Research

Clinical, Translational and Basic Science Research in Women’s Health

The 4 divisions of the OB/GYN department comprise a diverse research portfolio, including numerous multi-disciplinary investigator initiated clinical trials which are supported by 3 full time faculty and staff members from the Center for Clinical Research along with statistical research services providing expertise in research methodology. The full spectrum of assistance is available to faculty, residents and fellows to bring their innovative clinical research ideas to fruition, which is significant to sustain an important aspect of the mission for the School of Medicine. Clinical research staff provide on-going support for project development, Internal Review Board (IRB) review and submission, grant writing, patient screening, consenting and tracking, data acquisition and analysis and ultimately manage the dissemination of results as poster and manuscript preparation.

Currently, the department and the research staff are supporting more than 20 IRB approved studies including: “Analysis of chronic pelvic pain and hysteroscopic sterilization using micro-inserts (Essure)”, “Preterm Birth and the Microbiome”, “Is Perinatal Pitocin Exposure Associated with Autism Spectrum Disorders?”, “Regulation of Gene Expression in Human Placentae”, “Location of Epigastric Vessels in the Resting and Insufflated Abdomen” and “Biomarkers for Endometrial Cancer”.

SIU School of Medicine in collaboration with Washington University in St. Louis, MO has recently been awarded a grant from NIH to support Feasibility Studies to Build Collaborative Partnerships in Cancer Research (P20), Dr. Brard (Gynecologic Oncology Division Chief) is the Principal Investigator for this project.

The goal of the OB/GYN research program is to invest in the training of clinician-researchers to develop physician-scientists as leaders in advancing the field of women’s healthcare.