The Clinical Research Center (CRC) was established in 1964, with grant support from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to provide a facility in which MIT investigators and their collaborators could apply the Institute's expertise in basic biochemical and biophysical mechanisms to the analysis of normal and pathologic processes in humans. MIT's CRC was the first federally supported clinical research center located in a university and not within a hospital, and remains one of only two or three such centers. It was anticipated that in spite of its university venue, a large number of qualified physicians and clinical scientists from MIT's faculty and staff would utilize the CRC to study normal volunteers, or patients with chronic diseases.
Several years ago the CRC was approached by the General Clinical Research Centers administration of the NIH, which funds this and all other CRCs, and asked to consider becoming a "Network" CRC. This would involve implementing at the MIT CRC some research projects generated at other local CRCs, and, conversely, implementing some of our projects (e.g., those involving very sick patients) at those other centers. The CRC has for several years been developing a more structured relationship with the CRC at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), and this expanding relationship has, in fact, been highly successful.
The function of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology General Clinical Research Center (MIT GCRC) is to provide a clinical research infrastructure for medical scientists who conduct patient-oriented research. It does this in close collaboration with its sister GCRC, that of the Massachusetts General hospital (MGH). The GCRC can be used by investigators who are supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH); other federal, state and local agencies; or the private sector. The GCRC is also an appropriate site for pilot studies that may lead to future NIH support; however, it is not intended to be the sole source of research support for extended studies. The clinical research support provided by the GCRC includes inpatient and outpatient facilities; a core laboratory that performs non-routine, sophisticated analyses and procedures; a biostatistics core that can help with study design, data management and analysis; a bionutrition core that prepares research diets and performs nutritional measurements, anthropometry, metabolic measurements and body composition studies; and the necessary support personnel, including, for example, research nurses; research bionutritionists; administrative personnel; informatics core manager; and biostatisticians. The investigations carried out in the GCRCs include studies of both normal human physiology and of diseases, i.e., their cause, prevention, progression, control and treatment. Diseases studied include those that afflict individuals of all ages and ethnic backgrounds. "Translational research" collaborations between basic and clinical scientists are encouraged. The GCRC provides a unique environment for mentored training of health professionals in the art and science of clinical research.
The MIT GCRC is located at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on the fourth floor of building E18 (East campus), 50 Ames Street. Our administrative offices are located in building E17, 40 Ames Street, on the fourth floor, room 445.
MIT offers maps and directions for all areas of MIT, from all directions as well as via Public Transportation and Logan Airport
Please feel free to visit the Campus Map Locator or phone the administrative office for directions (617) 253-3091.
We are one block from the MBTA Redline Kendall/MIT Station. When exiting the station head west on Main Street. Our building is on the corner of Ames and Main. Take a left on Ames Street..
The General Clinical Research Centers at MGH and MIT collaborate to expand research opportunities at both institutions. The MIT facility is formally a satellite of the MGH GCRC, the Mallinckrodt General Clinical Research Center. This center, established in 1921, is one of the oldest research units in the country. Its investigators have made important discoveries into the causes and treatments of disorders of calcium metabolism; pituitary tumors; osteoporosis; diabetes; reproductive disorders; drug addiction; cancer; AIDS; neurological disorders; and orthopedic, dermatologic, genetic, and infectious diseases. Currently, more than 150 investigators conduct over 100 studies at the MGH GCRC.
| Standard Operating Procedure Title | Version History/Date |
|---|---|
| Creation, Review and Revision of Standard Operating Procedures | #10 6/30/06 |
| Financial Expenditures and Data Reporting of the GCRC Grant | #4 10/17/06 |
| Study Closure of GCRC Protocols | #3 4/14/06 |
| Adverse Event Reporting | #6 11/21/06 |
| Research Subject Advocate Adverse Event Review | #5 05/05/06 |
| Data and Safety Monitoring Plans | #1 11/21/06 |
| Review and Approval of Protocol Submissions | #11 11/08/06 |
| Review and Approval of Continuing Reviews | #GENXXX 05/26/06 |