research process
• Engage students and residents in the research process

Vision

The vision of ICTCR is to serve as a unique community hospital-based research center that advances clinical knowledge to provide better health for the patients served through the effective collaboration of an alliance of educational and health care institutions who share a common desire to combine resources for the betterment of health, the education of health care professionals and expanding medical knowledge.