Research Facilities
The College’s facilities in the Health Professions, Nursing, and Pharmacy (HPNP) building provide increased space and resources for a burgeoning research program. The nursing building contains multiple research participant data collection/examination rooms, including a two-way observation room. In addition, a large suite of rooms in the Health Science Center serves as research space for investigators with ongoing funded studies.
A variety of state-of-the-art laboratory services are available to researchers from the College of Nursing through the Clinical and Translational Science Institute.
Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (CTSI)
In July 2009, UF received a $26 million dollar Clinical and Translational Science Award from National Institutes of Health. In winning the competitive award, UF joined a prestigious national consortium of 60 research institutions. The only university in Florida to receive the award, UF’s CTSI is dedicated to improving human health by accelerating the translation of basic research into new clinical treatments as quickly as possible. Specifically, goals are geared toward accelerating scientific discovery, enhancing patient care, producing highly skilled scientists and practitioners, and fostering partnerships with industry. With tremendous potential to support multi- and interdisciplinary research and to enrich education of an enormous pool of outstanding investigators and trainees at the University of Florida, the CTSI provides enhanced infrastructure in biostatics, regulatory support, training, novel methodologies, and multidisciplinary opportunities.
CTSI Biorepository. Collection, Processing, and Distribution of Tissue Samples
The CTSI Biorepository operates in conjunction with the UF CRC Processing Laboratory and the Molecular Pathology & Immunology Core to collect, process, distribute and provide histology and immunopathology services on remnant and prospective tissue samples. These samples are collected from patients who have consented to participate in one of our IRB approved research programs. The CTSI Biorepository also oversees the release of tissue from the Department of Pathology for other IRB approved research protocols. The Biorepository offers the following services:
- Tissue procurement, processing (UF CRU Processing Lab) and distribution.
- Prospective tissue collection to meet protocol requirements.
- RNA, DNA and protein extraction and quality control (UF CRC Processing Lab).
- Pathology Services including those provided by the Molecular Pathology &
Immunology Core and confirmation of diagnosis by a board-certified pathologist. - Storage and retrieval of investigator samples.
Research Data Coordinating Center (RDCC). The department of Epidemiology and Health Policy Research houses the RDCC, which serves as a core research facility, providing scientific services related to clinical database design and management. The RDCC offers the following services: 1.) secure, high availability, web-based research data collection, 2.) data collection, storage, and analysis, 3.) review of scientific protocols to develop appropriate data management strategies, 4.) form design for web-based and other data capture, 5.) database design, 6.) quality management and testing of data, 7.) medical coding, 8.) data entry and cleaning, 9.) SQL queries, and 10.) hosting web applications.
Division of Biostatistics. In addition to housing the RDCC, the department of Epidemiology and Health Policy Research also houses the Division of Biostatistics, which owns a network of more than 70 UNIX workstations that operate a rich library of software. Faculty here have broad expertise in methodological research, including: clinical trials and epidemiology, study design, survey methodology, decision theory, generalized linear models, longitudinal data analysis, survival analysis, structural equation models, and diagnostic testing. The Division of Biostatistics provides statistical support for sponsored research in genetics, aging, cancer, imaging, cardiovascular disease, dentistry, nursing, health services research, human development, and pharmaceutical research. It is also home to the Research and Biostatistics Consulting Lab, a fee-based consulting service related to optimal development of research design, measurement, and analytic strategies; statistical analyses; and methodological/statistical review of manuscripts.